The Red Sea is calm most days, but a windy one catches people out. What works, and what does not.
Most Red Sea days are flat. But the wind here picks up through the afternoon and rises sharply from about May, and a boat sitting at anchor on a reef in a chop moves in exactly the way that makes people ill.
Before you sail
Take any medication the night before as well as an hour before boarding — most tablets need time to work and are close to useless once you already feel unwell. Eat something plain: an empty stomach is worse than a full one, and greasy is worse than either. Skip the alcohol the night before, which matters more than people expect.
On the water
Stay on deck, in the middle of the boat, and look at the horizon or the coastline — anything fixed and far away. Do not go below to lie down, do not read, and do not scroll your phone, all of which make it worse by feeding your eyes and inner ear different stories. Cold water on the wrists and the back of the neck helps more than it should.
But the wind here picks up through the afternoon and rises sharply from about May, and a boat sitting at anchor on a reef in a chop moves in exactly the way that makes people ill.
If it does start, get in the sea. Snorkelling almost always stops it, because in the water your body and your inner ear agree about what is happening again. It is the single most effective remedy on a snorkelling boat and the least intuitive.
