Comments on: How to Sail the British Virgin Islands for Free

By: Regina

Regina — Tue, 01 Nov 2016 12:51:31 +0000

We’re on a sailboat and have taken on crew before in places… One trip we did we took a person from Guatemala to Florida with us. And with us starting a circumnavigation (sailing around the world), I’m sure we’re going to end up finding people to crew with us in different places.

By: Claire

Claire — Sun, 06 Dec 2015 23:28:39 +0000

As a young single woman with very little disposable income, I dream of sailing for free. I blog about travel with a focus on sailing and I want to do more. However, largely my experience on FindaCrew and other sites has been with older guys who turned out to be creeps or think that because they are offering me a ride on their boat I owe them favors of the non-monetary kind. Maybe if I met them in person before getting onboard it might be okay, because I could gauge their motivations, which is hard to do over the Internet. But I love sailing and I want to do this so badly I’m thinking of trying it anyway.

By: Brigitte

Brigitte — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 23:32:58 +0000

This is so awesome to hear!! I have been lucky enough to sail through out most of the Caribbean islands and used to live on a boat in St. Maarten when I was a tiny tot. You mentioned you saw opportunity to work as boat crew? Do you have any advise on how to find such opportunities for here or anywhere really. I do have sailing experience! Ill be back down in the BVI’s next June (:

By: Jim

Jim — Fri, 19 Dec 2014 22:30:04 +0000

This is a fantastic read matt! I’m heading up to the Caribbean for Christmas and new years for a month or so and wanted to get the BVI’s in and you have just given me a great idea. I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes.

Sounds like you had a killer time!

By: Jennifer Demarest

Jennifer Demarest — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 15:42:16 +0000

In 2012, my husband and I were hanging out at the locks entering Loch Ness in Scotland taking pics and chatting with random people. I had always wanted to travel on a boat through a locks system and, even though very much not my normal way, at the last minute I asked a couple if we could hop on their boat and ride through the locks. They looked at each other for a really long minute and then said yes! After the locks, they toured us around Loch Ness and we had tea and biscuits. Fun and beautiful. We gave them a huge thank you and t-shirts with the “Keep Austin Weird” slogan of our hometown. So memorable!

By: Katie

Katie — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 11:02:43 +0000

This is the perfect way to do it on a budget – I’ve been to Tortola and Virgin Gorda before on holiday and apart from dive trips seeing the rest of the islands isn’t easy, sailing seems the way to do it. I’m also inspired by Brian, I might also try it if I go back to Fiji with plenty of time to spare!

I’m guessing that this could work in other sailing areas like the Greek/Turkish islands?

By: Ken Harrington

Ken Harrington — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 09:02:24 +0000

Hi Matt,
This brings back some great memories. I’ve sailed the BVIs, Angilla, St Martin, St Croix, Panama, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Caymans, and Honduras the same way. Its a great way to travel!

By: Brian

Brian — Mon, 15 Dec 2014 23:09:24 +0000

I was able to do the same in Fiji. Met a guy at the bar on one of the more remote islands and mentioned I’d love to learn to sail and the next morning we were off island hopping. I paid for the food but that was it and was only about 15USD a day!!

By: Katie

Katie — Mon, 15 Dec 2014 18:55:50 +0000

Thanks for the tips, Matt – great advice.

I’ve also heard lots about working on boats, but like you, I don’t know how to sail. (Slightly shameful for someone who grew up in the Lake District, but there you have it.) Good to know that people will take you along in return for other things, like food and / or beer.

I guess it’s one of those things I always worry about though, like couch-srufing or hitch-hiking, because of the unpredictability. I know the chance is about one in a million, but you never know when you could end up with an axe murderer…

Maybe that’s just a fear I need to overcome…?

By: Marie

Marie — Mon, 15 Dec 2014 17:44:54 +0000

Very cool article, great advice. I’d never thought about doing this, and the idea is a little terrifying, but the way you’ve laid it out makes it seem like a more reasonable plan. Cheers!