Sail Hitchhiking

What and why hitch-sailing?

Hitch-sailing: Spontaneous crewing on a strangers’ sailboat. Whether you have sailing experience or not, whether you contribute money or not, whether you found the boat in advance online or locally in the harbour. Some call it boathitchhiking, couchsailing, boathitching, or simply crewing! The latter only involves paid and experienced jobs. I like to call it hitch-sailing.

For me the way to travel is by boat. Exploring by boat is the ultimate freedom. You just go where the wind blows. It’s the sustainable and adventurous way to travel. It’s a way of life. A way to go to places where no one else goes, while being totally surrounded by nature. One day I’ll have a boat. Until then I help out where I can so I can just be out there exploring.

Have your WHY clear

Ask yourself why do you want to hitch-sail a boat. Do you want to gain sailing experience? Go from A to B? Learn about seamanship? Or simply chillax on anchor in pretty bays? Have that clear so you know what to look for.

Map & weather check

Look at the map for a VERY long time (part of the fun!). Where are you? Where do you need or want to go? How far is it? How much time would a trip take if the wind is x knots? Which islands are in between? Which ports are near me? Are there any border crossings? If so, where are the immigration offices (that’s where boats are and where you can easily be put on the crewlist without captains having to make a detour)? What’s the weather like when and where? So what would sailors do? Sailing depends on weather. It’s unlikely that it will be smooth seas and sailing all the time. Flexibility is a must.

Resources to check the wind and weather:

Windguru – Great for local weather forecasts
Passageweather – Wind, waves and weather forecasts for sailors and adventurers
Noonsite – Database with sailing info on destination all over the world

Your crew Profile

What can you put in your online profile or harbour poster to make yourself stand out? You might be a newbie in the sailing world with little or no sailing experience (I was). Show who you are. Write about your hobbies, skills, drive, and dreams. Include references, a photo and a link to your website or social media to make you trackable.

But I don’t have sailing experience?

Sailing experience is desired but positive and proactive attitude, and just simply someone fun to chat with even more. Put in your enthusiasm, your story and skills (language, cooking, dive, kite, yoga, mechanic, fishing, medical, writing, photography, video, comedian, massage, electrician, dietristian, heck if you’re good at fridge Tetris you have a welcome skill!) and you’ll come a long way!

Travel ethically

Embarking on a hitch-sail trip will be an amazing adventure! You’ll see the most beautiful sunrises, sunsets, seascapes and and wildlife creatures. How lucky we are to experience all this! It will also give you a deep and lasting respect for nature. You will experience the power of the wind and the waves, and realise just how precious our resources are, such as water, fresh air, and power. You will also see fishing fleets, trash in harbours, in the ocean and on the beaches, endangered species on the menu, and damaged corals. This is just to name a few situations that make us globetrotters pause for a moment. In reality though, that ‘moment’ is a constant. When you see what’s happening with your own eyes, talk face-to-face with people living on and for the ocean, and experience its value, it gives rise to an urge to do something. As a hitch-sailor, you can ‘just’ hop on a boat and leave it at that, but truly, there is so much more you can get out of it! For yourself, the ocean and for the places you’ll be visiting. As individuals, we can make a huge difference through the choices we make and the actions we take. When we plan, prepare and make conscious decisions, we can minimise our negative footprint and maximise the benefits for the place we visit and for the planet as a whole. We can travel oceans, do good, save money, and have fun.

Pack for the planet

A big part of your contribution (or destruction!) to a healthy ocean starts with the packing preparation. Being well equipped and prepared allows you to create positive change in many ways. We can do more than simply packing light, compact and purposeful for our own sake. Think about what you can do to minimise your carbon footprint, your trash trail and the amount of chemicals polluting the environment and your body. Choose the best for your health, your wallet, and the world that you call your playground. What’s in my ocean friendly travel kit? Read it here.