Obviously I had some work to do to prepare myself for a row across the Atlantic. Motion sickness, something I thought I had eliminated with my years of flight testing, needed to be solved. What was I to do? There was no way I would allow myself to become a useless human log, becoming a liability and non-contributor in a row that would last a month or more across the Atlantic. I had “Twinkie tested” myself and failed. This is when a coach replaces a suspect rower in a boat with a Twinkie, resting it on the seat, and the remaining crew manages to row faster. It’s on par with-hypothetically-somebody telling you you’re worthless or your first rejection by a girl in grade school….(never happened….honest)….truly one of the most humbling and humiliating experiences.
The first thing I did when I got back to Seattle was talk to my mom. What was the most appropriate way to solve this problem? Before she gave suggestions, she naturally began by telling a story about my one day at the Lynden, Washington Fair. There was a ride called the Gravitron, a large carousel wheel-like apparatus that plastered the rider to the padded back. I thought, “This is what Astronauts do! I can do it.” During the ride back home, still dizzy, pulling into the driveway, I told her I was going to throw up. She slammed on the brakes, leaped out of the car, ran around the back, opened the back seat door, and simultaneously grabbed me, yanking me outward, while yelling “Don’t you dare throw up in my car!” Unfortunately, I was still in the seatbelt. All she managed to do was watch in horror as I threw up all over the inside of the car, as she violently struggled to pull me outside.
After the amusing and humiliating story that had no purpose but to remind me of my innate frailty, she suggested these remedies; a motion sickness patch, ginger, ginger ale, herbal supplements from her naturopathic physician on Bainbridge Island, Dramamine pills, and not rowing (that was the first suggestion). I also purchased some PSI bands from REI in an attempt to use pressure point therapy. And so, in preparation of our most recent attempted row up to Victoria from Tacoma, I put together a package of these items.