Tips to Avoid Sea Sickness

A major problem for people on the boats at Mavericks was sea sickness. It can strike anyone at anytime; young or old, fit or fat, male or female. Just because you've been in rough seas twenty times, doesn't mean the 21st time won't see you hung over the rear railing like a limp rag doll. Sea sickness is perhaps the worst feeling on the face of the earth... I've heard stories of people offering $5,000 to a boat captain to make him PLEASE head back to shore, people needing to be physically restrained to keep them from jumping ship and have witnessed first hand a friend huddled for 6 hours under a yellow tarp, begging us to feed him to the sharks at the Farallons. While not fool proof, this list has kept me lucky enough not to have been sick when many of my friends with equally strong stomachs have fallen.

1. Get a good nights sleep the night before you get on a boat.
2. Don't drink alcohol the night before you sail: a few too many drinks will leave your stomach a bit too prone toward queasiness.
3. Drink plenty of water before, during and after a boat trip: hydration is the first thing to go when sea sickness strikes.
4. Take the meds! Some people complain that Bonine makes them too sleepy... take the meds and have a little nap. It doesn't take much to get past the urge to sleep and being a touch tired is FAR superior to being ill.
5. Don't mix your meds. Resist the urge to try it all at the same time. Mixing a patch with a pill with a shock bracelet and two pressure points can often overwhelm your system and have the opposite effect to the intended outcome.
   
6. Have a good protein intense breakfast. Scrambled eggs are great - maybe skip the hot sauce though.
7. Don't listen to your friends. Everyone has that one friend who thinks it's soooo funny to remind you how sick you will be.... don't listen to him, he's not really your friend.
   
8. Mind over matter. Don't obsess over how sick you are afraid you are going to get. If you THINK you'll get sea sick you usually will.
9. Don't look down - keep your eye to the horizon.
10. Ginger has a great calming effect on the stomach. I've found an Australian Gingerbeer (non-alcoholic) called Bundaberg to be perfect. It's not as thick and syrupy as it's American counterparts and it's just the thing for a wobbly tummy.
    
11. If you are taking photographs especially with a long lens, keep both eyes open. The magnification of the lens will only serve to exaggerate the motion of the boat and make you sicker faster.
12. If you start to feel ill, lay down. Getting your center of gravity as low as possible and canceling one axis of movement can be just the thing to keep you from heading into full blown sea sickness.

Any other tips out there that have worked for you? Please share them!

Wonderful Sunday

I spent the day co-leading a workshop in one of my favorite California shooting locations, Elkhorn Slough in Moss Landing with my friend Jim Goldstein. We kept our group small so that everyone had room to spread out and swing their longs lenses on the pontoon boat. Captain Yohn maneuvered us into just the right position for all of our shots and cut the engine often to keep the motor vibrations from affecting our images.

We were extremely fortunate to have a light layer of fog which lifted just enough to create a giant soft box effect. The lack of harsh shadows made it easy to get detail in even the darkest subjects like the Brandt's Cormorant. I love their deep blue eyes.

We were mainly after Sea Otters but I kept being distracted by the abundant birds. There is a large Elegant Tern colony on the end of the rock jetty and we practiced our flight shots with great glee. Three hours on the water passed by in a heart beat and before I knew it, I had several full memory cards and it was time to head home back to shore.

We'll be heading out there again for another workshop this winter with the hopes of capturing some newly born Sea Otter pups. There were a lot of amorous otters around so we are hoping for lots of young this year. Maybe you can join us!

Whale of a Tale

We cruised the Icy Straits on our way back to Juneau after our visit to Glacier Bay National Park. In the distance we saw a Humpback Whale breaching repeatedly so we changed our course to investigate. As we slowed the boat to a standstill in the general area we had seen the whale we heard that unmistakably powerful blow of whale breath. On the starboard, a large whale had surfaced and was slowly cruising past, her breath hung in the air. I noticed a large clump of bull kelp off the forward port side of the boat and suddenly realized that it was moving rather quickly. Just then a tail appeared in the mess and I realized that there was a whale in that kelp. At first it seemed as though the calf was helplessly tangled in the kelp and we wondered if we should attempt to intervene on his behalf. Soon enough it became apparent that he was playing! He disappeared beneath the surface and pushed the kelp upward with his nose, then rolled it around his flipper and finally sliding it down his back to give it a flip with his tail. He did this for about 10 mins before mom finally got impatient. She began slapping the water loudly with her tail. "Ok, enough playing around, we have to go eat!" she seemed to be saying. Like most children... this calf seemed to have selective hearing and ignored her for a while. Then she raised her flipper and slapped the water with it. That got his attention and he left his toy behind to joined her. A few spouts later they were ready to start feeding again and dove in unison. When we saw them next they were swimming away together, the bull kelp floating beside our boat, a discarded toy looking for a new purpose. Perhaps it would become cover for some fish or maybe another calf would find it interesting as it proceeded on it's journey through the Icy Straits.

Photos from the Boat

I finally had the chance to head out to Gull Island and I can't wait to go back! The wind died down overnight but the rain settled in for a dark overcast sky with light drizzle. I punched my iso up to 800 and then 1000 to try and compensate for the rocking of the boat. It seemed to work pretty well. and I was pleased with many of the shots. Of course, I could have spent much more than 2 hours cruising the bay. We followed an enormous raft of sea otters, my focus shifting from otter to wave and back to otter. For all of the wave shots and fuzzy otters I managed to get several in focus shots too! And! I got a puffin in the wild. Not too bad for my first ever... now I am hooked on these cute little guys, I want to go to Iceland and hang out in a rookery like I did with the penguins in the Falklands. Every new discovery opens the door to 20 more opportunities.