Antarctica - An Antarctica forum!

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Hope you went into some of the previous posts that are archived. There are some great ones there. Lots of information.

Can someone tell me how relatively nauseating the crossover to Antarctica (Drake passage?) by sea can be/has been? Having done some horrific winter English Channel crossings in pre-Chunnel days, I just wonder what to expect on these cruises before getting to those calm seas shown in the glossy Antarctica cruise brochures...

Can someone tell me how relatively nauseating the crossover to Antarctica (Drake passage?) by sea can be/has been? Having done some horrific winter English Channel crossings in pre-Chunnel days, I just wonder what to expect on these cruises before getting to those calm seas shown in the glossy Antarctica cruise brochures...

On my trip to Antarctica we enjoyed the "Drake Lake" on the way down. Pretty calm seas. On the return, not so lucky. We went through a force 11 storm (on a scale of 1 to 12) on our last day in the Drake. I think only 50% of the pax made it to the Captain's Dinner. And the Captain left halfway through dinner to stop the ship and turn it into the seas so we could at least finish dinner and stop breaking dishes.

Great crossing both ways mid to end of February last year. The trip before ours was evidently pretty rough though. I believe the passengers had to stay in their cabins.

Can someone tell me how relatively nauseating the crossover to Antarctica (Drake passage?) by sea can be/has been? Having done some horrific winter English Channel crossings in pre-Chunnel days, I just wonder what to expect on these cruises before getting to those calm seas shown in the glossy Antarctica cruise brochures...
It may depend on the sailor as much as the weather: my parents did that crossing a while back with fairly rough seas. Dad, ex-navy, had no trouble at all, but Mom said she spent most of the time on her bunk because the wave action threw her off balance and she was afraid of bad falls so far from medical care (they were both 70+ at the time).
I think that was the trip they took on the former Russian ice breaker, but can't remember for sure. It definitely was on a ship built for durability rather than luxury, so that may impact how much the seas effected the pax.

I think being rocked about and tossed from side to side nearly breaks your bones so if you're not seasick before breakfast, you wouldn't be able to eat anyway cuz you would hurt so bad.

Hello OP,

I took Lindblad/National Geographic trip last NYE and the crossing to Antarctica was ROUGH! Wow! The captain said it was his second roughest crossing.

There were ropes everywhere to help people walk. My method to handle seasickness to eat soda crackers to settle my stomach and sleep. When I sleep, I pretend that I'm a long-distance speed skater and I'm taking these long glides. (it's better than: OMG, the ship is nose diving into the seas. We're gonna die!) YMMV.

And returning to Ushuia (now I forgot how to spell that city!) and smooth as glass.

I swore that I would never return on that trip only because of the crossing. But I would go to Antarctica again.

Good luck!

David

I swore that I would never return on that trip only because of the crossing. But I would go to Antarctica again.

Good luck!

Thanks David. :eek: I'll hope for the best.

Were you pleased with the ship overall?

With any luck we will hit the Arctic Circle, the Antarctic Circle, and the Equator all in the next 18 months.

Thanks David. :eek: I'll hope for the best.

Were you pleased with the ship overall?

With any luck we will hit the Arctic Circle, the Antarctic Circle, and the Equator all in the next 18 months.

Hello Rick,

Absolutely! I believe you are in the same cabin # as I was in -- 210?

Let's rocking and rolling -- middle of the ship, main deck. Great comraderie. In fact tonight I am having dinner with a couple that I befriended on this cruise. And I've been exchanging emails with another couple.

david

Absolutely! I believe you are in the same cabin # as I was in -- 210?

Sorry, my mind is a sieve ;) Cabin 201. Interestingly enough, we have also been in cabin 201 on the Sea Lion in Alaska and cabin 201 on the Sea Bird in Baja.

Sorry, my mind is a sieve ;) Cabin 201. Interestingly enough, we have also been in cabin 201 on the Sea Lion in Alaska and cabin 201 on the Sea Bird in Baja.

No, no, no -- I just checked the ship layout, and I was in cabin 201. You're in the perfect cabin. In addition to being in the middle of the ship and low; all the landings leave from your deck, forward, portside. So there's less trudging for you to do.

david

We had a fairly calm crossing to South Georgia, and again to the Antarctic Peninsula and Weddell Sea - and back to Ushuaia, it was flat calm. The Captain shut one engine down, yet we still arrived at Cape Horn entirely too early for a pilot - so we waited it out, with some cruising, wildlife and bird spotting, pleasant barbecue on the afterdeck... but the folks who came down to the peninsula before we did were hammered.

