How to Sail Around the World on Other Peoples’ Boats

1. First Things First: Deciding where you want to sail

Research routes and seasons:

If you’ve never done any long distance, blue water sailing, you might not be aware of the ebb and flow of the world weather patterns.  As soon as you get on a boat, that’ll change.  Cruisers don’t like to sail against the wind as much as with it (go figure), and the wind blows certain directions in certain places at certain times of the year, pretty predictably.  So if it’s easy to go from east to west (and that does seem to be the dominant direction), boats will be usually be going from east to west.  They will also be going at the time of the year when they are least likely to hit cyclones and hurricanes.  Hence, a cruising season is born.  Some common ones, with a rough idea of their time-frames: west coast Americas (Mexico or Panama, usually) to the Marquesas in French Polynesia, February to May; Fiji/Tonga/New Caledonia to New Zealand, October to December; New Zealand to New Caledonia/Fiji/Vanuatu, April to June; southern east coast USA to Caribbean, November; same time frame for an Atlantic crossing from the Med to the Caribbean; and then a return trip from the Caribbean to the Med, around April, after Race Week in Antigua.  You will want to know what the cruising season for your desired destination is.  Noonsite is the central cruiser’s site, rife with a whole bunch of overwhelming info.  Among many things, it has a long list of countries here.  You can click on one and it will give you pointers such as when is the best time to be there sailing and what the main ports are (where you might find boats).  There’s also a book called World Cruising Routes by Jimmy Cornell.  It’s a little incomprehensible for the novice, but interesting none-the-less.

Research where there are marinas and docks near you:

Because this is where the boats are.  If your plan is to leave from where you are, or close to it (aka, you don’t want to have to fly somewhere), you’ll want to go to where the boats are.  If not, or if you don’t mind traveling to get to a boat, the internet might be your best bet (see below).

Look into scheduled rallies:

 

Up the mast in Indonesia.

2. Finding a Boat

Use websites dedicated to connecting crew and boats:

They definitely exist.  The ones I know of are FindACrew, FloatPlan, and Cruisers Forum.  Noonsite can lead you to crew sites (just search “crew” on their home page), there’s a sailing group on Couchsurfing as, Couchsailing, and Facebook is plumb full of cruising groups.  Usually you sign up for the site as crew, and it provides a lay out of boats currently seeking crew, their current location, where they will want to pick up crew, how many crew they prefer, and what your expected monetary contribution will be.  The site will let you sign up, but some of them want money to allow you to contact boats in any personal way.  Warning, its alot of older men looking for younger women, but not only.  In our experience, the internet can be your doorway into the cruising community, but once part of it, face to face is much better and easier.

Walk the docks, hang signs in marinas, carry cards to hand out:

Which is why physically going to where there are boats is our preferred way of finding one to crew on.  You can always get a pretty good sense for who someone is if you shake their hand and talk to them even for 10 minutes.  You have to be kind of open and friendly, put yourself out there.. but I’d kind of recommend that anyone doing this be that anyway.  Hang signs with dates of availability and contact info, walk up to people and start talking to them.  Bring cards with contact info.  Anyone you talk to might talk to someone else who needs crew.  We found at least 2 of our boats through cruisers talking to other cruisers.

Remember, not everyone wants experienced sailors:

If we’ve learned anything by crewing on various boats, it’s that every captain has a different way of doing things, has different systems set up, and whenever you get on a boat, it will take you a while to learn the particulars of that boat.  And, contrary to popular belief, some captains PREFER inexperienced sailors.  It makes the process of you learning the boat that much simpler for them.  You bring no previous convictions to the table.  So when asked about your experience, just be honest.  Once you’re sailing, it’ll be obvious very quickly if you actually have no idea what you’re doing, and that pisses captains off very quickly.  A boat is a good place for honesty.  It’s much too small for lies.

3. Once You’ve Found a Boat

Spend some time with the people on board before you depart:

Make sure that at the very least, you get along!  You can never really know if you’re going to be able to live with someone on a boat until, well, you live with them on a boat.  But having an hour or so with them to take a look at their ship and just sort of shoot the shit with them can at least weed out the crazies.  It’s like hitchhiking: if they give you the  jeebies, for god’s sake, don’t get on the boat.  You’ll find another one.

