The issues surrounding taking greenies new to the off shore, off shore.

[Birdsnest]

I have wanted to post these thoughts on some other threads but they were not totally related so I always held back. But this is related to some recent threads.

I love fishing off shore. And I really like to share the experience with others but over the years I find myself doing it less and less for I find that 1 of 3 things usually happens:

1. The guest gets sea sick and we have to go back to the beach.
2. The guests are guests so they can't really do anything that is part of the trip, ie cleaning fish, washing the boat. I feel like I am doing a free charter.
3. Gear gets lost or gets broken and I am left forking the bill.

Its nice if the guest is a friend of a fishing buddy for he will be there to help everything but the real catch for me is sea sickness. I understand that it happens but I have come to find over the years that people will just lie to get out on a boat and they also just dont know if they do or dont.
I feel like I have kinda become a jerk about this issue for over the last 8 or so years I now make an issue of it with people. These days I am basically telling people that if they get sick we are not coming back(though we always do) and that if we do they have to pay the 30 -40$ for the 14 miles of travel. I am blessed with the ability to fish off shore but I do not get to do it whenever I want so it is my time that I value. I find that the more upfront I am about the issues the less people are willing to go which is good and bad I guess.
It amazes me how people can get sick on the flattest day of the year. I took a family out, close friends of mine with their 2 young boys of the flattest day I ever saw and 3 out of 4 got sick before be got out. I only had time to put the one side down where we instantly snapped off a good halibut and landed a high teener spring before we had to leave due to sea sickness. I have since fished with the father of that group a few times and he is getting good at keeping his lunch in.
Another time I took a friend of a friends father and son out. I was assured that nobody would get sick. I watch for the symptoms:

yawning
putting there face in the wind looking off in the distance
not participating in conversation
changing positions in the boat
denial

Anyway, I am watching the father of these two and I know something is up. We ask him how he is and he says he is fine but I know something is up. we get out there and I put one side down and we fish for a minute with one side down. My buddy asks me if we are going to put the other side down I shake my head slightly "no we are not" because I am pretty sure we are leaving very soon. Sure enough the violent vomiting erupts but it really bad. This man passes out and also makes a mess in his pants. We carry him to the hospital. They say they can do nothing for him.

I always feel bad for these folks who fall victim to sea sickness and I know its not their falt. Some know they get sick and some don't know. The question is what can I do to make it work out for everyone on the boat. What can I do before we leave to best make sure it has the least chance of happening?

This brings me to to point that a guided boat is a beautiful thing because when a guide boat is hired it is there for the customer. The guide boat will gladly go back to the beach for their clients. Most guide boats will do what ever the clients wish.(except run the boat on a plane for 4 hours) This is perfect for the newbee.

Whats the point of this post?

1. I guess I am looking for ideas on how to pre plan/ canvas guests so that the trip works out.
2. This post is just a rant.
3. I hope that maybe a newbee will read this and see that when going on a boat off shore there is alot more to it than just showing up and paying for your portion of the gas.

I think its just one of those things in life. It iz what it izzzzzz.

I am lucky to be able to share the experience and if I continue to share I have to accept the risks involved. The only exception is the tuna trip. I will continue to be very picky about individuals that come on that trip. The one good thing about those trips is the weather is usually perfect but sometimes there can be a slight chop that makes the boat really rocky even tho it is very nice out.

 

[Fish Assassin]

This can be a problem with any weekend warrior or unexperienced person you might take out on the water. I hate dealing with rookies and want to be fisherman. Being why I quit guiding and stopped taking out newbies. They can practice on someone else's time on the water not mine.

 

[Nakoda boater]

Ask guest to buy Transderm Scōp® and apply before departure..
No Scop no fish.

 

[medherring]

I tell any new guest that they should prepare themselves with a motion sickness remedy of their choice. I point out that I am not a pharmacist but offer suggestions for both medical and non medical options and they can talk to the local pharmacist for what will meet their needs. Also make them take something the night before and in the morning. Lastly, alcohol. You'd be amazed what a beer on the ride out will do for some guests.

 

[Captain PartyMarty]

I will show up with my boat scrubbing brush, fillet Knife, and wallet! You just provide the time and place

 

[jeffywestcoast]

I have only been offshore a few times , never been sick once, stating that i have been sick on the ECVI from having a few beers and then inhaling some twostroke smoke, i am a trooper,and would never expect anyone to turn the boat around unless conditions were very bad in which case most likely the captain would be turning around anyways. being prepared is the key i think as alot of noobs do not know what to expect , ei: big swells n chop and of course the onset of motion sickness.'you know what they say.."IF you **** like a pup..you can't run with the pack"..

 

[spring fever]

I carry an up to date bottle of meclizine and 100mg gravol - insist that my guests take one or the other before we leave-I help it along by taking one myself every morning before we leave. There are a few guys I don't insist because I have never seen them have problems. I am not one of them. LOL First thing I do when I get out of the bunk is I take one-never been a problem but I admit it and I know-9 times out of 10 I'll be ok. Some guys just don't have any clue what they can be in for and they think we exaggerate how rough we can sometimes fish in. When you travel from a big distance and the only fish are off-shore a sea sick partner is not an option!!!!

 

[seadna]

Offshore = 14 miles and $30-40 to return? I think of it as 50-60 miles and at 2MPG that's 25-30 gals and $100-$125!

