I need some advice. Kirby finally offered me a position offshore. I’ve been waiting on this for two years. The opportunity is finally here and now I’m not so sure I want to take it. Two years ago there wouldn’t have been any hesitation at all but now I was planning on going to the wheel house inland. I have to give him an answer on Monday. What everything boils down to is that I’m scared of being sea sick. I need some advice. I know there is over the counter stuff that helps. I gave up on going offshore a while ago and just when I was forgetting about it and moving on the door opens. I need some career advice from my people. Thanks everybody for any kind of insight. This is a hard decision.
Take the job. Go to sea. If you cant handle it, then at least you will know. This is an opportunity which you may regret not taking later. You may possibly thrive, but if you dont take the chance you will never know.
Being sea sick will go away with time I think. If you truly enjoy your job out there and keep moving and doing stuff you’ll be fine. My first hitch I threw up twice. After that I was fine. I think sea sickness is 99% mental, just tell and BELIEVE in yourself that you WONT be sick!
ATB? Harbor boat? On the east coast they do very little wire work now. And what wire work they do they go weatherbound in any real bad Wx, if you’re out in any shit weather it won’t be for long and usually not all that bad…maybe 6’-8’ once in a while.
They said some atb’s and some wire boats. He said that Id be on the west coast.
Sea sickness is a real physical malady caused from something not being right with the inner ear. I suffered severe sea sickness for years. As the boats got larger the less I got sea sick. However I still have 5 or 6 boxes of daytime dramamine(or walmart equivilant) in my sea bag. I came from brown water late in my career and am glad I did. If you truely want to make a career on the water, bluewater/offshore is the only way to go.
good luck
I’ll agree sea-sickness isn’t a made up mental thing. Find what works for you with some trial and error. Personally I find that Bonine works well enough but you have to take it way in advance of getting underway or encountering rough seas. Read up on the stuff as there are some good articles. Personally Dramamine makes me sleep, as do patches, which also give me some crazy haunting dreams.
Go for it if the offer is there. You’ll do better in the long run, even if you go back inland at some point.
I spend 100 plus days offshore for years every year,I got severely seasick and it’s mental, I promise. You gotta just get through it, and keep your mind on your job. Don’t use the medicne either. That doesn’t help, just work through it. And it will go away I assure you! Take the job
Also as to the mental part, people who true lot have seasickness get sick in cars, planes and anything with real motion. It’s motion sickness and 99 percent of people who claim to get seasick don’t really have it they just get it in their head and that causes them to get sick. It’s beatable
Take some bonine or get the patch. You’ll be fine.
Don’t be ashamed of seasickness. Anyone can get it. I have the version that makes you drowsy rather than nauseated (yes, it’s a thing). But I have had both types.
You will adapt and learn workarounds.
Bonine is good but I would caution you to try it at home first to gauge the effects. It’s supposed to be non-drowsy but it damn near knocked me out the first time.
Ginger really helps, I hear. I’m stopping by an Asian grocery today to pick up some ginger candy. A few ABs I know swear by ginger.
I want to thank everyone for the replies and the advice. Sounds like I’m gonna go for it. I don’t want to regret anything later in life. I hope I like it out there. One thing that sucks is that I’m on a really good boat with a good crew and we’re like family on there and it’s comfortable. But hey, I guess that’s life.
if you are working inland I would stay there. you will almost always have phone service ,not have to worry about seasickness and wheelhouse positions pay close to what you would make working offshore. I have been working offshore for a long time and I wish I would have stayed inland.
So their giving me an option now. The guy I’m talking to says that I can go east coast now. East coast atb or west coast wire boat. East coast is union and west coast is not. West coast pay is a little bit higher pay for tankerman. I’ve wanted to be on atb’s for a while now but i was psyched up for west coast after he initially called me because he said that’s all they had. Now there are positions open in both places. What are some of the pros and cons? Im getting too many options. Lol he said that he wanted me to decide and if i didn’t then he would just put me anywhere. Any advice would be appreciated.
I would go for the East Coast ATB. You will have a chance to (hopefully) learn more on the ATB rather than on a Wire Boat. Most Sea Going Barges are Un-Manned while at sea on the wire. On the ATB you will be able to spend more time on the barge.
Plus why beat yourself up on a wireboat these days when you don’t have to anymore? That’s why we were handed down ATB’s from on high. Union or no union, east coast ATB trumps west coast wire boat any day. Of course this is all a matter of personal preference, but to me the choice is clear.
Appreciate it guys. I’ve been waiting on this for years and the time has finally come. Paddy, thanks for all your help over the years. It’s always nerve racking making a change. Especially when I’m so comfortable where I’m at. 21 21 will be a dream. All’s looking good. Thanks everyone for being so badass!