Sailboats + Kenju = One Sick Woman! And a Cruise to Nassau

Put me in a sailboat, and I am going to turn green. It doesn't seem to matter how large or small they are either. On one of our company trips to Hilton Head Island, we went together with three or four other couples and rented a sailboat for the day, complete with skipper and crew. All set for a gorgeous day on the water, we arrived at the dock in Harbour Town full of piss and vinegar (and some benadryl).

It was my first time on a sailboat, although I had been on motor boats numerous times. Our trip out into the channel between Hilton Head, Daufuskie Island and the mainland was to last 4-5 hours. The day was perfect for sailing; just enough wind to catch the sails, but not enough to cause problems. We had been out of the circular harbor about 10 minutes when I turned as green as a pickle, and my stomach began to protest the constant motion. Imagine my embarrassment at being the only person on board to get queasy.

The captain told me to lie down on the bench seat, saying that if I got my stomach parallel to the ocean, I would be okay. The trouble was, there were only enough seats for about 8 people and if I was lying on one side, at least 3-4 people would have to stand up during the cruise. They offered to go back to the dock and let me out, but I didn't want to cause problems for everyone else, so I managed to tough it out, flat on my back, until we got back to the dock hours later. It was the worst afternoon of my life!

A few years after that, we decided to take a short cruise. I asked my doctor for something to help me with seasickness, and he prescribed Scopolamine patches. Before we got on the cruise ship, I applied the patch behind my ear, as instructed. The ship was wonderful; there was so much to see and do and after one full afternoon and evening at sea, I was fine and had not experienced any queasiness. The patch was making me sleepy, however, so I decided to remove it, so I could go to the casino and play the slots. Bad decision! Less than one hour after removing the patch, I was so queasy and dizzy as to hardly be able to walk straight. The rest of the night was spent in the stateroom, lying flat and clutching my belly.

The next morning, we were docked in Nassau and after breakfast, we debarked to tour the town. One of our daughters was with us, and she and I naturally gravitated to the shoe store on the main street. Hubs has no patience with shoe-shopping (ladies, can you empathize?), so we were quickly ushered down the street to a pipe and tobacco shop, something much more to his liking. Daughter and I decided to wait on a street bench, since we were no more interested in men's pipes than he was in women's shoes. While he was in the pipe shop, he was surprised by people from our own neighborhood here in NC, who had come to Nassau on another cruise ship, and had no idea that we would be here. We had no idea that they were going on a cruise either - so it was indeed a big surprise to run into them so far from home. Their son was accompanying them on their trip, so the six of us decided to go into town that night to the casino, for a show and some gambling.

Have you ever taken a taxicab in Nassau? Perhaps I should ask....."Have you ever taken a taxicab in Nassau and lived to tell the story?" We took our lives in our hands, and all six of us thought we might die that night. Taxi drivers in Nassau make the most money by making many trips from the cruise ship docks to the casinos and back. That means that they drive at breakneck speed, in order to complete the trip in as small as time as possible. I have never been so scared in my life, even on the most thrilling carnival rides, while upside down and hanging by a "thread". The neighbor we were with said that as a fighter pilot in Vietnam and he was not as scared then as he had been in that taxi. In the postcard on the right above, do you see the roadway on the lower left, leading to the large ship with the "C" on the smokestack? The taxi drivers enter that roadway at about 50 mph, and drive so close to the end of the dock that you are certain they will fly off it and lodge in the side of the cruise ship. I am not kidding!

All that made for some memorable moments though, and we certainly will remember our time in Nassau. Needless to say, I was careful to wear my patch for the return boat trip back to Florida. We had only one other incident worth mentioning.

To be continued tomorrow..........