Let us be honest about this because the honest answer is more reassuring than the evasive one. Yes, some people get seasick. Yes, it happens primarily in the first day or two of a passage. Yes, it is uncomfortable while it lasts. And yes, it passes, reliably, for the overwhelming majority of people who experience it, within 48 hours of the departure from harbour.
The Eighty2 is, by the standards of sailing vessels that most people have been on before, exceptionally stable. The catamaran’s 11-metre beam is the key number: the boat sits wide on the water and the two hulls distribute the forces of the swell in a way that a narrow monohull cannot. The rolling motion that produces seasickness in most people is significantly reduced.
Members who arrive with a history of seasickness on ferries or monohull sailing boats consistently report that the Eighty2 produces a different experience: either no seasickness at all or a milder and shorter version of what they expected.
What We Carry
The medical kit aboard the Eighty2 includes the full range of seasickness management: antihistamine tablets, scopolamine patches, and acupressure wristbands. These three approaches work through different mechanisms and different people respond better to different options, which is why we carry all three rather than committing to a single approach. If one does not work for you, another usually does.
The scopolamine patch, applied behind the ear before departure, is the most effective preventative for most people who are susceptible. It needs to go on 6 to 8 hours before the motion begins to work properly, which means the evening before a dawn departure or the morning of an afternoon departure. Members who know they are susceptible should tell us before we leave so that the patch is applied at the right time rather than retrospectively once the motion has already started the process.
The antihistamine tablets work faster than the patch but with more sedation as a side effect. Acceptable for many people, less so for those who want to be active during the first passage day rather than sleeping through it. The acupressure wristbands, which work on the P6 point on the wrist, have no pharmacological side effects and are worth trying as a first line for people who prefer to avoid medication altogether. They are less reliably effective than the pharmaceutical options but sufficient for mild cases and a useful complement to medication in moderate ones.
What Actually Helps
Beyond the medication, several practical measures make a significant difference. Being on deck rather than below: the fresh air and the visual reference of the horizon are the two most powerful natural remedies available. The motion sickness is produced by the conflict between what the inner ear feels and what the eyes see, and when the eyes are on the real horizon rather than the interior of a moving cabin, the conflict is reduced. Below decks in a cabin, with the horizon invisible, is the worst place to be when seasick. The afterdeck is better. The flybridge is better still.
Eating light and eating regularly: an empty stomach is more susceptible than a full one, and the body’s response to nausea is to want to stop eating, which makes it worse. The chef is aware of this and the first meals of a passage in challenging conditions are calibrated accordingly: lighter than usual, easily digestible, not aggressive in seasoning or richness. Ginger in various forms. Dry crackers. The things that settle a stomach that is working against the motion.
Sleeping: the body adjusts fastest when it is not fighting to stay awake. The first night at sea, when the motion is still unfamiliar, is often the worst. By the second morning the vestibular system has begun adapting and the nausea, if it was present, typically recedes significantly. By day three it is almost always gone completely. The crew has seen this pattern many hundreds of times. It is reliable. It passes.
What the Crew Does
The crew treats seasickness as a normal and manageable condition rather than an embarrassment or a problem. If a member is seasick, the crew makes sure they have water, the relevant medication if they want it, a position on deck that is safe and comfortable, and the specific reassurance of people who have been through this transition many times and who know with complete certainty that it ends. No fuss, no drama, no suggestion that the member has failed to be a proper offshore sailor. It passes. We know it passes. We help it pass.
