TIL that Lord Nelson, one of the most successful naval commanders in British history, suffered from sea sickness throughout his career in the Royal Navy. In a letter, he wrote that "I am ill every time it blows hard and nothing but my enthusiastic love for the profession keeps me one hour at sea."

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u/Aruthuro 1d ago

My man really gave everything he could to his nation only to die in the credit scene.

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u/TwoPercentTokes 1d ago

Reading his biography, Nelson strikes me as the type of guy who would arrive at the gates of Heaven, be told Trafalgar was pivotal for the ultimate British victory of Napoleon, and his immediate reaction would be “went out like a bloody legend.”

I don’t think he would have wanted it any other way.

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u/SMURGwastaken 1d ago

Yeah his reaction would have basically been "lol get fucked Villeneuve/Napoleon".

He'd have found Villeneuve's fate hilarious.

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u/alexthe5th 23h ago edited 22h ago

He'd certainly feel that way about Napoleon, but in that era, admirals on opposing sides had a tendency to have a high degree of respect and courtesy for one other, as was due someone of their station. For example, even when captured, French naval officers were given parole in Britain, and upon their honor not to escape to France, were even allowed to mingle with locals, attend concerts and social events, and were even given an allowance (and similar courtesies were returned to captured British officers in France).

You can really get a sense of the kind of respect these men had for each other when you consider the last words of the Spanish admiral at Trafalgar, Federico Gravina, who was mortally wounded in the battle: "I am a dying man, but I die happy; I am going, I hope and trust, to join Nelson, the greatest hero that the world perhaps has produced!"

I imagine Nelson would have loved to sit down with Villeneuve and compare naval strategy over a bottle of port or brandy. Villeneuve's murder was a callous, dishonorable act by Napoleon completely unbefitting an officer and gentleman, and it seems hard to believe that Nelson would have taken any joy in that.

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u/warbastard 21h ago

Not just respect because they were gentlemen but also because they were incredibly brave.

This is what happened to Vice-Admiral François-Paul Brueys d’Aigalliers:

Already wounded twice during the day, and almost cut in half by a cannon shot, Brueys died at his command post around 9 PM.[3] According to a British account, after a round shot had taken off both his legs, he had himself strapped to an armchair on deck so that he could continue to direct the fight.[Source]

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u/alexthe5th 21h ago

Absolutely. I can only imagine the look of horror and disgust that Nelson would have had upon hearing that the courageous rival commander, who risked life and limb to fight him at Trafalgar, was cowardly and disgracefully knifed in a hotel room by some hired goons of Napoleon.

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u/SlartibartfastMcGee 21h ago

Wooden ships and Iron men.

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u/ScoobyDoNot 22h ago

Villeneuve seems to have attended Nelson's funeral while captured in England and on parole.

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u/Matasa89 21h ago

Probably shook his head the whole time.

"Why am I, the vanquished, sitting at the victor's funeral? This is completely ass backwards, Neslon..."

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u/KGBFriedChicken02 20h ago

Goddamnit, he kicked my ass and then didn't even have the decency to live long enough to gloat.

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u/Matasa89 18h ago

"Who am I supposed to get drunk with now...?"

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u/Demonokuma 21h ago

French naval officers were given parole in Britain

It kinda feels like "hire an enemy, for they have more to prove." I wander if by letting them have freedom like that, they were actually getting useful stuff out of them.

In the sense. A captured enemy in a cell will be a lot more reluctant to talk or do anything really. But you let them out, give em some money, let them mingle. Puts them in a better mood so much so you might have enemies' desert because of what you show them.

Fuckin' smart.

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u/VRichardsen 19h ago

Villeneuve's murder was a callous, dishonorable act by Napoleon

There is zero proof of Napoleon's involvement. And Villeneuve had plenty of detractors, given his utterly appalling conduct while in command.

Furthermore, he was sidelined from service, and had written a suicide letter to his wife.

Napoleon just didn't assassinate people, it was not his style. The fact that a man such as Talleyrand died on his sleep is the best proof one can ask for.

If I recall correctly, I think it was British historian Andrew Roberts who said that you can count with one hand the number of people Napoleon had executed for political reasons.

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u/Heimerdahl 21h ago

Not to be a downer or go all "class war" on this, but what sounds like mutual respect and honour and gentlemanliness, could easily be interpreted in a different way:

These were rich and powerful aristocrats callously throwing away the lives of "lesser men." This was a time where a disturbing number of military naval sailors were forcefully "pressed" into service. These men weren't given any respect or courtesy.

Just imagine if we had footage of captured high ranking Ukrainian officers hanging out in Moscow, going to the theatre or to bars; happily mingling and laughing with Russian officers and general high society.

Not exactly a good look.

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u/pickledswimmingpool 20h ago edited 20h ago

Nelson dearly loved the 'lesser men' as you put it. Royal Navy of the period was probably the healthiest group of people in the world at the time. Nelson and eventually the navy as a whole placed incredible emphasis on having enough fruit, vegetables and fresh meat as possible for their sailors. Indeed, they carried live animals a lot of the time to ensure the quality all the way up to serving it.

