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With boatsBe aware of the huge and important differences between hitchhiking a boat and hitchhiking a car. Unless you've been invited aboard a rich person's superyacht, you will almost always be expected to help out with various kinds of work, the procedure and you will usually also be asked to pay your share of hitching food and maybe other expenses too. Getting on a stranger's boat is not so also much about finding someone going to your destinationbigger commitment than hopping in a car, but more about finding for both you and for the right boat and/or captain for - if you. In general, 're a lot of captains are ready to take persons week's sail out into the open ocean (crew membersor even an hour off the coast) , getting out of the vehicle on their boat to aid with watch keeping, general tasks, or just purely for companyshort notice is not an option.
Finding a To make sure you don't come off as naive and entitled to boat can take you a lot of timecaptains, first read [http://www.yachtmollymawk. Mostly boatcom/2011/03/hitch-hiking-across-hitchers try hanging out at the harbor for -atlantic/ this article] about boat hitchhiking from a weekcynical captain's point of view. But don't get discouraged: Next, talking to almost anyone, possibly finding start following a pub where sailors tend to drink their beerFacebook group [https://www.facebook. Another way people often get rides on boats in the [[Bay Area|San Franciscocom/groups/sailboatyacht/ like this one]] area is to go to the pier with and watch some beers captains agreeing and offer them to folks who look like they others disagreeing with his attitude. The take-home message is that there are heading outalmost as many types of captains as regular people, and nothing is impossible.
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. Learn about sailing, the races, the seasons and major routes. Be willing to help for works needed before the departure, like cleaning the hull.
Read some very useful information from the captains' point of view [http://www.yachtmollymawk.com/2011/03/hitch-hiking-across-the-atlantic/ here]. Don't let it get you pessimistic though: boat hitchhiking might take some effort and a long time, but it's definitely doable and amazing. It's generally a win-win situation for captains (needing crew) and hitchhikers (needing to travel). For the hitchhiker though, it allows you to have all the excitement of sailing, without all the pains of owning a boat.
===Online=== There a several online marine crew websites available that specialise Be helpful and interested in their trade. Even if you do not have any experience in matching crew sailing, be honest with boats. Find a Crew [http://findacrew.net] is the largest. Other options fact and state that you are Crewseekerseager to learn.net [http://crewseekers.net] Show respect towards their skills, their boat and the seas and Floatplanthe elements of nature.comLearn about sailing, or Vogue avec moi [http://www.vogavecmoi.com] the races, the seasons and Bourse aux Equipiers [http://wwwmajor routes.bourse-aux-equipiers.com]Be willing to help for works needed before the departure, in frenchlike cleaning the hull.
Big reorganization and addition of content; more coming
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.
= Hitching Yachts Hitchhiking a Sailboat or Yacht ='''Hitchhiking a boat''' can be quite an endeavor for some but can be done if you put with the right effort in itamount of persistence and flexibility. It generally means finding sail boats that need an extra hand on deck, and become becoming part of their crew. 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 with watch keeping, general tasks, or just purely for company.
==Safety==There are lots of good captains out there, with good intentions. But the high seas can also be a getaway for the unscrupulous, or a refuge for people with attitudes that don't play well in polite society. Just like with car hitchhiking, the odds are vanishingly small that you'll end up with a psychopathic murderer, but unlike car hitchhiking, you have basically zero options to escape once you're out at sea. And there are many other things that can go wrong - so it makes sense to be more careful than you usually would be. Also like car hitchhiking, the biggest danger is probably careless captains. An otherwise well-meaning captain who doesn't care about safety protocols, doesn't stock safety equipment, or doesn't take good care of his boat can be just as dangerous as as a bad-intentioned captain. Once you're on a sinking boat in the middle of the ocean, fallen overboard at night while the rest of the crew is asleep and the boat sails on without you, or seriously injured our sick and days away from medical help, it won't matter how well-intentioned the captain is. Luckily most captains want to protect their own skins too, and will have thought of all these things already, but it still pays to be aware of the exceptions. And of course, make sure you pay close attention and follow all safety instructions that the captain does give you. They're trying to protect you from dangers that you may not even realize exist yet. ===Communications===Once you're a few dozen miles from shore you'll have no cell phone reception, you're much to far from land to swim back, and it's unlikely there will be any other boats near enough to notice you need help without a call from the ship's radio. On long passages, there might not even be ships in radio range - you could go a week or more without even seening another boat. Boats at sea almost never have onboard internet access, except sometimes an option to send emails or text messages through a sattelite phone (which would normally be controlled by the captain). ===Safety Tips===So how do you go about taking safety precautions? Well, if possible start by analyzing how well the captain cares 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 women). If you've met them at a marina or pub, ask other locals what they think of them. If you've found them online, check if they have any reviews from other hitchhikers or sailors (they generally won't anyway, but it's worthwhile to check just in case). One safety benefit over car hitchhiking is that with a boat, it's easier to share the boat and captain's identifying information