I spent three decades in healthcare before I got my skipper’s license. When guests worry about seasickness, I take that seriously — and I also know exactly how to address it. Here's what I tell every prospective crew member, straight from both sides of my experience.

Let's address the elephant in the saloon.

It's the question nearly every new guest has — and the one they're often too polite to ask directly. Am I going to be miserable? It's a fair concern. Maybe you've been seasick on a ferry, a fishing boat, or a cruise ship. Maybe your spouse has. Maybe you're not sure but you'd rather not find out mid-vacation.

Good news: a catamaran is an entirely different animal. And as both a physician and your captain, I'm in an unusual position to tell you exactly why — and exactly what we do to make sure everyone has the time of their lives.

"I was absolutely certain I would be sick the whole trip. I'd been seasick before and have nearly swore off boats entirely. But on the Irish Wake, I had the best week of my life. The cat barely moved."

— Past Guest, USVI Charter Guest

The Science

Why catamarans are genuinely different

Seasickness is caused primarily by rolling motion — the side-to-side movement that comes from waves striking the hull and causing the boat to rock. Monohull sailboats, with their single narrow hull and ballasted keel, are designed to roll and recover. It's an elegant engineering solution — but it's the primary reason people feel ill.

A catamaran doesn't work that way. Two wide hulls create a dramatically more stable platform. The boat moves with the water rather than fighting against it. There is motion — we're on the sea, after all — but it tends to be a gentle fore-and-aft pitch rather than side-to-side rolling. Most people who've been sick on other vessels are genuinely surprised by the difference.

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The Routes We Sail

The BVIs, USVIs, Croatia, Greek islands, French Polynesia, and Thailand all involve largely protected waters. (That’s one of the main reasons we’re going there!) We're not crossing oceans. We're hopping between islands in relatively calm, predictable conditions.

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We Choose Our Days

We're not a ferry on a fixed schedule. If conditions are rough, we anchor somewhere beautiful and go snorkeling or head to the beach instead. That flexibility changes everything.

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Anchorages at Night

We typically anchor or moor in protected bays every evening. You sleep on still water. It's like being at a very picturesque campsite. Will there be the occasional jerk who plows through the mooring field at high speed rocking everybody? Yes. Does that happen often? A few times a trip…but it only lasts a minute or so.

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Short Passages

Most of our day passages are 2–4 hours. Even on rougher days, the discomfort is brief — and we have good options to manage it.

Meds

We keep a well-stocked medical kit aboard, and seasickness prevention is taken seriously. But I recommend that you talk to YOUR PHYSICIAN departing. Here are some specific preventions and treatments you may want to discuss:

Scopolamine Patch (Prescription Only)
Very effective for seasickness symptom prevention, but some patients have contraindications or reactions. Apply patch at least 4 hours before boarding…but optimally the evening before. Be EXTREMELY careful handling the patch…you do not want to touch it then touch your eye…that can be a disaster! It is safest to use gloves when applying.

Meclizine (Bonine) (OTC)
Quite effective for patients with mild susceptibility to seasickness or for patients who are unsure. It is generally non-drowsy and available at any pharmacy.

Dramamine (OTC)
May be best for short passages as needed 30 min before casting off. More sedating than Meclizine.

Ginger (as capsules, chews or hard candy) (OTC)
Good for mild symptoms or prevention 30 minutes before or as needed. Legitimately evidence-based. Good complement to medications or on its own.

Acupressure Bands (OTC)
Good for people with mild susceptibility. Some people swear by them. Worth trying. (We keep some on board.)

Tim's Recommendation

If you have any history of motion sickness, talk to your doctor about getting a Scopolamine prescription before you travel. Put it on the night before your first passage. Between the medication and the catamaran's stability, the odds of you having any significant issues are very low. And if you do feel off, we have options — including anchoring somewhere beautiful while you get your sea legs.

Practical Tips

What to do (and not do) underway

• Stay up on deck with the horizon in view (our beanbag chairs in the forward cockpit are a great spot for this)! The brain reconciles conflicting signals faster when you can see the motion

• Stay hydrated. Dehydration makes everything worse.

• Eat light before passages — an empty stomach and a full stomach are both worse than a light snack

• Avoid reading or staring at screens, especially below deck

• If you feel off, come up to the cockpit, deck or sun lounge. Fresh air and horizon-watching (and dolphin-spotting) are underrated medicine

• Sleep is your friend. A nap in the forward cockpit can reset things entirely

• Tell us. We will not judge you, we will help you. We've seen it, we know what to do.

The Final Word

We’ve done quite a few trips now with lots of friends, many with at least some up-front concerns about seasickness. And once on a single passage, we had some unexpectedly rough seas between islands…and that caused two people to get a little green, but only for about an hour or so before we were able to duck into some calm water and moor up. At the end of our trips, we have never had a guest walk away complaining about seasickness….and everyone has said they would definitely go again.