I Am Woman... Hear Me Roar!
More like, "I am fisherwoman.... hear me barf!".
fishing boats
my first wee fishy
Half Moon BayOne of the things K really wanted to do this trip was to go fishing. He had never been ocean fishing, so I booked us a trip out of Half Moon Bay, which we went on today. This morning was full of promise as we got lost, stopped in Safeway in Half Moon Bay for directions, and finally arrived at the docks. As we were picking up our necessary supplies and paying for the trip, the lady remarked three times that "You are a cool mom for taking your son fishing - I never see that happen". I took that as a compliment, not a warning.
We were directed to our boat, which already had at least 20 men with their poles and tackle ready to go. I was the only woman on the boat, besides the first mate, Heather, who smoked a cigarette while getting us organized and reviewing the procedures. As we headed out of the bay, I had "butterfly" feeling in my tummy, which quickly turned to nausea as soon as we headed out to the wonderfully choppy ocean. I hung my head in shame as I tried to figure out why this would be the first time I've been weak enough to get motion sickness, while trying hide my sickness in the bathroom of the boat. Soon, all was well enough to attempt to fish over the side, which K and I did for a little bit - I even caught my first little bitty fish, and K caught two! Pretty soon, it was clear that we were not going to be the steadfast seafaring fishermen that I had envisioned on our early drive to the bay. K informed me that he felt sick right about the time my stomach was telling me again that I was sick. We both experimented with what to do to make things a little better. I learned a few lessons - first, never go into the cabin of the boat if you're feeling nauseous; second, try to crouch down low to keep your center of gravity as low as possible and to minimize what you're able to see; and third, don't watch the other people hurling (of which there were plenty) so as not to set off a chain of barfing, the likes of which you haven't seen since the infamous pie-eating contest scene in "Stand By Me".
I recovered enough to catch 11 fish that were "keep-able", but K was not able to fish after his first bout of sea-sickness, instead preferring to curl into a ball by my feet and occasionally hold the fish sack open for my catch. The people were very nice and tried to accomodate us and gave us extra praise when I caught fish. The lunch that I so painstakingly planned the night before went untouched, as food was viewed by us as "evil". All in all, K and I were never so happy to see land. We are safely at home now, with fresh fish fillets in our fridge, and our sea legs still a bit wobbly. I think next time, fishing from the pier would be a better idea.
posted by Notta Wallflower at 6:27 PM
13 Comments:
Ahh, that's cool that you went fishing. I have to say that is at the bottom of things to do before I die list. I think going fishing sounds like fun but the puking my guts out doesn't. I get nauseated easily so the whole fishing experience sounds like hell to me. My hubbie is going open ocean fishing at the end of the month so it's good to know what I will be missing. Overall, I think it's great that you took your son fishing, he won't ever forget it.
Angelique - Well, we learned another thing, too. Next time we go, we take Meclizine the night before and then the morning of our trip. Hope your hubby has a good time!
They say that you should fix your vision on the horizon.
I do well on choppy, rough water, but slow swells do me in everytime. :(
TSHS - Thank you for the tip. I'm the opposite of you - I do well on slow swells, but the motion of choppy water was just too much for me.
Oh yeah, seasickness is just a matter of being weak willed. That's why I spent our Hawaiian snorkel trip barfing in the bathroom, because I'm such a pussy ;-)
Dramamine or something of that type works pretty well for me, if taken with a strong coffee or a Coke to counteract sleepiness.
Tessence - I know, I'm so silly at times, it's just that it's never happened to me before, so I thought I was being a wuss. Actually, the gal at the counter told me to buy Meclizine and said it works better than Dramamine. I will try it because I don't want yesterday to be my last time out on the ocean.
Hey girl, nice fish. Please email me...I have a question for you.
Kari - Thanks. That was just a little fish. I caught some nice fish that were between 9-12 inches. You can't tell from the picture, but that fish is about 2 or 3 inches. BTW, I sent you an email - hope you got it.
Kit - You're very lucky if you have lakes that are not polluted there. That's one thing bad about California as opposed to Washington state - there are precious few lakes I'd even want to dip my foot in, let alone eat fish from. Thanks for the tip about ginger - I'll also try that next time.
Rough seas and adverse fishing conditions can be a pain ITA but I never ever become seasick.
Vest - Some people just never have that problem. You're lucky you didn't have to worry about it. :-)
The best remedy for sea sickness is getting on the water as often as you can. It is amazing how the body adapts to unusual conditions.
Dramamine and the like are also a big help. As is skipping breakfast.
Taking your son fishing was a really cool thing to do! I hope it won't be your last time!
You'll have to come visit some of your midwest blog friends sometime. A Rainy Lake or Lake Michigan adventure sounds in order!
GWB - My friend and I were also discussing that, since the rest of our bodies change as we age, maybe our constitutions also change. :-P No, I'd never let that experience keep us from fishing. I'll just make sure we're more prepared next time. I've been to Minneapolis before, and just across the Wisconsin border, but not anywhere else. I'm sure H and I will be out to the midwest at some point. :-)
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