Does anyone know if there are any companies/organizations that offer the possibility to sail the Atlantic by boat as a passenger (so not as a (more or less) experienced crew member). Are there any? Or announced plans or something like that?
(I’m not talking about being a passenger on a large cargo ship. I’m curious about the possibility to cross the Atlantic with a low carbon footprint).
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Looks like the main options are the things you’ve already ruled-out:
- Lowest impact travel: passenger on a cargo ship.
- Zero-emissions travel: £6000 trip on a sailing boat, but any normal-sized boat is going to expect everyone on board to take shifts.
Maybe you can find a “tall ship” that’s big enough to have passive passengers (example), although most tall ships seem to be operated by youth charities.
Thanks. The tall ships look amazing.
I don’t understand why there arent more commercial options around. Aren’t there armies of rich tourists and digital nomads struggling with their CO2 footprints?
Wouldnt it be possible to have WiFi on such tall ships? Wouldnt it be possible for people to work online for some weeks?
It might be a trope by now, but when you mention “rich tourists and digital nomads”… have you read For The Win?
When Cory Doctorow considers this question, … His character, an archetype of the subcultures you mention, from nearly fifteen years ago, voiced by the most cyberpunk author you ever read, chooses a cargo ship.
Thanks for the book rec
I didn’t know it yet. But it looks interesting. Thanks for the tip.
Like a transatlantic cruise?
No, I basically mean a sailing ship. A ship with sails. I’m curious about the possibilities to cross the Atlantic with no/low CO2 emissions. I have adjusted the title to make this clearer!
As others have said private boats are probably the best bet, but there are also sailing cruises which cross the atlantic, I believe the Alexander Humboldt stationed in Bremen makes that trip once a year. There are also other ships that I forgot the name of. It is really expensive though
It’s generally really hard if you have no experience. But if you’re willing to pay, maybe. Check this out: https://hitchwiki.org/en/Hitchhiking_a_boat
Lots of sailors look for crew of varying levels when crossing with personal boats. Lots of work aboard for tall ship experiences as well. We live in a place where there are loads of sail boats on the east coast of North America and folks are looking all the time. Head to a marina and start asking around. Find sailing groups on facecrack or any social media and advertise yourself. Many will require experience but many will train you as well.
I mean, Cunard does transatlantic sailings with the QM2, but your environmental impact for doing so would be high. Your impact would be far lower (per kilogram) if you did travel passenger on a cargo ship.
Those are regular cruise ships, right? Yeah no, not interested in that either. Those are incredibly polluting and wasteful things.
It’s the last ocean liner in existence and it’s more efficient than a cruise ship but yeah it’s still pretty fuel hungry. There aren’t any commercial sailing ships left anymore though even in a cargo capacity, companies don’t run them because their speed is so inconsistent that they can’t run on a regular schedule.
Findacrew.net - Typically private boat owners looking for a hand on crossings. No experience might make this a bit of a push and I havent used it for about 10 years so…
A better chance might be to try and get ahold of the merchant navy.
Plenty of big ships that take a volunteer crew, especially for ship delivery. They can be picky about who they make shipmates, so dont sound fucking useless if you contact someone. Competition to be crew can get fierce.
Depending where you are, most seem to do the business on Facebook.
I also haven’t looked at findacrew.net for years, but I remember seeing a few “M looking for F (>30) for crew/FWB” ads, which seemed kinda creepy. Especially, you know, because of the implication.
https://www.59-north.com/ take you on as crew for different lengths of legs. I think they usually go back and forth with two boats per year.
Hear me out. The thing with cruise ships is that they sometimes relocate from North America to Europe operations and vis versa. Those cruises don’t get tourists because the whole point of a cruise is to visit different places, no one wants that trip. But the trip is going to happen anyway, so they sell the tickets super cheap (and it’s stripped of entertainment like comedians, shows, etc). And because it’s going to happen anyway, you’re not exactly adding to any carbon footprint. You’d have to Google what exactly they’re called.
But I get you if you want to sail. That does exist too.
Repositioning cruise, I think
He just flies everywhere
Might as well fly, the plane is going regardless ಠ_ಠ
Well no the plane wouldn’t.
Probably would, since cargo is their primary…cargo.
For the discussion we’re having here, planes generally don’t relocate for the sake of relocating. If they do, then you don’t want to spend any time loading passengers/bags at a terminal. You just want to take off, land, and skip the rest. Plus for a plane any weight is quite a cost.
If you are talking about a normal commercial flight, then you flying is normal demand.
Feeding and housing you for the multi day trip will outweigh any emissions reduction from travelling by boat instead of by plane
That makes sense because you don’t need to eat and be housed those days in your life when you fly.
If you are looking to make the crossing on a sailboat under 50’, there are a few hitchhiker facebook groups that are pretty active. Maybe start in the FBG 'All Things Sailing" and move on from there.
Source: am fulltime liveaboard crusier
Interesting, thanks. What does “fulltime liveaboard crusier” mean? You spend your days sailing the ocean? In sailing boats?
I’ve been living full-time off the grid for six years on my Bayfield 29, either sailing or at anchor. After storm season I’ll be leaving the States bound to Colombia, Brazil & Panama.
I think most sailing ships do expect all passengers to be capable of crew duties to some degree. Especially on an arduous and long journey like across the atlantic
We need you to salt this pork
