Looking for boat going to mainland Europe in summer (willing to work)

shane9689

Hey,

I'm looking for anyone that's sailing across to Europe that might have a free space on their ship/boat/yacht/dingy.

I need to get across to mainland Europe

Willing to work and help out on the boat where possible.

I have no sailing experience but i could do the menial tasks and whatever im shown.


Shane

munchkin_utd

not sure if you are stuck for cash or want the experience , but should you be looking for a cheap way to the continent that isnt a flight - Mega bus do a deal for 1pound from Rosslare to London incl ferry and another pound from London to Brussels or Paris including that ferry too.

shane9689

I'm looking to hitchhike across Europe, but i figured, if i plan to travel cheap and adventurous in Europe, then why not start in my own country. Also the experience would be great to have. i like to take the tough way around.

really? never heard of that, how do they do it for so cheap? thanks for the info. ill consider that option if i'm stuck, but personally,i feel sailing across would follow more closely to my agenda.

coylemj

If you have no offshore sailing experience then it's highly unlikely that a sailing boat will take you, you will be (1) in the way with no skills to offer (2) probably seasick most of the time and (3) they will have to feed you so there is no reason whatsoever to take you for free.

If you think that you can help out then I'd forget about it. Above deck you'd need sailing skills which you don't have and below deck you would be completely useless because with no sea legs you'd probably spend most of the time with your head stuck in the head (toilet) throwing up. Just because you've been on the odd car ferry is no preparation for sailing across open seas believe me, the boat will be almost permanently leaning over at an angle and pitching up and down with the waves.

shane9689

coylemj wrote: »

If you have no offshore sailing experience then it's highly unlikely that a sailing boat will take you, you will be (1) in the way with no skills to offer (2) probably seasick most of the time and (3) they will have to feed you so there is no reason whatsoever to take you for free.

If you think that you can help out then I'd forget about it. Above deck you'd need sailing skills which you don't have and below deck you would be completely useless because with no sea legs you'd probably spend most of the time with your head stuck in the head (toilet) throwing up. Just because you've been on the odd car ferry is no preparation for sailing across open seas believe me, the boat will be almost permanently leaning over at an angle and pitching up and down with the waves.

thanks coylemj, but im still going to try. im looking for any method across the channel to be honest, and no one would have to pay for my food, i'm quite independent in that regard, in that i can bring my own rations.

you come across slightly insulted by the such an idea? i have no illusions as to the level of skill required to sail, hence why i stated that i have no experience, at the same time, im still willing to help if asked to in any way.

im hitching a ride essentially, not looking for work.

ofcourse there is no reason for anyone to take me, other than kindness and a favour, im under no illusions here.

coylemj

shane9689 wrote: »

you come across slightly insulted by the such an idea? i have no illusions as to the level of skill required to sail, hence why i stated that i have no experience, at the same time, im still willing to help if asked to in any way.

I'm not in the slightest bit insulted, just amazed at your naivety. If you have 'no illusions' about the skill required to sail then you should understand why a person with no such skills is going to be a hindrance on board a sailing boat travelling across open seas.

I'm trying to give you a reality check, nobody sailing to Europe would take an inexperienced person on board for the simple reason that they have no idea how you will react to the conditions on board. There is a small possibility that you will get violently ill and need to be taken off, hence nobody will take you so I'd just forget about it.

shane9689

coylemj wrote: »

I'm not in the slightest bit insulted, just amazed at your naivety. If you have 'no illusions' about the skill required to sail then you should understand why a person with no such skills is going to be a hindrance on board a sailing boat travelling across open seas.

I'm trying to give you a reality check, nobody sailing to Europe would take an inexperienced person on board for the simple reason that they have no idea how you will react to the conditions on board. There is a small possibility that you will get violently ill and need to be taken off, hence nobody will take you so I'd just forget about it.

I live in Galway and have a few months to try get myself exposed to sailing then.
If i react poorly, ill call off any future plans, otherwise i will be able to hopefully sail without sea sickness.

murphym7

There is another key point that you are missing, why would somone want a stranger on their boat for the few days it takes to sail accross? Would you let a stranger stay with you in a caravan for 3 days? Doubt it. I think you will never find a boat to bring you over, get the ferry and start your adventure when you land over there.

coylemj

There is also the risk that you will be a naughty boy and bring some stuff that the sniffer dogs in the airports are trained to detect. If the customs people at the other end find anything dodgy on board, the boat will be impounded and you'll all be detained with your passports seized while it gets sorted.

