Drake's Passage

DRAKE’S PASSAGE

Heading to Antarctica

December 2007

The first two days abroad ship we are spent crossing the Drake’s Passage.  I have read so much about the dangers and roughness of this passage that I am a little nervous.  I have a serious propensity to motion sickness.  As a precaution, I decided to take my high tech, super strength prescription motion sickness medicine.   But when I went to look for it, I couldn’t find it anywhere.  I ripped everything apart but it was to no avail.  I couldn’t find my Scopace anywhere.

Immediately, I jump right to a mild, irrational panic.  Here I am on the infamous Drakes’ Passage which is notorious for swallowing up sailors and boats alike.  And all I have is over the counter, wimpy strength medicine.  My first thought:  I am going to die sometime within the next two days.  I try to remain calm and try to think of the truly worst case scenario:  I will be vomiting in a near convulsive manner for the next two to three days, shaking from dehydration. I only stop vomiting when I have nothing left but bile and droll. The upside of this condition:  I should be 20 pounds lighter by day three.

Suddenly, an announcement is made over the PA system. I hear that the doctor is giving out drugs.  I take all of my money with me and prepare to plead and buy drugs from him.  He gives me medicine for free and I am so grateful I want to give him a big, sloppy, wet kiss on the lips.   But I do not, for fear that I may have to come back for more drugs later and I do not want any bad vibes between us.  I need him.

He gives us all five pills each.  He suggests we take no more that one pill but we could take only ½ if we want. I take double the dosage.  Everyone else takes half the dosage.  I go back to my small, claustrophobic cabin and lay down.  I work on my breathing to stop the hyperventilating.  I chant, “I am going to live, I am going to live.”  As I lay on my bed, I look over my things and out of the corner of my eye, I see my medicine.  It is stuck in one of my gloves. Now inner peace is restored. I have a new sense of confidence because I know that I have more motion medicine than anyone on the boat.  I am going to survive Drake’s Passage.

Conditions are tough but not as tough as they could have been. Many of us are groggy from the effects of our motion sickness medicine so there is a great propensity to take multiple naps during the day.

While I didn’t feel great, I did not vomit going through drake’s passage.  There is some regret in this outcome as I had dessert every day for both lunch and dinner.  In the long run, a day or two of vomiting could have been helpful to my general weight lose program.