Fear of Sea Travel

Ambassador0873

Fear of flying is an often aired topic which affects people with surprising frequency.

I just wonder are there people who suffer from a similar fear related to sea travel e.g. taking the ferry or a cruise ?

Ambassador

hytrogen

Surprisingly yes there are, and many people wouldn't realise they are until they are faced with the challenge.
It can be easily masked with an approach of "oh that wouldn't interest me" normally.
In my line of business I've met many who were facing that challenge and surprisingly most were calm and actually enjoying it as a thrill.

Ambassador0873

Very interesting. I wonder what brings about that fear ?

Could it be a bad experience in rough weather, a fear of drowning, dislike of confinement, motion sickness ?

As an island nation I guess we have two choices re travelling abroad, fly or sail. And I just wonder that while fear of flying is often discussed, what experiences or causes might contribute to someone being uncomfortable taking a ferry or cruise, or indeed elect not to travel ?

hytrogen

From what I gather it's a combination of several factors:
- propaganda by watching disaster documentaries and movies like Titanic
- initial impression of the land you walk on moving uncontrollably
- the unknown
we all learned about the age of discovery from a European perspective since history is always written by the victors but the impression of the time scales to which it occurred can subtly frighten people.
Considering our modern age of transport and the convenience and speed at which flight has dramatically sped up the modern time scales in transport, when compared to the maritime transport it makes ships look so inefficient with regards to distance covered compared to time taken when one would overlook the obvious fuel efficiencies which is more critical from a business perspective but not a punters

ProudDUB

My father was petrified of open water and getting on a boat. Be it on a river, lake, or open sea, he hated every second of it. He put it down to a prank that his brother played on him when he was 4. They were mucking around on a weir near the river Tolka. His brother told him not to fall in as it was really deep and he get sucked in under the weir and drown if he did. Then the little bollix (sorry Uncle Matt) pushed him in.

Poor dad got the fright of his life. When he calmed down enough to stop flayling around in panic he realized that the water wasn't that deep, and he could stand up in it no problem. His brother laughed himself sick, but poor old Dad was left with a morbid fear of drowning that never left him. It even got worse as he got older, even though by then he had a life times experience of being on boats and NOT drowning. Whenever we drove past that part of the river, he always tell us the story (yet again) and the importance of never playing playing water related pranks, as you don't know the harm that you could be doing to someone. Sensitive soul my dad !

As kids we used to go on the old big Sealink ferries to Holyhead and go on day trips to Llandudno. He did ok on them as the boats are really big and you'd feel more like you were inside an impregnable tank than you were on a boat. But he'd always stay inside and read the paper during the crossing. He'd never go out and walk around the decks where he actually have to look at the water. He couldn't handle smaller boats that do lake and river cruises. He hated how close he was to the water and how they would rock from side to side. When my parents retired and would go away on country weekends away, my mam always wanted to go on them as she loves the water. Eventually she had to stop. She said that he just got into too bad of a state before and during them.

Funnily enough, he loved going to the beach and swimming in the sea or in a pool. He was a great swimmer. He had no fear of drowning when he was in control of how deep the water was that he was in. I guess its the feeling of being out of control of your fate, on a boat, out in the middle of really deep, open water that is what got to him.

He had the last laugh over all though. He went to work for Aer Lingus & got free air travel for the rest of his life ! :D:D

Ambassador0873

Good comments hytrogen and lovely story ProudDub.

It's a topic I'm interested in as I had a nightmare ferry crossing in my childhood which did affect me for some time in relation to sea travel, but in all the talk of fear of flying, it doesn't appear to be recognised that some might be scared to go to sea.

I just wonder if it is a small few who suffer in silence as they travel, or avoid taking a ferry or cruise.

ProudDUB

Could be that its a fear that not many people want to admit to, so it doesn't get talked about much. It's hard to slag someone off for being afraid of flying. Plane crashes look so dramatic when they happen in reality or in movies. But being scared of water? Not many men would admit to that. My dad did. He had no problem talking about his feelings or letting his kids know to avoid situations that really scared him for life.

But there is no way my brother, or most of the men I know would do that. They just grit his teeth and get on with it, or make excuses not to do it. I think its a guy thing. Better to suffer in silence than be called a sissy by your mates or be considered weak. I don't think that women fall into that trap quite so much.

Miaireland

A friend of my parent's is a bit. She will go on a ferry to France etc because she can drive on and doesn't have to see the sea. However a while ago she tried going on a boat going to one of the Aran Island and she had a panic attack.

Ambassador0873

Very interesting. I wonder how common it is.

For the number of people who travel by sea versus air I am interested to find out if it is a genuine dampener on their travel experience, or whether they just fly instead.

Again because so many people fly, or dont, depending on their level of discomfort with flying, I wonder if similar problems affect those who travel by ferry. Cruising slightly different but related, in that the whole cruise holiday package market is based on a sea voyage visiting destinations.

Ambassador0873

Maybe with current "summer" weather might get a few more views/experiences ? Unbelieveable for June.

Then again, we are used to it