When paleness slowly creeps into the face of a fellow sailor in the wind and waves, it usually doesn't take long until the first "feed the fish". Even sailors who otherwise have no problem with seasickness often remember a trip that made them at least a little queasy. Nobody has to be ashamed of it. Because seasickness is a reaction of the human body to incompatible sensory impressions. This could be the rigid cabin ceiling and rocking movements due to heavy seas. Nausea at sea is one of the motion sicknesses (kinetoses). In response to the unfamiliar impressions, the balance organ in the inner ear releases various stress hormones.
The causes of seasickness or travel sickness in general are not yet fully understood. The prevailing opinion is that contradicting information from the sense organs is the trigger. If the inner ear as an organ of equilibrium and the mechanoreceptors in the muscles and joints report movement to the brain, but the eye does not perceive them, something below deck. Or on deck, when the eyes fixate on things that don't seem to move, such as the cockpit floor.
These statistics were compiled by Yachting World magazine
The manifestation of seasickness is very different, it ranges from mild nausea to complete self-abandonment and the desire to commit suicide. But the latter is rare. Of the people affected at the ARC, only about 16 percent were no longer able to go on guard and had to vomit all the time, the rest remained operational, despite occasional handing over (see graphic). Mostly, however, the seasickness is temporary, the body gets used to the circumstances. Only 3 percent of those affected by the ARC did not recover, 14 percent needed three or more days, with the remainder the nausea was overcome after two days to a few hours.