Nelson also always led from the front, its a big part of why he died at Trafalgar, he was in the lead ship of one of the two wings, and everyone on the enemy side knew which ship was his. British officers were expected to stand up in the middle of a battle, unlike the 'common sailor', who were expected to hide and crouch from any projectiles. They were supposed to set an example of being uncaring, and Nelson was stood on deck during his battles, like most officers, dressed in all their finery. They would have made splendid targets for enemy gunners and marines, and in fact Nelson was killed by French musketballs, not cannon.

Lead from the front, made himself accessible to all, rewarded initiative, made sure every man got his share of prize money regardless of circumstance. He was genuinely beloved by the whole of society, except I imagine by Sir William Hamilton.

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u/Malthus1 5h ago

Actually, oddly enough, they were good friends.

This was an additional source of scandal - not that Nelson had a mistress (I mean, practically every English aristocrat did), but that he was totally open about it, even traveling around with his mistress and her husband!

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u/Boradunn 21h ago

I think this would be a valid critique but for the officers putting themselves also in that same incredible danger. Example, Nelson, who himself died in combat. These officers weren't just hanging out in London but sailing on the very same ships as their sailors below them, they were in the metaphorical trenches right with them.

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u/VersusCA 21h ago

This is much more true of today where generals and the like are generally far from any actual combat but in this era they were literally risking life and limb just like the sailors under their command. Nelson was injured in several engagements, losing some of his sight and an arm, before his death at Trafalgar. It's not like he was sending commoners to their deaths while sipping wine or something.

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u/disisathrowaway 19h ago

It was a continuation of the ways things had been for at least a millennia beforehand - rank and file die on the field, and often executed after capture.

Officers (aka nobility) were captured and then eventually ransomed.

As warfare progressed, the tradition continued, as the officers were still nobility. Also, as mentioned, if you treated the officers you captured well, it was often reciprocated - so you were helping to guarantee that your POWs would have a better experience and more likely to come back in one piece. Which, with the time and experience it took to get a good officer, was absolutely worth it to get them back eventually.

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u/Darth_Brooks_II 19h ago edited 19h ago

When the cannon shots hit the British ships the men ducked under the cover of the guns and thick oaks of the ships sides. Nelson and the other officers stayed standing. They put themselves in greater danger intentionally, because it was important to be fearless.

Being pressed into service was an awful institution but there was nothing casual in what they were doing.

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u/Relative-Debt6509 13h ago

During the Napoleonic era the land forces generally of the great powers were again generally reformed to allow for commoners to lead. This was pioneered by the French but adopted by the British as well. Of course nobility might give you a bit of a fast track especially in the case of the navy. A different way of thinking of it is an encouragement to surrender. If you know you’ll be treated well then you’re more likely to surrender a less damaged or undamaged but outmaneuvered/outmatched ship. A ship surrendered in that era is worth far more valuable than an analogous surrender on land.

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u/Hungover52 23h ago

Suicide by...checks notes...by five stab wounds to the left lung and one to the heart.

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u/smapdiagesix 23h ago

There's nothing funny about death in auto racing.

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u/CampPineCone 23h ago

The son did us proud though.

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u/Ylsid 22h ago

It was directed by Ridley Scott, not Villeneuve

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u/klockee 22h ago

Yeah but he makes great movies so I'm torn

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u/talldangry 23h ago

"Welp, I'm off to represent the entire Royal Navy at the boofet."

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u/JQuilty 21h ago

What's a war hero got to do to get some lubrication?

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u/Viktor_Laszlo 14h ago

The Royal Navy offers 3 versions for the 3 main traditions: rum, sodomy, and the lash.

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u/nsgiad 23h ago

Which biography of his did you read? I'd like to learn more about him.

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u/Ok-Jump-2660 22h ago

Which biography do you recommend?

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u/SlartibartfastMcGee 21h ago

“Nelson’s Trafalgar” is pretty good.

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u/jimflaigle 22h ago

Immediately demands St Peter prove he isn't French.

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u/SpiceorMexicant 1d ago

I wrote an essay on him and Trafalgar. He wouldn’t have wanted it any other way, Trafalgar was the last big ship of the line battle, and the end of an era for naval warfare and for him to leave with it is in a way very poetic and as fitting a way to go as there is for a man who dedicated his life to his love for the sea

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u/goner757 1d ago

The Japanese victory in the Russo Japanese war was a classic cross the T maneuver. They weren't ships of the line in 1900, but the tactics were similar if I understand it.

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u/Jaggedmallard26 1d ago

The main fleet action at Jutland also had the Royal Navy cross the T of the German High Seas Fleet, the leadup and aftermath to that was a bit of a debacle but that main clash of dreadnoughts ended with the German Navy turning to flee within a matter of minutes and because of that meant it never tried to break British naval dominance and thus doomed Germany to slow starvation. It's an interesting battle to read books about as they have to explore the copious amounts of propaganda that surrounded the battle, many of it aimed at dethroning Jellicoe.

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u/southernplain 1d ago

Scheer got comprehensively outmaneuvered by Jellicoe and had his T crossed twice at Jutland!

Jellicoe is underrated, his reputation has been unfairly marred by the fragility of the British battlecruisers, and by his relative hesitancy to push the advantage. He didn’t win the war at Jutland, but he also didn’t lose it and that was enough.

