i’ve always had seasickness problems if i’m out in choppy waters. this has always conflicted dearly with my love of the ocean and fishing. during the summer when eric and i fish every weekend, my sealegs usually get strong enough, but since we’ve both been pretty busy this summer, and only fishing once a month, i’ve been trying the different methods to prevent seasickness.

bonine and dramamine (even their “less drowsy” versions) have always done a good job at keeping me from losing my lunch, but make me so damn drowsy that it makes fishing less enjoyable and ruins the rest of my day because i’m just too damn tired to do anything. in preparation for a catalina fishing trip this weekend, i saw my doctor and got a prescription for scopolamine. A small patch that fits behind your ear, “scope” slowly releases a chemical into your skin that helps prevent the inner ear from thinking you’re off balance. you can leave it on for as long as 3 days at a time, and the best part is… no drowsiness! today i was out on the water for 11 hours and the only side effect that i experienced was dry mouth, and like eric said: “that’s why they invented beer.” for 11 hours, in the galley, on the deck and sleeping in random places, i didn’t get a hint of seasickness and now that i’m back on dry land, i’m feeling just fine, not groggy and drowsy like otc seasickness remedies.

so yeh, if you’re going on a fishing charter, whale watching expedition, cruise, or any other place where you get seasick/carsick/airsick, ask your doc about scopolamine. this is definitely going to increase the amount of places that i can fish without having to worry about getting sick.