..The man driven by his demons is the easiest of all to lead or corrupt through his desperation. The man content with himself and his world is least likely to succumb to temptation. Threaten the latter with that which he holds most dear and he will bend...
-- -Domino
According to the Mayan calender, we are all done in
4 years, 221 days, 23 hours, 43 minutes, and 9 seconds   
Crime (19)
Culture (64) Entertainment (116) Food & Drink (80) General (202) Hypocrites (37) IslamoFascists (59) Middle East (13) Music (20) Observations (311) Photos (88) Politics (53) Racism (5) Religion (5) RightThink (85) Sports (13) Technology (113) Terrorism (47) The Left (68) Travel (64) U.S. (33) World (53) Worm Hole (90) 
May 2008
April 2008 March 2008 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 December 2006 October 2006 July 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 |
06.03.07
Helpless To Help Was Defined For Me
Have you ever been seasick? I haven't, but I was on a 65 foot Swan about three quarters of the way to the Abacos from South Florida...and it was blowing like hell (steady 45 knots...gusting way higher)...and my buddy had a bad time with it. So bad, he not only had the pukes...he had major vertigo. We thought he might die, and so did he. I swear to the Maker, I've never seen anyone that sick in my life. We were truly worried...out in the ocean, in the middle of nowhere, you are alone. There is no help close by. That is food for thought. Sailboats are, by physics, much more stable than stinkpots (boats with a motor), but once you're sick...you're sick. There is no getting well until you reach dry ground...and even then it takes time. They say motion sickness is caused by an imbalance in your inner ear, and by losing sight of the horizon. I can't say for sure, but what I can say is that my buddy was in bad shape. Real bad shape. He had us all worried. We finally made port, and I kid you not...he couldn't stand without assistance for two days...he was that fucked up. Funny thing is...We'd been sailing in some pretty good blows before...no problem. This one just got him...I mean I was pulling G's on the fore deck. It wasn't like this was his first time in some big seas, but it was his first time taking everything for granted. Live and learn. You cannot tame Mother Nature. To be completely honest, I was a little worried myself. A 65 footer is a pretty good sized boat, but when you're in the middle of the ocean...can't see anything but BIG swells and waves...no land...it does tend to make you think. Did I mention, it was blowing the squirrels out of the trees? He got his legs (equilibrium) back in a few days, and everything was good. Shit happens. One thing I remember...when someone is that sick and there is nothing you can do to help 'em...helpless was defined for me. 
Comments
Good lesson. Posted by: dick at June 3, 2007 09:55 PM
Note to self - buy more dramamine... Good Lord. Posted by: Richmond at June 4, 2007 10:22 AM
Kevin was just that sick when we went on a cruise a couple of years ago; but 90% of the ship was sick, so I couldn't chide him too much! Posted by: Michele at June 4, 2007 02:51 PM
If you're not in frigid waters, give this a try if there's ever a "next time". Heave-to, and deploy the boarding ladder. Put a life vest~harness on the seasick-ee, securely fix a line from the vest to a boom-mounted block turned 2:1 or 3:1 to a mainsheet winch. Then put him/her in the water. Our bodies, being somewhere 'bout 70% water, find instant synch with the sea. Five minutes in the drink, and the stress & panic of seasickness quickly abates. Still, you'll want the winch to help 'em safely aboard, as they'll often still be too weak to be of much self-help. Although I've heard of this technique failing, I've never personally witnessed it to do so, and have successfully used it at least a half-dozen times on others. And even though you'll soon be back making way under sail, it does seem to break the cycle which would otherwise keep them in misery. Just don't do it in colder waters, and absolutely never do it without first employing first rate Man Overboard retrieval measures.
Posted by: Jim at June 4, 2007 03:08 PM
If you're not in frigid waters, give this a try if there's ever a "next time". Heave-to, and deploy the boarding ladder. Put a life vest~harness on the seasick-ee, securely fix a line from the vest to a boom-mounted block turned 2:1 or 3:1 to a mainsheet winch. Then put him/her in the water. Our bodies, being somewhere 'bout 70% water, find instant synch with the sea. Five minutes in the drink, and the stress & panic of seasickness quickly abates. Still, you'll want the winch to help 'em safely aboard, as they'll often still be too weak to be of much self-help. Although I've heard of this technique failing, I've never personally witnessed it to do so, and have successfully used it at least a half-dozen times on others. And even though you'll soon be back making way under sail, it does seem to break the cycle which would otherwise keep them in misery. Just don't do it in colder waters, and absolutely never do it without first employing first rate Man Overboard retrieval measures.
Posted by: Jim at June 4, 2007 03:08 PM
I've never been out on a boat that far from land - I don't know the right people ;-) I have been out on Lake Huron for hours at a time in a 20 ft "stinkpot" as you call it. *grin* I love the rock of a boat on the water. My problem is - it takes a while for my inner ear to settle down once I get out and onto land if I've been out for over a couple of hours. I'll have to remember Jim's suggestion... I'm thinking if it works out on the water, it should work coming back on land too. Thanks Jim! Posted by: Teresa at June 4, 2007 07:22 PM
Post a comment
|
"Editing for Good Taste": Not letting you say what I don't like to hear.
CIA World Factbook
Dictionary/Thesaurus History Channel How Stuff Works Literary Resource Maps MuggleNet RefDesk.com Wikipedia 
Anna
Baboon Pirates Big Dick's Place Bitterman Boudicca's Voice Braden's Corner Cadillac Tight Caltech Girl Catfish Charming, Just Charming Christina Dash Dax Montana Devine InnerBitchin' Drunken Wisdom Eject! Eject! Eject! Elisson Eric the Blade Erica's Blog Feisty Repartee Grouchy Old Cripple Holder of Useless Knowledge Joan of Argghh KeesKennis Key Kim du Toit Last One Speaks Leslie's Omnibus Little Green Footballs Meanderings Neptunus Lex Oddybobo On the Patio One For The Road Parkway Rest Stop Random Nuclear Strikes Redneck Restroom Revelations Shadowscope Sie Bitch Sissy Smoke On The Water Tall Cool Drink of Water Technicalities The Impolitic The Law Dog Files The Senior Chief The View From My Window Treppenwitz Velociman When the Smoke Clears WitNit Zonker 
The American Conservative
American Partisan Ann Coulter The Command Post Cox & Forkum DEBKAfile Drudge Report Fox News The Heritage Foundation The Intellectual Conservative Interpol John Cox Art Laura Ingraham Michelle Malkin National Review Online NOAA Home Page Neal Boortz Power Line Right Wing News RightWingStuff Townhall.com U.S. Constitution U.S. Dept. of State Washington Times The Weekly Standard WorldNetDaily  
|