with a friend or family member before you leave. Boats have their names and often registration numbers painted on the side, and you'll have plenty of time to get the captain's full name and any other details you might want. Your family and friends might even be able to track your GPS position throughout the trip - most larger boats (and some smaller ones) have a system called AIS that regularly reports their GPS position to a public server so anyone can look up their current location on a map online. And captains who don't have this might still have another method, like a Garmin GPS system that reports back to a password-protected website. Others might have nothing. You can, of course, bring your own safety equipment - life jacket, harness, even your own GPS/satellite phone (Garmin has good devices for a few hundred dollars plus around $50-100 for a satellite communications subscription). But check what the captain already is providing before you go out and spend a lot of money. Also be aware of weather-related hazards. It's the captain's responsibility to avoid sailing into a dangerous storm (another reason to choose the captain wisely), but you may be held responsible for your own personal preparations. On a boat you're more exposed to rain, wind, sun, and cold than you would be in a house or even a car. Most boats have an indoor or covered area, but you may not have access to it for long hours of the day and night that you're standing watch or otherwise working on deck. In other words, make sure to bring a rain jacket, warm clothes, and sunscreen. Expect conditions at sea to sometimes be much colder than on land, and possibly sometimes hotter as well. ==How to Find a Boat==Finding a boat can take you a lot of time. Be prepared to change your schedules and plans accordingly. Unlike with cars, boat rides are not happening every day - it can take from a couple of days to a couple of months to find a boat. The weather can be unpredictable, and so can the length of the voyage. 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. Being extremely flexible about time and place helps a lot too, especially as a beginniner. Don't expect to be able to find a boat from your chosen point A to your chosen point B, unless you know for sure that it's a common route and the correct season (sailboats can't just easily go wherever they want - there has to be wind blowing in roughly the right direction; even for motor yachts, weather conditions and sea currents matter a lot). A much more successful strategy is to just say, "I'll go anywhere, as long as it's on a sailboat" - enjoy the adventure! Most captains will appreciate this attitude, and it's probably the best way to gain the skills and experience necessary to be a little pickier in the future. If you're looking for boats online, it also helps to be very flexible about your depature point. People who just love sailing (like captains) often will fly halfway around the world to join the right boat. You don't have to do that, but you will of course have more opportunities if you're ready to take a bus or hitchhike across a province, country, or continent to get to the boat. ===In Person===Traditionally, boat-hitchers would 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 [[Bay Area|San Francisco]] area is to go to the pier with some beers and offer them to folks who look like they are heading out.
The best way of encountering a suitable ride is to visit popular marinas and anchorages that outbound captains frequent. They are probably there for overnighting, waiting for suitable weather and winds, provisioning or repairing. They might be short of crew because of some force majeure (people change their plans and get seasick and so on...) - this means that they could actually ''need'' your hand on board.
Be assured that once you hit the marinas everything will be pretty obvious. You will meet other boat hitchhikers and they will share their information with you. Basically you'll be putting up notices offering your help, pacing the docks approaching people cleaning their yachts, trying to make contact with sailors in the bar etc. Try to talk to as many people as possible. After a while everyone will know you and will give you hints as to which boat is looking for someone.
===Online=== There are lots of good captains out there, a several online marine crew websites available that specialise in matching crew with good intentionsboats. But there Find a Crew [http://findacrew.net] is the largest. Other options are lots of different "classes" of captains out thereCrewseekers.net [http://crewseekers.net] and Floatplan.com, lots of different boats for different purposesor Vogue avec moi [http://www. So how do you find the good captains out from the hasty, less benign ones? Well, start by analyzing how well they care for their crewvogavecmoi. Or their boatcom] and Bourse aux Equipiers [http://www. How prudent they are about securitybourse-aux-equipiers. What kind of personal imbalance they might be experiencing based on their insistence on getting certain types of crew (like youngcom], good-looking females)in french.
===Prerequisites=Requirements==
*'''Experience''': Experience in sailing is not necessary -although a huge plus in getting a quicker lift-, but participating in duties and life on board of course is obligatory!
*'''Tolerance to seasickness''': Most people get motionsick on a boat, but often the body gets used to it after a couple of hours or days. A few find out they can't just take it and must break off their trip. It's important that you find out how you deal with seasickness (and eventually find your own tricks to cope with it), and let the captain know it. On Catamarans you will likely experience less symtoms of seasickness than on monohull sailing boats. There are drugs to cure some symptoms. Better pack some in advance especially in case you're planning a longer cruise and you don't yet know your reaction to exposure. Seasickness is no fun at all and can actually be dangerous for yourself and annoying for the rest of the crew, since you wont be able to fulfill any tasks below deck.
*'''Language''': Obviously all foreign languages can help, but for the Atlantic crossing speaking at least some French can make a huge difference, since over 60 % of sailors on this route are French-speakers
==Atlantic Crossing==
