My Story Contest 3: Hitchhiked a Boat and Sailed Across The Atlantic

After over 2800 nautical miles and 15 days at sea with a crew I just met, was the worst and best experience I've ever had. When I heard that boat hitchhiking is a thing I knew I wanted to try it. So I called up a friend of mine, we quit our lives and hitchhiked our way to Madrid, then took a flight to the Canary Islands.

The boats already crossed, but a few still remained. I thought there is no way I wait 2-3 weeks for a ride, luck will be on our side and sure it was. On the second day in the marina I walked up to a Russian looking crew and asked if they are crossing the Atlantic. "Yes we do" - said the captain with a harsh accent. "Can we come?" - I asked. "Yes, you can." So that was it. I was on a catamaran for the first time in my life and sailed real oceans.

The crew loaded up on healthy fresh food, because this captain was also a star chef, so we didn't eat canned and dried food, but well cooked Asian and freshly prepared Italian. In between meals he made us fruit juices and salads.

I did have to get my hands dirty in exchange for a free ride. Cleaning and waxing a boat this size multiple times on our journey was no picnic, but this is what hitchhikers are accepted for. Work, work, work, staying up for night shift and having an extra pair of hands for more work.

10 minutes into leaving the marina I got seasick so I went to sleep, but the crew was knocking on the door at night telling me to quickly go upstairs and see what I had to see. Never in my life, I saw something as beautiful as that night. A large group of dolphins was following us in the pitch black, swimming in the illuminating phytoplankton. Their bodies were shooting star-like torpedoes flying through the night sky. I could only see their illuminating silhouette. There are no words to describe how amazing this experience was.

On the night of day 8 the weather and the currents changed. We lost a sail because of the winds and the crew was panicing. On open water at night it is nearly impossible to find anything, but we turned the boat right around and caught up with the lost sail. It was back at work the next morning.

15 days without seeing land or hear another soul but my crew got the better of me. I lost my sane mind, so I ended up dancing and singing all night by myself when I had to let lose. I could spend hours watching a ship go by and picture what it would be like to talk to another soul.

The sunsets were as beautiful as they can get and the night sky was as clear as it gets. I slept outside many time falling asleep under the stars.

Sometimes I watched the Moon disappeared between the building size waves then appeared again for a short second. We saw dolphins and whales many times and flying fish frequently landed onboard, so we had no shortage of soup material.

When I did see land for the first time in 15 days it was like being born again. It took some time to adjust to being static and being landsick is never thought I would experience. We sailed the Caribbean for the another week, visited St. Martin, Brittish Virgin Islands and the Dominican Republic where we said goodbye to the crew and carried on traveling Latin America for a year.

Video of the crossing:

I told myself never again I will sail as it really took a toll on me, but guess what. I own my sailboat now :D What a sarcastic end to the story.

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