Discuss financial arrangements BEFORE moving on the boat:

Super important.  I know no one really likes to jump into detailed money discussions with a stranger, but you need to have a mutual understanding on this one before you go anywhere.  We made the mistake of not doing this with some friends, assuming since we were buddies it would be fine, and it turned out that our financial tendencies and expectations were so different, we had to get off the boat prematurely. If the captain wants to share costs, know exactly what those are.  Usually, it’ll be a 50/50 split on diesel, petrol, propane, and fuel, but that’s just a guideline.  Some captains like to be able to run the engine without consulting anyone, and so they pay for diesel.  Some captains want you to contribute to the wear and tear of the boat, however they define it.  Some captains want you just to give them a daily set amount of money.  Any of these can work, depending on what makes you happy.  The important part is that you set the parameters ahead of time.

Down Below–companionway and galley–on one of the boats we crewed.

Be flexible on departure time:

Remember, weather windows come and go.  Boats are notorious for schedule changing, but that’s because they are entirely dependent on the weather, which is fickle hell.  No captain is going to take his home into a shit storm, let alone his life, and if you find one who will, you probably shouldn’t go with them.  This means that if you are flying to or from a boat, non-flexible plane tickets are usually a bad idea.

4. What to Bring (the Essentials for Boat Travel)

• Foul weather gear and PFD if there aren’t any for you on board.
• Broad-rimmed sun hat.
• Polarized sun glasses.
• Long sleeve, light button down shirt (also for the sun).
• Sunscreen (Yeah, you get it, LOTS of sun exposure).
• Waterproof bags for anything you don’t want damp and salt to destroy (not water resistant– waterproof).  Can’t stress this enough.  The salt and damp gets into everything eventually.  Protect your electronics, leather, and any metal.  Heavy duty Ziplocks even work wonders.
• Med kit (include alcohol and hydrogen peroxide if you will be diving).
• If you’re going to be in the tropics, snorkel and fins.  For sure.
• And bug spray for land activities.
• An unlocked smart phone.  You obviously can leave this behind.  But boats can be pretty isolating.  The internet is nice.  So are family and friends back home.
• I have to include it… a GoPro is an amazing toy if you’ll be diving/snorkeling a bunch.
• Most boats have it sorted, but ask about charging electronics.  They’ll have a system and might want you to bring some sort of adapter.
• A musical instrument, preferably one that isn’t too grating.  Why not?  You’ll have tons of free time.
• And a Kindle.  It’s hard to find books in your native language sometimes, depending on how remote you are.  Pretty nice to be able to go to Great Library in the Internet.
• Podcasts are awesome for long trips.  Download some and listen to them on watch.
• The truth of the matter is that in our experience you can buy almost anything almost anywhere, though you might not find the exact thing you want.  And the more remote the place, obviously, it’s harder.  And more expensive.

5. Some Things to Know About 

Dingies:

This is your link to land.  When a boat arrives somewhere, it anchors near land and then lowers the little boat (aka tender, sometimes an inflatable, sometimes a row boat, whatever) into the water, and this is how you get anywhere once you’ve “gotten there”.  Dingies can be a wet ride, but they are fun to drive and clutch for fun.  Most will have an anchor, and you can take then out and anchor on a reef and dive.  Awesome.

The community:

The sailing community tends to be full of retired people, older single-handing males, families, and a few younger folk.  If you’re entering a community–and you most likely will be, cruisers tend to hang out with each other, another good thing to know–it’s best to know ahead of time who’s in that community.  I’ve met beautiful, amazing people from all these groups, and it’s helped me realize that people usually just hang out with people in their own age group.  What a shame!