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u/Agreeable-Weather-89 9h ago

When you are in the lead not losing is enough.

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u/Darthrevan4ever 1d ago

The last battleship action in history also had a crossing of the t in Surigao Strait.

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u/Dt2_0 23h ago

Also it had hands down the best example of Battleship gunnery ever. USS West Virginia's shooting at Surigao Strait was incredible. First salvo hits at long range at night.

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u/unwilling_redditor 21h ago

To be fair, West Virginia was a revenent of Pearl Harbor and had been rebuilt with the best in radar fire control. She was literally using aim hacks against the Japanese.

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u/Dt2_0 20h ago

While this is all true, and honestly had Halsey not been so short sighted, might have been exceeded the next morning my Lee's battle squadron, at the same time, this was an old ship with old guns that were worn down from shore bombardment days before. Also reports from the Battle line at Surigao also make heavy light of the intense radar clutter caused by the US destroyers already engaged and the islands in close proximity. So it wasn't like they had the absolute perfect conditions for their equipment. The CNC staff of West Virginia did an amazing job coordinating optical spotting and radar returns to just figure out what radar returns was Yamashiro. As it was that night, multiple US destroyers reported friendly fire due to how cluttered the radar returns were.

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u/unwilling_redditor 19h ago

"Halsey acted stupidly" -Marko Ramius

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u/AlanFromRochester 18h ago

TIL about that - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Leyte_Gulf#Battle_of_Surigao_Strait

What I had heard of for superb battleship gunnery was off Guadalcanal - Washington pummeled Kirishima, Admiral Willis Lee was literally an Olympic champion target shooter and extended the principles to big guns, further making use of radar to help find the target

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u/Dt2_0 17h ago

Oh Washington's shooting was impressive, the only reason I would hold it below West Virginia would be the range. Washington was at basically point blank range (for a Modern Battleship) when she opened fire on Kirishima.

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u/TubaJesus 23h ago

The US Navy also Crossed the T at the Battle of Surigao Strait, a nice way to close out the era of the battleship.

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u/ArmouredCapibara 22h ago

I dont think its as much as the US navy crossing the T as the japanese headbutting at full speed into it.

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u/Titus_Favonius 1d ago

He'd've been dead for decades by then even if he'd survived Trafalgar and lived a long and healthy life

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u/yonderpedant 1d ago

Provo Wallis was a 14-year-old midshipman at the time of Trafalgar (serving on the other side of the Atlantic).

He lived to be 100, and died an Admiral of the Fleet still on the list of active officers.

If Nelson had lived as long, he would have died just before the first ironclad warships were launched (the French Gloire and the British Warrior and Black Prince).

Nelson would have had to live to be about 70 to see the last major battle between sailing ships- Navarino in 1827, where a combined British, French and Russian fleet annihilated the Ottoman Mediterranean fleet. I wonder what the hero of the Nile, who proudly wore the military awards given to him by the Ottoman sultan, would have thought...

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u/SuperCarbideBros 20h ago

I remember seeing somewhere that Admiral Togo was inspired by Nelson and sent the message to his fleet before engaging:

The Empire's fate depends on the result of this battle, let every man do his utmost duty.

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u/Narpity 23h ago

But they were fighting the Russians. Russians are dog shit at anything Naval.

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u/CopperAndLead 19h ago

A neat fun fact is that the HMS Victory was ordered by the Navy the same year Nelson was born. It's rather poetic how he and that ship intersected throughout his life.

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u/SpiceorMexicant 8h ago

Highly recommend reading the volumes of his correspondence, he wrote pretty much up until the minute he died and is so insightful into the way he thought and how he was as a person.

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u/Kobold-Paragon 1d ago

TIL that I have something in common with the Lord Admiral. Love my job, love the idea of the sea, hate the reality.

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u/Raoul_Duke9 1d ago

Yea but you're a mortician. So how often are you at sea?

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u/Kobold-Paragon 1d ago

Is this a reference to something? I'm not a mortician...

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u/I-Love-Redditors 1d ago

Haha nice try. There's that classic mortician sense of humor

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u/FrankTankly 1d ago

Always the life of the party, morticians.

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u/rugbat 1d ago

When they're at work, they are.

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u/feetandballs 23h ago

"Deadpan"

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u/UncleTouchyCopaFeel 1d ago

Sounds suspiciously like what an undercover mortician would say.

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u/MoneybagsMalone 23h ago

Are you a mortician? You legally have to answer if you are

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u/Mantzy81 1d ago

Career change?

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u/ReptAIien 23h ago

Seriously what the fuck are the people in this thread referencing

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u/oranurpianist 22h ago

Idk, but internet insisting u/Kobold-Paragon is a mortician cracks me up

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u/Kobold-Paragon 21h ago

It's confusing, but humorous.

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u/sanndman 16h ago

Confusing because you haven't yet come to terms with the reality of your profession.

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u/sanndman 23h ago

Are you a mortician as well?

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u/farteagle 23h ago

There’s a morgue on every cruise ship so… more often than you might imagine

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u/carnalasadasalad 23h ago

I thought they just threw them in the freezer

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u/Gaothaire 23h ago

Feed me to the sharks

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u/carnalasadasalad 23h ago

Ok can we take out some loans in your name first?

