Written as an answer to "How does hitchhiking a boat really works?" from Matias Combina from Montichiari, Italy
Boat hitchhiking is about the same time as car hitchhiking, except that the driver doesn't know that he will take you for a ride ! I'll explain myself. When you raise your thumb to get a ride on the side of the highway, drivers who want to pick you up will stop and depending on their destination you'll get on the car or not.
When you hitchhike a boat, except if you are a really good swimmer you ask skippers when they are tied to the dock. It like if you had a parking lot with 100 cars, and you need to decide witch driver you are going to ask for a ride. Of course, you could ask the 100 drivers where they come from, where they are going and if they need extra crew, but it would many hours. You would probably also realize that about 97 cars on the 100 are only going to get groceries and they are going back home.
If you had to choose from hitchhiking from a grocery store parking lot, or on the parking lot of a MC Donald's on the side of the inter-state highway, it easy to guess witch one you have the better chance to get a ride where you want. Same thing apply for boats, some harbours might have about no travelers during the season, and others hundreds of them. You need to find the right harbour to raise your thumb. How to do that ? Ask local sailors they are the best to help you with that.
1. RAISE YOUR THUMB !!
First, if you don't have any idea where to go, you need to find a harbour and start asking around to skipper if they know if somebody need extra crew aboard. Depending on the skipper, and on the type of travel he make, you might get good feedback.
Look for foreign boats. If you want to go somewhere, you have better chance if you ask skippers of boats that are not registered in the harbour you currently are in. How to do that ? It pretty easy. There is two kind of registration for boats. The first one is mostly for locals, and the other type is for international registration. The local ones usually only have a number written on each side of the bow (right picture). For the international registered ones, it the actual ship name that is written on the hull. If you take a look at the stem, you should see the name of the boat, and bellow it the registration harbour. (image bellow)
So, if you are by example in Montreal harbour, and you see a boat registered in Montreal, you have really good chance that the boat is a local and only go out for a day trip. But if the you see a boat in the New York Harbour that is registered in Montreal Harbour, you have better chance that the boat is going to the Bahamas or Carabians. Use your logic( and maybe with the help of a map) to help you to find where the boat is coming, and going to. Once you know that, you increase your chance to find a boat that goes in the direction you want.
2. HOW YOU CAN BE HELPFUL ??
Skippers will be hesitant to pick you up because on a boat it hard to safely get rid of an unpleasant crew before the next landfall. The key to overcome that is to find how you can be usefully during the trip. If you are an excellent cook, and you see that crew is eating Kraft Dinner for weeks, you might be welcome aboard ! Same thing if you see that skipper is alone, you might be useful as a night watch-keeper.
You don't need to have 20 years of experiences as a professorial sailor to to that. Depending on how the skipper is open-minded and on your own experience, he might ask you so sit in a corner and don't be on his way when he maneuver the boat, or give you simples tasks like watch keeping. Remember that youshall never lie on your knowledgeon anything that could put you, the skipper or the boat in trouble. Also remember that if skipper give you a task you have the RESPONSIBILITY of doing the task. If you think that you are not qualified for the task, inform the skipper right now about your worries and ask questions.
Topically, basics tasks you can be assign to can be watch-keeper at night. What does it mean ? Ask the details to the skipper, Generally heshe will want to be woke up as soon as you see a boat near by, or if the boat goes off-course by more than XX degrees. If you are under sail, depending on your knowledge, skipper might also want that you wake him up if he boat heel over a certain degrees, of if the wind force and direction change. Of course, if you know how to recognise the diferents clouds, you might be able to wake the skipper before the conditions actually go worst.
Depending on you tasks you might need to wake up the skipper many times during the night ( or while he take a nap!). It better to wake him up 10 times because you are not sure of something that not waking him for something you should.
If you fail to signal to the skipper that the boat is going off-course, because you were sleeping in the cockpit, don't be surprised if the skipper ask you to leave on the next landfall.