Seasickness (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasickness)is often a fact of life on boats. Boats move in three dimensions - pitching (front to back,) rolling (side to side) and yawing (bow moving to port - left - or starboard - right. The right combination can me truly awful - and all are minimized in a low midship position. IMO, tri- and catamarans seem to excel in being able to move in all three axes in rough waters. The frequently mentioned "axes of evil?" :p Some ships are stabilized, or are built to be more stable; others, such as round-bottom hulled icebreakers, can be great in ice, and real pigs in rough waters.

I am fortunate - though I often find myself on small boats and sometimes in pretty rough seas (even the crew got sick on a night crossing between BVI and Saba not long ago,) my seasickness bouts generally last all of five minutes (during which I experience, shall we say, sudden projectile expulsion of stomach contents?) and seems to come during certain motions that I am more susceptible to (rough seas on a catamaran or trimaran, or heavy rolling when I was on a flying bridge of a dive boat off Midway Island.) Your more susceptible moments may well vary from mine.

What works: as others have stated, a lower deck cabin amidships is the best situation, though these cabins may be more basic than higher ones. Visualize the lowest mid-point in a boat and you will see that it is at the center of all three axes of motion.

For many, ginger (http://scuba-doc.com/moresea.htm)(capsules are generally recommended, but it seems to work in nearly any state, e.g. preserved or ginger candy.) I was turned on to ginger by Ronn Storro-Patterson of Biological Journeys when we were whale watching and dealing with a notorious rough little piece of water near San Francisco referred to as "the Potato Patch." No side effects, unless you do not like the taste of ginger.

Some may use wrist bands (the original and presumably best are Sea-Bands brand) that when properly worn press a half-dome shaped button into the acupressure point for motion sickness. Many claim they work, some claim they have no effect on them. No side effects, of course, unless you get a pair that is too small and they act as tourniquets. ;) At ~$9.95 a pair, they are well worth a try, IMO, and they are widely available at drugstores, Target, online, etc.

Transderm-Scōp® (http://www.transdermscop.com/) is now back on the market, and offers a prescription transdermal patch with long-release (can last up to three days) scopolamine.

Meclizine (http://www.drugs.com/meclizine.html)(Dramamine II, Bonine, Antivert,) is basically an anti-histaminic over the counter drug that is often dispensed on cruise ships to prevent mal de mer (seasickness, motion sickness.) This works pretty well for Lady JDiver, and Meclizine can be had at ridiculously low prices bought in a generic 100 tablet jar at your local discount drugstore.

Dramamine (http://www.drugs.com/mtm/dramamine.html)(Dimenhydrinate) is sold as Dramamine, Gravol and Vertirosan, and is also an OTC product used to control / prevent seasickness.

All drugs have side effects, and some can make you drowsy. Read carefully before you select, try them before relying on solely one for a remote trip, and be aware this is not medical advice...

Are there still flights sold to cross / fly by the Arctic regions?

Well, that's the polar opposite, but I believe LTU still does Arctic / transpolar charters on occasion.

Are there still flights sold to cross / fly by the Arctic regions?

birdstrike, I'm sure by now you have found Endor's series of excellent reports, but if not, check them out here (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=545041).

I've been here how many years? and never realized there was an Antarctica forum.

I'm booked on a Lindblad trip for December '08, just in case anyone else happens to be planning that far ahead.

Cheers,

birdstrike

birdstrike, I'm sure by now you have found Endor's series of excellent reports, but if not, check them out here (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=545041).

I did, and excellent reports they are. ^

I'm very excited about the upcoming year!

Thank you for the summary of motion-sickness medications. ms. birdstrike and myself do fairly well on dive boats, but the Drake may turn out to be a different story. :cool:

I had no idea getting to Antarctica was such a hassle. Reading all the stories of people getting tossed around their cabins doesn't sound like fun. For me, the discovery channel will be as close to Antarctica as I'll ever get.:rolleyes:

Are there still flights sold to cross / fly by the Arctic regions?

http://www.hideawayholidays.com.au/antarct.html