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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.
==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.
*'''Some money''': These days many yachts will ask you to chip in for your food. Many boats ask 10 or €15 on food per day. The Atlantic crossing takes between 15 to 25 days, depending on boat and winds, so you'll need around 150 to €300 for the crossing alone -count on at least a week in the marina till you find your lift, too. It is possible to get an entirely free lift food included, mostly on bigger yachts where you'll be needed to scrub the deck and polish the silver railing. During the ARC regatta you can even expect boats ask as much as €50 per day since inscription fees are pretty high.
*'''Some stuff''': Head torche. Waterproofs and good shoes are recommended although they are very expensive and if you don’t have them you can wait -the boat you get might provide them. The Canary Islands are cheaper when compared with mainland Europe and in Gibraltar for example apparantly there are sailor’s “jumble sales” so you might pay less. Don't forget your passport or ID, even when you're just travelling within Europe! The skipper must be able to provide identification documents for all crew members.
*'''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
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.
==How to Find a Boat==
* [https://www.latitude38.com/crewlist/crewlisthome.html Latitude 38 Crew List] is fairly active, depending on where you are and how flexible you are about location. Most of the trips hitchhikers will be looking for will be listed under "Cruising", but "Racing" and "Daysailing" can also be good for building up experience.
==RequirementsSailboat Hitchhiking Routes==*'''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.*'''Some money''': These days many yachts will ask you to chip in for your food. Many boats ask 10 or €15 on food per day. The Atlantic crossing takes between 15 to 25 days, depending on boat and winds, so you'll need around 150 to €300 for the crossing alone -count on at least a week in the marina till you find your lift, too. It is possible to get an entirely free lift food included, mostly on bigger yachts where you'll be needed to scrub the deck and polish the silver railing. During the ARC regatta you can even expect boats ask as much as €50 per day since inscription fees are pretty high.*'''Some stuff''': Head torche. Waterproofs and good shoes are recommended although they are very expensive and if you don’t have them you can wait -the boat you get might provide them. The Canary Islands are cheaper when compared with mainland Europe and in Gibraltar for example apparantly there are sailor’s “jumble sales” so you might pay less. Don't forget your passport or ID, even when you're just travelling within Europe! The skipper must be able to provide identification documents for all crew members.*'''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 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. ===Atlantic Crossing===
Apart from making your way round the '''Caribbean''' or '''Polynesia''' by offering a hand onboard yachts which seems to be common and easy, the most common route is the '''Atlantic crossing''' from Europe to the Americas (mostly to the Caribbean or Brazil).
====East-West from Europe====
'''When to go''': Boats go with the trade winds that start to move from East to West across the Atlantic in autumn. So the season is from ''September to January-February''. Top season is October, November. In the end of November each year there is a regatta called ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers) leaving from [[Las Palmas]]. There will be more boats than at any other time in the marinas and it can be considered safer than leaving with a boat that is going unassisted. There will be more competition on finding a lift though, too.
*[[Senegal]]: [[Dakar]] and [[Casamance]] (see "Africa to America" further down).
====East-West from Africa====
If you don’t want to pay the ferry in [[Algeciras]] it is possible to sail to [[Africa]], although unless you are extraordinairily lucky, you’ll have to go via the Cape Verde islands which are a stopover for many trans-atlantic sailors. They are between 10 and 14 days from [[Gibraltar]]. From there you’ll have to catch a new boat to get to [[Senegal]] which is three days away. It is an experience in and of itself although maybe not the perfect swap for a one-and-a-half hour long ferry ride that’ll cost you €25 You also miss out on [[Morocco]] and the crossing of the Sahara Desert, which are highlights of any visit to Africa.
'''Departure points'''
*From '''MaroccoMorocco''': '''Essaouira''' is your best bet, you can also try Agadir. No one crosses over directly from here though, all boats will be going somewhere in the vicinity ('''Canaries''' or '''Senegal''' for example) with other plans put up for later.
*From '''Senegal''': '''Dakar''' or '''Casamance'''. With a very likely stopover on the '''Cape Verde islands'''.
*If you want to take a flight to the '''Cape Verde islands''': the biggest marina is in '''Mindelo''' on '''Sao Vicente''', the second biggest one is on '''Sal''' where the international airport is.
*There are three sailing clubs in [[Dakar]]. “La Voile d’Or” with shallow water which therefore attracts catamarans only, the “CVD” (Club des Voiliers Dakar) where the majority of boats can be found and a third one also in the vicinity of the two ones mentioned. They are all situated not far from another to the South of the “Cap Vert” peninsula and the town centre. If you try to hitch from there it is strongly recommended you speak some French.
===Pacific Crossing===
The Pacific being about 6 times larger than the Atlantic. Most boats leave America and go through the south Pacific Islands towards '''Australia''' or '''New Zealand'''. This is because of the trafe winds.
* [http://www.theoceanpreneur.com/books Ocean Nomad] ''The Complete Atlantic Sailing Crew Guide - How to Catch a Ride & Make a Difference for a Healthier Ocean'' by Suzanne van der Veeken (2017)
= Hitchhiking Other Kinds of Boats (Besides Sailboats/Yachts) === Hitching a ferry ==
'''Hitchhiking a ferry''' is easy. Simply ask drivers or truck drivers if you can 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.
It's advised to find out in advance if they charge per vehicle (good) or for each passenger as well (bad).
== Hitching a cargo ship ==
There are stories floating around of people who always know someone else who managed to go for free on a freighter, but the only reliable stories really date back to the seventies. Regulations and insurances made it much harder to work abord in exchange for the passage. Cargoship travelling is commercialized now virtually everywhere: for quite an expensive fare you can rent a cabin on them.
== Hitching a fishing boat ==
It is generally very hard to hitch a fishing boat, even proposing your work abord - unless you know the captain, crew or boat owner. Most fishing boats leave and come back to the same harbor.
== Hitching a Barge ==
Some inland routes are navigable. Big rivers, canals... Barges and private boat cruise them. Barges are very long and flat boats that can carry thousands of tons of goods, slowly along the river. If you're not in a hurry they are easy to hitch.