Contrary to most popular hitchhiking wisdom, boats are actually hitchable. I have only hitched a 12-meter big luxurious motorboat so far, but that doesn’t stop me from trying to hitch an ocean-crossing containership. These big chonky guys travel everywhere, so the possibilities are endless!
What I figured out so far:
- You’ll need to obtain your STCW-95 (Google is your friend) to flaunt it in people’s faces
- You’ll probably need to work aboard. I’m not sure if you can still call it hitchhiking then
- The more experienced you are at sea, A) the greater the chances they’ll take you and B) the greater the chance they’ll pay you
- Earning money aboard will make your overland journeys venture deeper
- Earning money aboard is nice
- Oil tankers probably won’t take you for security reasons
My big dream? Hitchhiking a PanaMax ship that can go through the Panama Canal!
Psssst! If anybody who reads this knows how to make it happen for real, contact me or mention it in a comment or something! Thanks!
Edited to add: I’m now on CrewBay and FindACrew. Click here to check out my CrewBay profile and here’s my Find a Crew profile. I know this isn’t for hitchhiking or working aboard containerships. But perhaps someone with both a yacht and a containership will read this and think “Oh cool, someone who can work aboard and doesn’t vomit.” That’s me in a nutshell.]
