During one of my earliest trips as a professional sailor a wise old skipper gave me some advice at watch change. “Watch the green ones, they’ll rush for the leeward rail and if they aren’t clipped on there’s a strong chance they’ll go over,” he said.
“And what’s more, they won’t care if they do.”
I gulped and looked at my crew. Their faces resembled a Farrow and Ball paint chart: lichen green, skimmed milk white and ash grey. We were en route to Cherbourg from the Solent. By the time we got to the shipping lanes I only had one crew member left on the deck, the rest were in their bunks.
Inglorious and debilitating as it is, the green monster of seasickness strikes indiscriminately. I know several experienced skippers
