At Sea – July 24, 2006
Well, we left this morning about 0600 on our way to Natal. We will be out to sea over 24 hours so the Captain has assigned watches to Grant and Will. Grant will stand watch 1000 to 1400 and then 2200 to 0200 and Will stand watch 1400 to 1800 and then 0200 to 0600. Don’t worry—another crew member will be with them. What actually happened was that Grant stayed with Will during his daytime watch and then totally did not get up for his late watch. Will woke up for his late watch.
The seas were going to be about 5 to 6 feet. That’s not really rough but you have to get used to it. And we better get used to it since the captain told us that it will be rougher as we go around the eastern-most part of Brazil and he was correct about that.
Will wanted to see if he would get seasick if he didn’t take any medication. Lunch did not appeal to him and then he took a Bonine and a Scopolamine patch. The medications made him drowsy but he didn’t throw up and felt a bit better but it was clear that he wanted to get to land as soon as possible. He slept most of the day and the clearest evidence of how he felt was that he couldn’t eat the pasta with pesto sauce that night, which is one of his favorite meals. Grant didn’t get seasick but felt a little queasy. He took Bonine after lunch, ate the pasta, and went to bed early after watching movies. I saw no point in taking a chance so I put on a Scopolamine patch the night before—does make you drowsy and a bit listless but no stomach problems. The truth is with the boat moving as it does, whether you are seasick or not, food doesn’t really appeal to you. Phil, of course, didn’t get seasick and wasn’t affected by the boat’s motion at all. So off we go!