Seasickness remedies

Following is an unusual quote by a west coast woman who became a commercial fisherman over half a century ago and was quoted in a Salty Tales article on Facebook:

“An old salt after her first trip out, Sarah recalls the night a storm tossed their 56-foot boat around ‘like a surfboard riding the waves.’ She admits, however, her first two hours at sea were not nearly as exciting. ‘I had to talk myself out of being seasick.’ she said. ‘I’d never been on a boat before. We don’t have too many fishing boats in Ohio. After a while, I learned that the trick is to make your body a part of the boat and move with it, not against it.’

That seasickness solution was as good as any a half century ago as there were no medications available when I was a kid growing up on Long Island. I got sick on my first two trips and was afraid I’d never be able to pursue my sport at sea. The only solution I could think of was not eating at all. That’s exactly what I did — not eating any breakfast, and not touching my sandwich until the boat was inside Jones Inlet that afternoon. By then I didn’t know if my stomach pains were from hunger or the sickness I’d avoided. I then started taking a chance on dry toast in the morning before taking any other risks,

I couldn’t have imagined then that a couple of decades later I’d be the only officer eating lunch in the wardroom of a rocking and rolling destroyer in 20-foot hurricane-driven seas off Bermuda! Fortunately, there are medications now that can solve the seasickness problem without going through what I had to endure before developing an “iron” stomach.

That won’t be a problem for anglers fishing for stripers in Raritan Bay, where the usual lack of swell prevents seasickness. If the forecast holds, even the ocean may be easy on the stomach as only 10-15-knot southwest winds are predicted for Thursday. The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported good blackfishing Tuesday after the dogfish backed off a bit.

Tony Arcabascio sent this photo of Gen Wong using his Tony Maja Flutter Spoons to catch those bay stripers.