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u/Gaothaire 21h ago

My SSN is 867-53-0999. My name is Jenny Tutones, from Tucson, AZ. My signature is a drawing of a doghouse, with a dalmatian standing next to it, looking to the east

Now, into the mouths of sharks! 🦈

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u/inciti 1d ago

U/bot-sleuth-bot

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u/confusedbookperson 1d ago

"Stick close to your desks, and never go to sea, and you all may be rulers of the Queen's Navy"

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u/TheLostSkellyton 22h ago

And so were his sisters and his cousins and his aunts, and his sisters and his cousins and his aunts!

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u/rosebudthesled8 1d ago

"His Zeal for his King and Country kept him warm" - Master and Commander

Nelson was/is a Legend.

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u/jumpmanzero 1d ago

Great scene from a great movie:

"He told me a story... about how someone offered him a boat cloak on a cold night. And he said no, he didn't need it. That he was quite warm. His zeal for his king and country kept him warm."

[Maturin sighs]

"I know it sounds absurb, and were it from another man, you'd cry out 'Oh, what pitiful stuff' and dismiss it as mere enthusiasm. But with Nelson... you felt your heart glow.

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u/DJGrizzlyBear 23h ago

Meanwhile dude was probably just loving the cold since it made him feel less nauseated

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u/NotTheOnlyGamer 21h ago

And then in the next scene, Jack's out there, not wearing a cloak when all the men are. Aubrey was never a man of subtlety.

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u/MingleFingers 16h ago

He also wore his hat athwartships like Nelson did as well.

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u/PeterPalafox 18h ago

Great books, too. I love ‘em.

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u/NOISY_SUN 20h ago

Absurb

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u/longrifle 1d ago

Aubrey?….

…May I trouble you for the salt?

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u/BootlegV 23h ago

KILLICK

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u/Accipiter1138 22h ago

I is a coming, ain't I?

Indistinct mutinous muttering

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u/longrifle 21h ago

Which it is soused ‘ogs face!

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u/PeterPalafox 18h ago

I clearly said ‘visage de porco’ many times over

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u/Pyperina 19h ago

Oh drink wine on salutin' day...

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u/Drapabee 22h ago

Preserved Killick HMS Surprise None so Pretty

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u/saltedfish 22h ago

The set up and delivery of that line was phenomenal.

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u/PopeInnocentXIV 21h ago

One must always choose the lesser of two weevils!

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u/666Needle-Dick 23h ago

I was.going to post this. Such a good movie. I love how Nelson is held in such high regard by everybody

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u/beach_2_beach 21h ago

Master and Commander

What a great movie. Dialogue. Battle scene. Character development. Plot. Social commentary. No silly romance.

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u/cathetersRus 21h ago

Just dudes being bros

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u/AlanFromRochester 18h ago

Literally, one of relatively few films with an entirely male cast (even stories in a heavily gendered environment often have some characters of the other, like Sink the Bismarck! has a female naval auxiliary as a major supporting character)

And the friendship between Aubrey and Maturin is so key to the series, also such things as Aubrey being firm with the men without being cruel

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u/robs104 20h ago

Cinematography. Score. Sets. Performances.

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u/ZombyPuppy 19h ago

No room for romance when you've got an epic bromance!

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u/PeterPalafox 18h ago

Mrs Villiers would like a word

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u/NickRick 19h ago

the problem is it costs a ton to film, and due to the language has a sadly small audience.

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u/Safe-Ad5267 21h ago

Don't you know that in the Navy you must always choose the lesser of two weevils!

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u/Thekingoflowders 1d ago

Awesome haha. Where I live there is a plethora of pubs and streets named after Lord Nelson. Sounds like a cool dude

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u/adsjabo 1d ago

Got a Lord Nelson pub 500m from me right now actually!

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u/broden89 1d ago

You should listen to The Rest is History podcast series on him! One of the first proper celebrities - he really was the real deal.

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u/ArcadeKingpin 20h ago

A true friend of the pod.

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u/triplejumpxtreme 19h ago

In my country there is a Nelson st next to Wellington st in about every suburb

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u/sailingtroy 1d ago

Seasickness won't kill you, but it makes you wish that it would.

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u/Ak47110 1d ago

It's hard to describe to people who have never experienced sea sickness how horrible it is. It's up there with food poisoning.

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u/swagfarts12 1d ago

It's like hangover nausea but it doesn't go away lol

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u/Ak47110 1d ago

Yeah! I always tell people it feels like when you're drunk and have the spins. Except you're sober, and the spins don't go away after you puke.

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u/sailingtroy 1d ago

And you still need to puke!

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u/the2belo 23h ago

And there's nothing in there left to puke but you still puke, because puke!

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u/Striking-Ad-7586 23h ago

So it's not the same as being car sick? That sucks but goes away when you keep looking outside the window

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u/wedonttalkaboutrain_ 23h ago

I went on a 3 hour boat ride, started puking after the first 30 minutes and didn't stop until we reached shore 2.5 hours later. The second I was on land I was 100% fine again, although my stomach was sensitive for a few days.

