autopatrolled
163
edits
Changes
no edit summary
There's always the option of taking the sea route between two places. People have taken advantage of the seas for as long a time as civilizations have existed. '''Boat hitching''' is propably more like working on the boat and by paying for your fare that paying the travelfeeway.It is difficult to get on onto harbour facilities. It is great when you know someone on the terrain.
Ships and boats don't steam off every minute like cars. So be prepared and know what liner you want to get on.
One could also write to shipping companies.
==Hitching a ferry==
'''Hitchhiking a ferry''' is easy. Simply ask drivers or truck drivers if you can enter board the ferry in their truck, they usually only have to pay for the vehicle. See also [[:Category:Ferries]] for different routes that involve ferries.
== Hitching a boat ==
With boats, the procedure of hitching is not so much about finding someone going to your destination, but more about finding the right boat and/or captain for you. In general, a lot of captains are ready to take persons (crew members) on their boat to aid on the most mundane tasks, or just purely for company.
Finding a boat can take you a lot of time. Mostly boat-hitchers try hanging out at the harbor for a week, talking to almost anyone, possibly finding a pub where sailors tend to drink their beer. Another way people often get rides on boats in the [[San Francisco]] area is to go to the pier with some beers and offer them to folx folks who look like they are heading out.
Be prepared to change your schedules and plans accordingly. Boat rides are not happening every day, and it can take days and days to reach your destination, unlike with cars. The weather can be unpredictable. All these things together mean that you can't really plan on arriving at place X at time Y. Time takes a different shape and form on the seas.
Perhaps the best way of encountering a suitable ride is to visit popular marinas that outbound captains frequent. They are probably there for overnighting or waiting for suitable weather and winds. Or possibly they're short of crew because of some force majeure (people change their plans and get seasick and so on...) This might mean that they could actually ''need'' your hand on board.
Be helpful and interested in their trade. Even if you do not have any experience in sailing, be honest with the fact and state that you are eager to learn. Show respect towards their skills, their boat and the seas and the elements of nature. There are lots of good captains out there, with good intentions. But there are lots of different "classes" of captains out there, lots of different boats for different purposes. So how do you find the good captains out from the hasty, less benign ones? Well, start by analyzing how good well they care they show at for their crew. Or their boat. How prudent they are about security. What kind of personal imbalance they might be experiencing based on their insistence on getting certain types of crew (like young, good-looking females).
Then there are some websites that can be helpful for getting the right crew and boat find each other. I would recommend Crewseekers.net [http://crewseekers.net] since FindAcrew.net [http://findacrew.net] fools either you or the captain to pay exorbitant prices for the ability to communicate.