Preventing Seasickness

The oldest charter company on the West Coast of the United States, Tradewinds Charters, Inc., has been in operation since 1937. Over the years, it has taken thousands of groups and families on deep-sea fishing and whale-watching trips. With more than a 95 percent sighting rate on whale-watching trips, Tradewinds Charters offers whale watching for nearly the entire year.

When on a whale-watching trip, some individuals may experience seasickness. To avoid seasickness, consider:

- Staying outside. A big part of seasickness is the mismatch between what is seen and what is felt. As a result, individuals can reduce or prevent seasickness by staying outside and watching the horizon. This allows the brain to see the swells that are creating the feeling of movement and prevents a misalliance from occurring.

- Bringing along crackers or soda. Many individuals lose the desire to eat or drink when experiencing seasickness, but crackers and light soda can calm the stomach. Individuals should focus only on consuming bland food when they are experiencing seasickness. It is also best to focus on having light sodas such as ginger ale, but dark sodas can still help if nothing else is available.

- Applying pressure. The idea of adding pressure to relieve seasickness is very old, but effective. By adding pressure to the inside of the wrist, feelings of nausea can be reduced. This pressure can be added using a couple fingers or a simple pressure bands found at a drug store. There are also battery-operated bands that send an electrical pulse to the wrist instead of pressure.