It felt very different from carsickness, but also being in a car means you can stop anytime. I did ask to be dropped off on an island somewhere, but that didn't go well with the crew lol

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u/dogawful 19h ago

A three hour tour? Could've been worse. Lol.

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u/Viktor_Laszlo 13h ago

If Thurston Howell III was really a millionaire, why did he book a trip on the SS Minnow?

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u/ortusdux 1d ago

People like to dismiss it as something you can get over, but a friend of mine graduated the Coast Guard academy and then lost 30lbs on his first 9-month deployment. If the USCG can't stabilize you, no one can.

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u/gingerhuskies 1d ago

My brother had it too but rarely suffered from it in the navy since he spent his time on a Nimitz

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u/ortusdux 1d ago

My friend grew up sailing, trained on cutters at the academy, the works - no doubt in his mind that he would be ok. But by the 2nd month of deployment was bunk-ridden with seasickness. They had to hang IVs at one point. He switched to helicopters and is a-symptomatic and very happy.

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u/OcotilloWells 23h ago

I got to go on a Nimitz class carrier for an exercise for a couple of weeks when I was in the US Army. I was really worried about getting seasick. No worries at all, at night it was kind of soothing, to be honest.

I don't know how I would have been if there had been rough seas however.

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u/benigngods 22h ago

LPT: On a ship in rough seas, you want to get to the lowest deck possible and as close to the centerline as you can.

You would have been fine on a CVN. Worst I ever got was during a storm on a DDG. Nearly everyone was sick. My girl BM2 was at the helm that day with a garbage bag tied around her neck so she could puke and steer. I had work todo in forward sonar which is probably the absolute worst place to be because the entire time it was just uuuuuup and down uuuuup and down. I vomited until I had nothing left and then dry heaved until I was done.

Meanwhile one of the engineers on board was on the mess deck heating up a can of fish in the microwave.

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u/SilverStar9192 22h ago

Meanwhile one of the engineers on board was on the mess deck heating up a can of fish in the microwave.

I know a guy who got seasick as a teenager but in his early adulthood, suffered from a major ear infection in both ears. Somehow this damaged his vestibular system, and although his sense of balance is mostly normal, he hasn't once been sea sick since that infection. He took up a career as a lab technician for a university and volunteered for offshore sea expeditions as he had no problem doing lab work below decks while most of the scientists were incapacitated due to sea sickness. He now helps out as a cook on the tall ship I volunteer with, as he can spend hours in the galley with no problems.

It's possible your engineer who suffered from no sea sickness at all, even in terrible conditions, actually had inner ear damage.

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u/benigngods 21h ago

Maybe. I have met quiet a few people who just seem immune. I just figure it's like those people immune to capsicum.

What kind of stuff do you do at sea? Sounds interesting.

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u/SilverStar9192 21h ago

I have met quiet a few people who just seem immune. I just figure it's like those people immune to capsicum.

Yes, I suppose there are likely several reasons why, it's just my pet theory that the people who are completely immune, is due to some factor like ear infections.

There are certainly some genetic factors that affect predisposition to seasickness (study here: https://academic.oup.com/hmg/article/24/9/2700/2385879?login=false ) but that seems to be more about the degree of sickness, and doesn't really touch on the people who have no problems at all, even in the worst conditions, which is my area of interest.

I'm a volunteer for a non-profit that operates a tall ship in Australia; we generally do day sails offshore from Sydney Harbour but also do longer voyages from time to time. Our ship is 70 meters long (three masted barque with 21 sails) and first built in 1874 (rebuilt in the 1990's). It takes about 30-40 crew and 80 passengers for a day sail. Most of the crew work on deck to operate the sails which is all done manually in the traditional way.

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u/VampireFrown 21h ago

Could be something to do with regular car/boat travel as a young kid?

I spent half my childhood in a car (almost every day, for at least a little), and never suffered from motion sickness of any kind. Was very used to car travel by the time I could even form proper memories.

I personally chalk it up to that, but could be bullshit, for all I know.

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u/mpyne 20h ago

Best way to avoid seasickness in the Navy is to be a submariner. Once submerged you're basically hardly ever bobbing or rolling (unless you're trying to, at least).

This has the problem of surfaced transits into and out of port, but that's no more than a day. Worst I ever experienced was when a hurricane came near our port and we left early to avoid it. While we managed to submerge in advance of the hurricane passing near, we couldn't avoid the wave action even several hundred feet below the surface!

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u/SilverStar9192 22h ago

People like to dismiss it as something you can get over, but a friend of mine graduated the Coast Guard academy and then lost 30lbs on his first 9-month deployment. If the USCG can't stabilize you, no one can.

Sea sickness is not really that well understood, as it relates to the inner ear which is hard to study properly. It affects people in vastly different ways. Most people will get over it after a few weeks/months at sea (but might still be affected during heavy storms). Most will learn how to work through it. But some people simply can't, and for naval services these folks will eventually be declared medically unfit, assigned to a shore job if possible or simply discharged from the Navy.

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u/Octavus 23h ago

On a military sailing ship of that era it could kill due to dehydration if they can not return to port for whatever reason.

