Ship hop?

Joshua Teodoro

Joshua Teodoro

New member
Some of you know that I am on a walk/hitch trip across the country right now. My final destination is Seattle after I stay in LA for a while. But I found out that a friend is moving to Hawaii for collage. She said that if I could make it there I could stay for a while.

Has anyone ever done any stowaway trips? Might sound dumb or crazy but isn't that what everyone thinks about our adventures?
 
i wouldnt reccoment that- coming from someone working at a shipyard. not only is security insanely high at the majority of places that go abroad , there are many other factors to be considered. temperature, if youre talking about a cargo ship, food, etc. i work in a shipyard and would not consider it even knowing importors/exporters.
 
Well actually. I was thinking more along the lines of talking to the people at the yard, figuring out if there is a ship headed there and talking to the crew about working for the ride. I have heard of this working a lot and it's a fun way to travel. But I was just wondering if anyone on this forum had ever done it
 
I think there is a post somewhere about this.
It seems like it could be pretty dangerous though....being in the middle of nowhere in the ocean is a lot different than on land.
You could probably get work on a boat headed there or maybe pay a small fee for a ride.
 
I will do a search.
It's not something I'm going to attempt without permission. I'm not sure how it works exactly but I know that I have read articles about people traveling around the world that way.
 
Just read this. Could get hairy if I still want to try.

"Due to the Jones Act, you can’t sail to Hawaii or Alaska or between ports in the same country such as New York to Miami."

And then this :(

"Section 27, also known as the Jones Act, deals with cabotage (i.e., coastal shipping) and requires that all goods transported by water between U.S. ports be carried in U.S.-flag ships, constructed in the United States, owned by U.S. citizens, and crewed by U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents. The purpose of the law is to support the U.S. Maritime industry."
 
yeah. ports are serious business. everyones on sure high terrorist type alerts or smuggling alerts because of all the ridiculous bs. anyway you could probably get a ticket out there for a few hundred bones. thats not that bad...
 
It's quite possible to crew small boats. From what I understand you arent going to find a ride on a cargo ship, as the insurance risk is too high. rather go to smaller ports and ask around to maybe crew a sailing yacht. I will for sure be trying to find a boat trans Atlantic this winter. there are a lot of websites out there though, like findacrew.net
most likely though, you will not find a cargo ship to stow away on. I knew 2 people who have done this, and it didnt enc up so well. One of them was quite drunk, and didnt pack anything. he rappelled down onto a cargo ship from a bridge, with practically no gear or supplies. after a few days he was lookin for help from the crew, only to find out the were going to alaska (he hopped out of Oregon). He spent a few weeks on the boat, with a crew of people that were all really pissed off at him, and was let back off when they returned to Oregon, with a huge fine (it was that or prison time).
anyways, just go work for your trip, theres people sailing to hawaii all the time.
 
Thanks for the replies.

Hopefully the yacht thing works out. Although rich people wouldnt take to kindly to someone who looks somewhat like a bum. Oh well. I will dress nice.
 
the first person I met who had hitch trans atlantic had a dread mullet, and was quite dirty. I dont think people with boats are all yuppies. I guess there are a lot of people that want company on a long boat ride, and someone with a lot of exciting stories (like many poor travelers), is probably a good choice.
 
there's been posts before about stowing away on the trash barge to hawaii. and whether or not you can really get away with it and not get caught/seen you've got to think about 1) enough food and water for at least 10 days 2) what/where you're gonna shit/piss. 3) bribing the workers (if that's even an option)
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from the west coast you can find flights for a couple hundred bucks which aint much. or if you're really set on sailing there, visit some marinas and shipyards and look on the bulletin boards or ask around for anyone needing crew.
 
i did hear once that some of the big container ships take passengers, but then youd have to pay, and quite a lot too.
 
I have spent a lot of time looking into this boat hopping thing, and form what I understand, hopping a cargo boat is pretty much out of the question anymore. I met someone who had managed a few years ago, but only because their father was working high up in the company. Due to insurance, businesses shipping cargo are not gonna take you. And honestly, do you have to bring back the trash barge to Hawaii?
 
no, i wasn't tryin to bring it back...just mentioning that' its already been talked bout is all
 
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