But more to your point, I tell everyone who doesn't have appropriate boating experience that not only should they Bonine, they should take one the night before and one as soon as they get up. For motion sickness drugs to work, they really need to build up in the blood stream and it helps to get an earlier start on things.

On the other side of the rant, I think it's important to remember how much joy one can get from introducing a newbie to fishing. I've caught a good number of fish in my life and I certainly love to fish. However, I get more joy out of getting someone into their first salmon or their first tuna than I do by catching another one myself. To me, the possibility that someone may get sick and shorten my trip down is a small price to pay relative to the pleasure I get from seeing the face of someone who catches their first large chinook or first salmon or first halibut.

 

[leftcoast]

I have fished my whole life on the ECVI never been sick and fished in all type of weather. I figured I don't get sea sick. About 10yrs ago I made my first trip to the WCVI Winter Harbour. I was fine trolling inside, then we went offshore for Hali worst feeling ever seasick. My buddies wouldn't take me in they even handed me a rod and said start jigging I was puking with the wind blowing it back in my face it was gross and then I hooked a hali reeled it in while puking it was a great memory. I have been offshore a lot since then and now take gravol every morning like spring fever does and have never been sea sick again.

My point is if you fish ECVI and have never been sea sick chances are you will get sea sick on the west coast it's a whole new game out there and I love it!

 

[RossP]

I never knew that it was such a problem. Back in my younger, much younger days I worked on the MV Laurier and the MV Surge Rock, both were Fisheries patrol vessels. I was a bilge rat, an oiler on the Laurier and an Engineer on the Surge Rock. We spent many a day bobbing off the wcvi and in Hecate Straits.
Since then I have spent many days fishing off the wcvi, Mexico, Florida and a few other places. Both he wife and myself have never been sea sick, I guess we are lucky. I have seen those that get a little green on a floating dock and I could never understand why they would want to go out on a boat. I know I would be choked if I ran offshore just to have to turn back because someone was sick.

 

[jeffywestcoast]

think too it depends where about's on the ECVI you fish too, i remember as a small boy fishing every night possible with with my dad, but i do remember being in some very large swells around the Campbell river area and not getting seasick, but one good blast of twostroke exhaust inhaled is enough to make anyone toss their cookies..fished 8 hours last year off Ukie and never even remotely felt sick.

 

[Degree of Freedom]

simple rule on my boat...prepare yourself with seasickness medication and appropriate diet/hydration...if you "never get seasick" and choose to be too macho to prepare yourself, you will get laughed at and will suffer until the rest of us are ready to return to the dock. I don't give a #$% if you have a horrible experience and never come back, that's probably just as well! This rule obviously wouldn't apply to someone like one of my children, my wife or a close relative. We headed out to South Bank last summer with my 4 year old still down below in his bunk, 15 minutes after we got there he hurled in his bed and we immediately headed in...I don't want him to have any bad experiences with fishing.
I've been on the opposite end of this...I have had a couple horrible 'seasickness' incidents after consuming too much alcohol the night before...as much as I wanted to die I never dreamed of returning to the dock early. Worst day of my life I lay curled up on the bow of Osama's Campion through two tides anchored off Cape Beale puking my guts out...I may have not contributed to the day's fishing but I sure a #$% didn't expect them to take mercy on me!

 

[Rum Buddies]

not much you can do, unless someone has been offshore they just don't know how their body will react. Many can fish inshore but once they're out in the open with less points on the horizon and a swell they start barfing.

Usually once their sick its too late but just the act of taking something for the sickness will help them improve. Another good trick is to have them drive the boat, it forces them to focus on the horizon not just stare at the floor. And don't let them lay down in the cuddy, sure fire way to kick off sea sickness. I used to tell guests to keep an eye on the mountains or horizon while we head out, instead of looking down or fiddling with their phones.

 

[High Velocity]

While living in the Yukon, I fished in Haines, Alaska a lot. Propably +/- 100 days. No matter how big the waves and whitecaps, I never felt even the slightest bit ill. I honestly thought I was immune to sea sickness. In Aug./2011, I took my first trip to WCVI with my wife's cousin in his Wellcraft 290 Coastal. Nice big, stable boat. Gonna be a great day. We headed out of Nootka Sound towards the highway and I got to experience HUGE swells for the first time in my life. Although I didn't vomit, I have never felt that ill on the water in my life. Lesson learned. I make sure to take the proper meds now and subsequent trips have been great.


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[Business Time]

simple rule on my boat...prepare yourself with seasickness medication and appropriate diet/hydration...if you "never get seasick" and choose to be too macho to prepare yourself, you will get laughed at and will suffer until the rest of us are ready to return to the dock. I don't give a #$% if you have a horrible experience and never come back, that's probably just as well! This rule obviously wouldn't apply to someone like one of my children, my wife or a close relative. We headed out to South Bank last summer with my 4 year old still down below in his bunk, 15 minutes after we got there he hurled in his bed and we immediately headed in...I don't want him to have any bad experiences with fishing.
I've been on the opposite end of this...I have had a couple horrible 'seasickness' incidents after consuming too much alcohol the night before...as much as I wanted to die I never dreamed of returning to the dock early. Worst day of my life I lay curled up on the bow of Osama's Campion through two tides anchored off Cape Beale puking my guts out...I may have not contributed to the day's fishing but I sure a #$% didn't expect them to take mercy on me!

LMFAO!!! I remember that day well. That's the only time I've puked but got a Hali for my troubles.... Hahaha