First time out in Lake MI tonight

[Sweater Cows!]

A friend took us out to go fishing. The kid held out for about 1.5 hrs then puked three times, I made it about half an hour longer than her and puked once.
She never wants to go in the big lake again. DH  was fine up until the point he assisted her while I was laying down. Then once I got up and took my turn at the edge of the boat it was enough for him and he started getting a bit woozy. I must say I haven't had a hangover in years but that is what it fells like to have sea sickness.

The friend with the boat said it was his first time with that boat out of the PM lake into big lake and that the boat itself sucked compared to some as far as rolling and movement.

I have wanted a sail boat for a while but he said those are even more roll-poley. Not so sure I want one anymore. Still I feel a bit 'off'. (No we didn't take any dramamine)

Well, prolly TMI, but it gets us off politics.

[XLFD]

I had been out on the lake a dozen times in different sized boats, alone and with others, before I experienced seasickness (without hurling) one stormy late spring day on the SS Badger in the year 2000. The three other members in my party lost their breakfast, and a couple of those lost the previous nights dinner as well.

Take heart, Sheila, that most days on the lake won't be so bad, and that your system, and your family's, may eventually adapt to the environment.

[AQUAMAN]

The first thing to consider is your equilibrium quality. Do you get sick easily on carnival rides or buses? If not, then you could be a victim of going out on too small a boat and/or a less than very calm day. Personally, I will not take any minor child on my boat if I feel it could be too rough, and ruin their future vision of fun fishing on Lake Michigan, even if the parents persist. Calm day means gentle and less than 2' in size. Usually, I have had great luck with that formula. Plus my boat is bigger than most, and has a wide and stable platform to keep from rolling and pitching hard. Next time try to get a very calm day, and go out on a 30' or bigger boat. If you can talk her into it, she may just have a big change of heart. Or, go to the dramamine or wrist bracelets that are both RX cures. I guarantee one thing, after she catches that first big salmon, her heart will be opened and thankful for the experience.

[Mary A.]

I did okay on the badger but have never been out on a big lake in a small boat. Do the dramamine and wrist bracelets really work? Should you take the meds in advance of boarding the boat as a precautionary measure?

[Sweater Cows!]

AQ, I think it was 2-3' that day (tuesday). Maybe even 4'-at least they looked that way to me.

I looked at your boat AQ after we got back into the marina, it does look more comfortable than the one we were on, the one we were on seems a bit top heavy and the capt said it was underpowered even though it has 2 350's.

He had only had it out in PM until the day we went out and I am a little disappointed he let us newbies go out in that type of waves esp. since he hadn't had it out there himself yet(I didn't find that out until we were out there a while).

I believe the boat we were on had a 10' beam and is 28' and a few inches long.

And had I been paying attention to the lake(instead of looking at PM) I wouldn't have taken her or myself out that night. Once we got out there I couldn't ask everyone to turn back even though I really wanted to as I was scared sh1tless and so was the kid(she's spent plenty of days out on Hamlin lk and was expecting that type of experience).

She needed a bigger life jacket too, it scared her because I think she knew right away that her preserver was a bit small for the big lake. It does fine for her swimming/tubing in hamlin or ford lk though and it's a kids type ski jacket. She is a decent if not overconfident swimmer but I think she freaked a bit once we got out there past the lighthouse realizing that the inland lakes are a whole different experience. Honestly her or I had no idea what we were getting ourselves into or I would not have gone out.

I would have preferred her to have one with the head support. The capt. said he had kids preservers on board but I went and got hers from my sis anyway. Once we passed out of the harbor and started rolling around it dawned on me that she is too big for hers and his kids ones as she isn't 'kid' sized anymore she is about 4 inches and 30lbs smaller than me(I'm 5 foot). and her shoulders are to small for the adult small size ski jacket that I had brought for her also from my sis's boat as that could have slipped over her head. The one she had on was rated to 90lbs and she is at 105. Neither had a between the leg strap either.

I think that fear was probably half the problem with both of us being sick. I am happy nothing went wrong, but now that I know what the big lake is like we won't be out there again until we have the proper gear. We are very lucky nothing went wrong.

I used to have to get the transderm-scope patches that go behind the ear for car rides until I was a teen, and could never sit in the back seat of a car for my youth either. The scrambler at the carnival can get me a pinch dizzy but I have never been sick from a carnival ride and the school bus trips with the kid don't bother me but I always sit from the middle or toward the front.

The kid has never been car sick or anything so I didn't think the boat would bother her. Of course I wasn't aware that it would be that rough either.

Overall it was a poor experience for both of us. I am a bit angry with myself for that as I usually have decent judgment about things and I feel responsible for putting her in a not only miserable but also what I fell was a dangerous situation that I had no control over correcting. Not that I am qualified to make that call but it didn't feel right to her or I once we got out

[Mary A.]

Sheila, I'm happy you and your daughter came out of this experience ok, and I appreciate you sharing your experience. I've always felt reluctant to go out on a boat on a Great Lake, even in an adequate-sized vessel, and your warning to have the right life jacket is priceless. At my age, I think I'll stick to watching the sunsets and let other people enjoy the boating.

[AQUAMAN]

Sheila, the ultimate legal and moral responsibility for any passengers aboard a boat is the owner/captain in charge. By making a hasty or flawed decision to go out on the lake is theirs, not yours. You did however have the option to request and/or insist on returning to port, and that is something to keep in mind in the future. A 28' boat is usually plenty big for our Lake Michigan in fair weather, many go out in lesser craft. The Big Pond is something to be very respectful of, irregardless of size of vessel, experience, or desires on any given day. It's always a good idea to look at the lake from shore if it's breezy or stormy looking. If you see whitecaps, whitewater, delay to another day. If you see tranquility and calm, you should be good to go. All VHF marine radios have a weather channel, check it too beforehand and see what NOAA has to say about our area in advance. In conclusion, I hope you and your daughter return to the lake again with a new perspective, and not fear. This lake can be your best time on earth, or your worst nitemare, depending on mother nature's actions.