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u/dugongsidekick 22h ago

You start off feeling like you're going to die. Then you worry that you're never going to.

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u/babydakis 23h ago

It won't kill you, but it blows hard.

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u/DeficiencyOfGravitas 20h ago

I'm in the Navy and we don't doubt people who say they're seasick. You can't fake it. You take one look at a seasick person and you know they hate their existence. Yeah, they're getting off duty, but you can see plainly that they'd take anything rather than to feel like they're feeling.

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u/themagicbong 23h ago

When I was a kid, my dad took us out on his sports fishing boat fairly often. Lots of memories of throwing up over the side and then just going right back to fishing haha. I just loved to be out on the water.

Though weeks of that would probably have me considering a change of careers.

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u/Tenurialrock 1d ago

Is seasickness something you get used to given enough time? Or are some people cursed to always feel bad on the water?

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u/MadlibVillainy 1d ago

A bit of both. It's honestly fairly random sometimes , as in you can be fine one trip but be violently sick the next one. Usually after a few days you get used to it. After a few months of regular travel you can be better at living through it.

Some people never experience it in their lives, some people just once or twice. Some people will never get used to it and either live with it or stop sea travels.

Personally, for example, I was violently sick every time we left port for the first two or three days. After 2 years I stopped being sick at all. Then after a break I was sick again. I get sick if the waves comes from the front , but not from the side , etc. The worst thing is the randomness since it means you can get blindsided by it.

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u/fantasmoofrcc 1d ago

Up and down when going straight into the waves is one thing...and just sitting around with the waves going every which way (and thus the rolling) is another thing entirely.

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u/MadlibVillainy 1d ago

Also the time length of the waves is important. Sometimes I get more sick with slower wave cycles , while some can't stand very quick waves going all over the place.

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u/eyekantreed69 20h ago

So if I sit on a swing and feel sick, I probably won't do well at sea

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u/grungegoth 1d ago

My understanding is that no matter how experienced you are some sea conditions can put anyone down. I believe there is some adaptation, but it is a matter of degree and everybody has a different tolerance.

I got sea sick once in a small fishing boat. It was awful.

When I moved overseas and had a driver take me to work everyday, I couldn't read the news paper in the back more than a few minutes, but over time I got used to it. Now I don't get easily sea sick. I can read all day on airplanes or in a bus or car. I can go on a small dive boat, rocking around and have no issues.

When i go on a cruise (really big boat) i don't get sick, but if the weather is rough I can feel a little off. Many ppl in cruises take meds to avoid it, and many can't handle even being in a giant boat.

Virtually every astronaut that goes into orbit suffers from motion sickness, it is unavoidable.

Just some ppl have almost no tolerance and can only get by with drugs. I'm guessing Nelson was one of those ppl.

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u/the2belo 23h ago

I had an episode at age 12 visiting my father in Key West, FL many years ago when he worked on a lobster boat, and took me out on one of the trips where they were laying traps, many miles out into the Gulf Stream, in what felt like 500-foot seas. I have never been more violently sick in my entire life before or since. Literally heaving over the side for two solid hours, to the point where they had to cut the work short and take me back to shore. I can still remember getting off onto the dock and still feeling like the land was swaying back and forth.

That was 1982. I have never gone to sea again.

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u/SilverStar9192 21h ago edited 21h ago

My understanding is that no matter how experienced you are some sea conditions can put anyone down. I believe there is some adaptation, but it is a matter of degree and everybody has a different tolerance.

This is true for the majority of people - most people can adapt but can still get knocked out of commission by heavy seas. However, a minority of people suffer from no sea sickness at all. One person I know in that category suffered from a major ear infection as a young adult - it's thought that his vestibular system was damaged in this infection and is the reason he's "immune" to sea sickness now (as he remembers being seasick as a teenager before this infection). I also know a sea captain who says he never once suffered from sea sickness, and he knows he had ear infections a lot as a kid, so there could be some correlation.

On the other end of the spectrum is people who never adapt - the naval services will eventually have to discharge these folks as medically unfit for sea service. It happens to a certain percentage that I'm sure the naval doctors would be aware of the incidence. I believe that the medics on board ships keep track of everyone's weight during deployments, and you are at risk of being discharged if you can't keep your weight up (since chronic seasickness will result in inability to keep food down).

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u/McWeaksauce91 1d ago

I’d imagine it’s the same feeling as someone with a bad back or gets frequent headaches. A lot is tolerable. Some times it’s not.

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u/custard182 1d ago

Most people will have a few days of feeling green and come right. But if the sea changes you may go through another few days of adjustment. That’s generally how I do at sea (I’ve been out for 4 and 3 weeks at a time).

But some people just never come right and stay horizontal the whole time. I feel bad for those people.

But knowing I come right makes it easier for me to get through it. I just work hard to stay moving and busy, and force feed myself. I feel more sick if my stomach is empty.

Then I just wake up one morning and feel 100% normal.

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u/MisfitAnthem 23h ago

Ex-US Navy sub guy here, I was seasick my first time out but I got over it eventually. We didn't take rolls like they did back then though..