Nobody is going to take that risk to save a stranger the cost of the ferry.

Just forget it.

HeidiHeidi

I have to say, without wishing to completely burst your bubble, that I agree with the other posters. I've done a fair bit of offshore sailing, and I can for sure say that I wouldn't take an unknown, inexperienced person on board for a trip.

Who knows how they'll react to the whole thing? Being on a boat for 12/24/36/more hours can be very very boring, and a boat can be a VERY small space after a while. You'd also be looking for someone who can help with the navigation/watches/helming - if you've no experience in those then you're just an extra mouth to feed (to put it bluntly, sorry). And that's before the weather turns nasty - if the **** hits the fan and you wind up seasick, you most definitely can't be doing with a "disabled" person to mind, as well as everything else that's going on.

I'm not saying that any of the above will get to you, maybe you'd be a perfect crew member. Your best bet, if you've time, is to get some sailing experience with anyone you can find - preferably offshore of some description - and see if it's for you. If you hang around sailing clubs long enough you'll also make contacts who may know people looking for crew - a personal recommendation is worth its weight in gold for something like you're looking for.

Best of luck. I admire your goal - we all had our first long offshore trip some time, and have lived to tell the tale - I hope you can figure a way to organise yours

shane9689

thanks for all your positivity guys, but ive already found sailors willing to being me around the place. granted they arent sailing from ireland, but in france ive found people quite willing to oblige me.

you guys seem to be assuming i want to become a proper crew member? which isnt true.
i appreciate any practical advice that people can give me and which some of you have given (thank you) about sailing or boats or thing in general but ridiculous comments like coylemj's are unwelcome and unproductive and have nothing to do with actual boat travel.

anyone else considering posting about how this is impossible, please dont bother. enough pessimists in the world already. thanks

Tabnabs

shane9689 wrote: »

thanks for all your positivity guys, but ive already found sailors willing to being me around the place. granted they arent sailing from ireland, but in france ive found people quite willing to oblige me.

you guys seem to be assuming i want to become a proper crew member? which isnt true.
i appreciate any practical advice that people can give me and which some of you have given (thank you) about sailing or boats or thing in general but ridiculous comments like coylemj's are unwelcome and unproductive and have nothing to do with actual boat travel.

anyone else considering posting about how this is impossible, please dont bother. enough pessimists in the world already. thanks

Are they coming to Ireland to pick you up?

shane9689

no, they are not, but they are in france and would be willing to take me onboard when im in mainland europe...although they arent in ireland, my point was that people are willing to take people on board.

Tabnabs

So they'll take you out for a spin sort of thing? Or offshore sailing?

HeidiHeidi

Good for you, and for them!

One other thing - without wanting to sound like a complete Negative Nellie - in the same way that I wouldn't take an unknown quantity on board for an offshore trip, equally I wouldn't step onto any random boat for such a trip either, without some knowledge of who's running the show.

I'd want to know that whoever was skippering the boat actually knows what s/he's doing and has a healthy sense of self-preservation and knows the limits of the boat and crew.

Keep us posted - I'd love to hear of your travels

shane9689

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

Good for you, and for them!

One other thing - without wanting to sound like a complete Negative Nellie - in the same way that I wouldn't take an unknown quantity on board for an offshore trip, equally I wouldn't step onto any random boat for such a trip either, without some knowledge of who's running the show.

I'd want to know that whoever was skippering the boat actually knows what s/he's doing and has a healthy sense of self-preservation and knows the limits of the boat and crew.

Keep us posted - I'd love to hear of your travels

thats not negative heidi, thats just common sense and very true, i ofcourse would try to avoid sailing with a nutcase haha, but ofcourse a certain amount of what im doing requires trust in strangers...whats negative is being told forget about it and being subtly accused of drug trafficking...thats negative.

i believe he sails around the coasts of europe, such as spain and france etc... i was asking him if he was going to ireland, which he isnt at the moment, so i didnt inquire much further, but i may meet him just for the hell of it sometime during my trip. as to his plans of where hes sailing, im not sure.