Also a important note : Except if the skipper explicitly allow you to do something, you shall not take any decision before asking him. Especially if you are not qualified for the task you are about to do. By example, if you see a boat near by, you are not allowed to change course if you don't have skipper authorisation. ( except if the skipper ask you to do so in case of imminent collision )
Boat hitchhiking is about the same time as car hitchhiking, except that the driver doesn't know that he will take you for a ride ! I'll explain myself. When you raise your thumb to get a ride on the side of the highway, drivers who want to pick you up will stop and depending on their destination you'll get on the car or not.
When you hitchhike a boat, except if you are a really good swimmer you ask skippers when they are tied to the dock. It like if you had a parking lot with 100 cars, and you need to decide witch driver you are going to ask for a ride. Of course, you could ask the 100 drivers where they come from, where they are going and if they need extra crew, but it would many hours. You would probably also realize that about 97 cars on the 100 are only going to get groceries and they are going back home.
If you had to choose from hitchhiking from a grocery store parking lot, or on the parking lot of a MC Donald's on the side of the inter-state highway, it easy to guess witch one you have the better chance to get a ride where you want. Same thing apply for boats, some harbours might have about no travelers during the season, and others hundreds of them. You need to find the right harbour to raise your thumb. How to do that ? Ask local sailors they are the best to help you with that.1. RAISE YOUR THUMB !!
First, if you don't have any idea where to go, you need to find a harbour and start asking around to skipper if they know if somebody need extra crew aboard. Depending on the skipper, and on the type of travel he make, you might get good feedback.
Look for foreign boats. If you want to go somewhere, you have better chance if you ask skippers of boats that are not registered in the harbour you currently are in. How to do that ? It pretty easy. There is two kind of registration for boats. The first one is mostly for locals, and the other type is for international registration. The local ones usually only have a number written on each side of the bow (right picture). For the international registered ones, it the actual ship name that is written on the hull. If you take a look at the stem, you should see the name of the boat, and bellow it the registration harbour. (image bellow)
So, if you are by example in Montreal harbour, and you see a boat registered in Montreal, you have really good chance that the boat is a local and only go out for a day trip. But if the you see a boat in the New York Harbour that is registered in Montreal Harbour, you have better chance that the boat is going to the Bahamas or Carabians. Use your logic( and maybe with the help of a map) to help you to find where the boat is coming, and going to. Once you know that, you increase your chance to find a boat that goes in the direction you want.2. HOW YOU CAN BE HELPFUL ??
Skippers will be hesitant to pick you up because on a boat it hard to safely get rid of an unpleasant crew before the next landfall. The key to overcome that is to find how you can be usefully during the trip. If you are an excellent cook, and you see that crew is eating Kraft Dinner for weeks, you might be welcome aboard ! Same thing if you see that skipper is alone, you might be useful as a night watch-keeper.
You don't need to have 20 years of experiences as a professorial sailor to to that. Depending on how the skipper is open-minded and on your own experience, he might ask you so sit in a corner and don't be on his way when he maneuver the boat, or give you simples tasks like watch keeping. Remember that youshall never lie on your knowledgeon anything that could put you, the skipper or the boat in trouble. Also remember that if skipper give you a task you have the RESPONSIBILITY of doing the task. If you think that you are not qualified for the task, inform the skipper right now about your worries and ask questions.Topically, basics tasks you can be assign to can be watch-keeper at night. What does it mean ? Ask the details to the skipper, Generally heshe will want to be woke up as soon as you see a boat near by, or if the boat goes off-course by more than XX degrees. If you are under sail, depending on your knowledge, skipper might also want that you wake him up if he boat heel over a certain degrees, of if the wind force and direction change. Of course, if you know how to recognise the diferents clouds, you might be able to wake the skipper before the conditions actually go worst.
Depending on you tasks you might need to wake up the skipper many times during the night ( or while he take a nap!). It better to wake him up 10 times because you are not sure of something that not waking him for something you should.
If you fail to signal to the skipper that the boat is going off-course, because you were sleeping in the cockpit, don't be surprised if the skipper ask you to leave on the next landfall.Also a important note : Except if the skipper explicitly allow you to do something, you shall not take any decision before asking him. Especially if you are not qualified for the task you are about to do. By example, if you see a boat near by, you are not allowed to change course if you don't have skipper authorisation. ( except if the skipper ask you to do so in case of imminent collision )
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