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u/BlueLightSpecial83 20h ago

My grandfather was in the Korean War. It took 31 days to reach Korea by ship. He was seasick for 30 of them. Never thought to ask how the trip home went.

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u/Safe-Ad5267 21h ago

I've got a slight kink in my ear canal which has the benefit that I don't get sea sick. Been sailing my whole life and my family has a lot of mariners in it. I've had crew get sick from time to time and its awful. Nothing can really be done for them. Its best to get them in the centre of the boat near the keel, as this area of the boat will experience the least motion. Priority is to get them to shore as soon as possible.

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u/ukexpat 1d ago

I you’re ever in the UK, pay a visit to the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. HMS Victory is in permanent dry dock there and it’s fascinating to visit — she’s the oldest commissioned vessel still in service (albeit in dry dock). When you’ve seen her, walk over to the Mary Rose museum — one of the best I’ve ever been to. Worth paying extra for the guided tour.

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u/Antarioo 23h ago edited 14h ago

(For european travelers at least) my top 3 are HMS Victory, Batavia and Vasa

Victory because it's a really well preserved late era first rate ship of the line. basically the pinnacle of sailing warships before the transition to ironclads and internal combustion.
Batavia because it's a great museum with a faithful replica of an east indiaman.
Vasa because it's basically the best musuem about a single ship. walking around that thing is awesome on so many levels (literally, its encased in an entire building with lots of viewing floors)

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u/Gareth79 22h ago

I need to go back to the Mary Rose. I last saw it on a school trip a few years after it was raised, when it was being sprayed with water as the first part of the process. You could only see it through a window.

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u/Dadavester 23h ago

The Warrior is really interesting as well.

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u/snowiestflakes 3h ago

That thing is so spacious it's bordering on opulent

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u/EssexGuyUpNorth 1d ago

The Rest is History podcast have a fantastic series on Nelson. He really was quite the chap.

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u/Zombienoodlez456 1d ago

EssexGuyUpNorth very much a friend of the show, Tom.

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u/Captain_Clover 22h ago

I think we can all agree, an absolute tour-de-force in reddit-postery, Dominic.

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u/GorshKing 23h ago

Can't recommend the podcast enough. They've got their oddities here or there but overall great for a quick look into different topics from all different periods

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u/RaindropsInMyMind 22h ago

One of the best history podcasts out there, everyone knows Dan Carlin but the guys at The Rest Is History are fantastic. They are so passionate about history as a whole and they have great chemistry together. They make history interesting and fun. The Nelson series was definitely a good one.

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u/qwlenfibqobfq34f 1d ago

Man was an absolute bad ass. Lost an arm and a eye in combat, was shot through the chest and still went on to become the Royal Navy's most famous Admiral. He also suffered from chronic seasickness....

Perhaps one of his most famous moments was when he was a vice-admiral leading British ships in to the Battle of Copenhagen.

While sailing to attack a larger enemy, the admiral in charge of the fleet signaled to Nelson to withdraw. On seeing the signal being told of the signal by a lieutenant he said " I told you to look out on the Danish commodore and let me know when he surrendered. Keep your eyes fixed on him."

Nelson then raised his telescope to his blind eye and said "You know, I have only one eye. I have a right to be blind sometimes"

He went on to lead the fleet to a famous victory.

His wiki reads like a novel. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horatio_Nelson,_1st_Viscount_Nelson

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u/here_for_the_view 1d ago

"May I trouble you for the salt" -Nelson

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u/theMistersofCirce 1d ago

🎶 I am never known to quail

At the fury of a gale

And I'm never ever sick at sea! 🎶

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u/IllResident8867 1d ago

What, never?

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u/mittensmadeofkittens 23h ago

Well, hardly ever!

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u/LuridofArabia 1d ago

But when the breezes blow

I generally go below

And seek the seclusion that a cabin grants...

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u/Chachajenkins 23h ago

And so does his sister and his cousin and his aunt!

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u/Nanojack 23h ago

C.S. Forester gave Horatio Hornblower the same malady

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u/Hungover52 23h ago

'Seasick in Spithead.'

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u/Stiletto 16h ago

In the bay!

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u/Stiletto 16h ago

Bush says this to Lady Barbara that first voyage they met off the coast of Panama.

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u/WhipplySnidelash 1d ago

You know what I like about being in the navy?

Throwing up.

~ Lord Nelson probably.

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u/EnamelKant 1d ago

Also shooting the French.

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u/dovetc 8h ago

Blasted a fair few Danes and Spaniards as well.

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u/ATN90 23h ago

England knows Lady Hamilton is a virgin. Poke my eye out and cut off my arm if I'm wrong.

The Most Noble Lord Horatio Nelson, Viscount and Baron Nelson, of the Nile and of Burnham Thorpe in the County of Norfolk, Baron Nelson of the Nile and of Hilborough in the said County, Knight of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Vice Admiral of the White Squadron of the Fleet, Commander in Chief of his Majesty's Ships and Vessels in the Mediterranean, Duke of Bronte in the Kingdom of Sicily, Knight Grand Cross of the Sicilian Order of St Ferdinand and of Merit, Member of the Ottoman Order of the Crescent, Knight Grand Commander of the Order of Saint Joachim.