Watch:

Having multiple people to stand watch is one of the main reasons boats take on crew.  Sure, some people want company or adventure buddies or cost-share, but if a boat is embarking on a longer sail, most people want someone awake and paying attention at all times (in fact, it’s maritime law to have a person awake 24 hours, but there’s no one to really monitor that).  Hitting stuff in the night is bad.  So unless you’re on a crusty boat with a debonair captain who just sets a course and sleeps through the night (we’ve been on one or two,  it’s pretty great), you’ll have a watch schedule.  There’s any number of permutations, but a normal one for a boat of 3 people would look something like stand watch for 3 hours, take 6 hours off, repeat.  Watch entails “driving” the boat, though almost all boats have auto-pilot, so you trim sails and adjust course with buttons.  You’ll use the VHF to hail any vessels that are too close, and most importantly, you’ll more or less stay awake.  Night-time watch can be hard but also magical with big silent skies of stars.

6. Some Final, Meta Things to Consider

Getting on a boat with someone who has shared interests is really cool:

This is more important than you might think.  Boats sort of demand that their crew do shit together.  This is because there is usually one dingy without which it is extremely difficult (and wet) to get off of the boat.  So if everyone likes to freedive or surf or hike or sightsee or whatever, its really cool.  You end up doing the shit you like to do all the time.  Now, if you’re just starting out on your boating adventures, and you get on a boat with someone completely unlike you, you might be stoked enough about sailing for it not to be an issue.  But I predict that eventually you’ll want to be around people who want to do the shit you want to do.  Seriously, it makes a world of difference.  Or at least someone whose really chill about letting you take the dingy all the time.  Obviously all sorts of set ups work, people are usually really good at compromise, even if they don’t share interests.  But its really cool when they do…

Be prepared for inactivity:

If you’re used to a very active life-style, boat life involves lots of sitting.  Everyone imagines all this sail handling and setting, and sure there’s some of it.  But sometimes you set the sails and don’t touch them for 3 days.  Also, when underway, you cannot move around the boat without holding onto something.  And there is basically no swimming.  You NEVER want to be in the water unintentionally, and even when the sea is glass and the winds are nil (does happen, though rarely), a swim over 4000m is…eye opening, aka very cool but also terrifying.  What this all translates into is lots of sitting.  Personally, I like running.  And rock climbing.  So I bring Thera-bands (and a yoga mat is good too), and wedge myself into safe places on the deck for a little activity while underway.

You’re moving into someone’s home:

So be respectful.  But remember that they invited you into it.  So they should be too.  Ladies… lots of old guys out there looking for female crew only.  Lots of them are great and not at all sleazy.  But always expect respect.

Boats are… dirty:

I don’t mean covered in dirt… though I guess that totally depends on whose boat you’re on.  But fresh water conservation is really important.  Some people have water makers, some don’t.  And sometimes even those who do prefer not to use it very much.  The result is a dearth of showering.  If you need to take a long hot shower everyday, don’t get on a sailboat.

And finally…:

Boats are really, really small.  You’re basically living in an elevator with other humans.  You can usually hear it when someone sneezes on the other end of the bunk or is pumping the head or moaning in their sleep.  It’s intimate.  And enforced intimacy can cause friction  if you don’t happen to see eye to eye.  So be as flexible as you can, be open to talking shit out, and be ready to compromise (no I don’t want our shared expenses to include that $20 block of cheese you just put in the shopping cart… but I can let it slide once).  Just expect there to be social complications.  Something funny we’ve discovered is we actually get along even better with people when we’re on their boat for a second time, after having been off for awhile.  I think the first time you are crammed together with a stranger, the things about them you don’t like are magnified.  So just keep that in mind.

Alright, that’s what I got.  Hope it’s helpful to anyone thinking about crewing on OPB.  I’m sure all the above is more rife with warning than anything else, but that’s important for a how-to list, right?  Gotta know what you’re getting into.  I’ll couple it with enforcing what I’m sure is the most common conception of sailing: nothing compares to boat life.  There are phosphorescence-lined dolphins in night waters and rainbow sunsets and giant whales next to the boat and tiny deserted islands full of reptiles and birds and hammocks strung on deck.  And if you like being in the water, the access is unparalleled.  You’ll meet some truly amazing people, people who are living a life that, though it is becoming more and more common, is still more adventurous and out-there than most.  And you’ll slow down, see the world, cut out alot of the noise.  We love it.  You might too.

Good luck!

Sunsets and Rainbows