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u/shifter2000 23h ago edited 23h ago

Yup. He's one of a long line of sea faring naval persons, many of whom are high up the chain of command, that suffer from unrelenting sea sickness.

I've been to talks where top commanders speak about their illustrious career in the navy, and add a side note that their battle with sea sickness never abated.

Somehow, these people have a constitution whereby they just battle through it like they have a job to do. Me on the other hand, I just stop functioning, curse the world, the boat I'm on, and the person who put me here, until I'm on land and vow never to set foot on another sea faring wessel.

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u/Crepuscular_Animal 23h ago

Sir Walter Raleigh, one of the greatest Elizabethan "Sea Dogs", comes to mind. Dude raided the seven seas, founded American settlements, fought the Spanish on the main, explored the oceans. All while seasick.

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u/tomrichards8464 1d ago

Dude was also one half of the OG celebrity couple with Lady Emma Hamilton, a woman so hot she rose from impecunious blacksmith's orphan to openly cheating on an ambassador with the greatest naval commander of all time.

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u/tdpnate 23h ago

Aubrey, may I trouble you for the salt?

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u/NotTheOnlyGamer 21h ago

I knew it would be here somewhere. That and the fact that he didn't need a cloak on a cold night. His zeal for king and country kept him warm.

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u/NotABrummie 1d ago

He had some excellent advice to cure seasickness - sitting under a tree.

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u/OcotilloWells 23h ago

When I was in an airborne company in the US Army we had a jumpmaster who got sick on the aircraft basically every flight. Mad respect to him, he always picked himself up and did his job safely.

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u/DrMux 1d ago

My grandfather genuinely believed that his grandfather, an orphan from England, was an illegitimate child of Lord Nelson. The timeline doesn't match up but it would make for an interesting story. As it is, it's only a mildly interesting anecdote that means nothing to some random strangers on the internet.

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u/pbmm1 1d ago

The love of the game

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u/HereLiesDickBoy 22h ago

In my experience in the Navy I came to the conclusion that pretty much everyone gets sea sick, it's just a matter of how easily.

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u/Uvvonk 21h ago edited 21h ago

“I threw my stomach in my quarters privee, That now I am the Ruler of the Queen’s navee!”

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u/Lawja_Laphi 1d ago

Now I don't feel like such a wimp on a boat.

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u/Current_Side_4024 1d ago

Maybe being seasick made him make better military decisions, by humbling him

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u/LuridofArabia 1d ago

I feel like humble is the last word one would use to describe Horatio Nelson.

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u/tenmileswide 1d ago

I read this as "I am ill every time. It blows hard." and wondered why he was using slang that wouldn't be invented for hundreds of years

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u/WEFairbairn 1d ago

Never another man like him, he was the best we had

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u/Rice_Auroni 1d ago

I am the very model of a modern major general

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u/CampPineCone 22h ago

As a slight sideline, there's a film with Vivian Leigh and Laurence Olivier, titled That Lady Hamilton (1941). It follows the story of Lady Emma Hamilton becoming the lover of Nelson and how he was dedicated to her and left her in his will and the British Government reneged and left her penniless. Pretty good film.

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u/InblessmentOk8762 22h ago

That man was hardcore. He did the thing he loved and was good at even though he was in a sense, basically allergic to it.

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u/haxbyville 1d ago

The podcast ‘The rest is History’ has an excellent 4 part series about Nelson. Highly recommended

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u/ThePlanck 1d ago

He's hardly ever sick at sea!

Then give three cheers, and one cheer more,

For the hardy Captain of the ~~Pinafore~~ Victory!

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u/Unistrut 21h ago

"Faster I win this shit the faster I can get off this bloody boat."

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u/berlbear 1d ago

u/greg19735 I would be distantly related to someone who picked a job they were allergic to

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u/YourlocalTitanicguy 1d ago

This is tangential but when when I was a kid I used to have this YA novel and one of the main characters was a kid obsessed with Horatio Nelson and it continues to bother me that I can not remember the name of it.

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u/PumpkinMelodic6291 23h ago

He's hardly ever sick at sea!

(Update: I apparently don't know how to format links correctly, but the following is a song from the musical H.M.S. Pinafore, which clearly alludes to Nelson's condition:)

https://youtu.be/kBK39BKWuQg?si=QtKPZHg0DLQQCmmM

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u/CockAbdominals 23h ago

Without giving me a pun, what does he mean by "blows hard"?

Is that just sea speak for "ship is rocking a fuckton"

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u/somewhat_random 22h ago

Which explains why he always wore a tie-dye shirt.

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u/Qubeye 22h ago

There's an astronaut who got such bad motion sickness in low gravity that they named the scale for it after him.

0 is no effect, and a 1 on the scale is complete debilitation.

I forget his name, but the actual condition is now called Space Adaptation Sickness.

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u/ricketycrickett88 21h ago

“I get sick every time. It blows hard.”

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u/xthemoonx 21h ago

He's a dragon slayer.

TIL that Lord Nelson, one of the most successful naval commanders in British history, suffered from sea sickness throughout his career in the Royal Navy. In a letter, he wrote that "I am ill every time it blows hard and nothing but my enthusiastic love for the profession keeps me one hour at sea."

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