These guys were having some fun on a tight rope. No net needed!

We have had a couple people come by the boat looking for a ride to another island or another country. This has had me think a little about what it takes to have someone have someone join our or someone's cruising sailboat.

A boat is a personal thing. coming aboard is not like catching a ride in a car to the next town. Most people on boats in a place like Tahiti have been on their boat for at least a year, so the boat is like their house, their home. Everything they know is aboard, and they have a rhythm. To ask for a ride is to enter a personal space.

So, if you are interested in joining a boat on a short or long passage you should look within your self to see what you can bring to the boat. What do you you have to offer? Music, cooking skills, story telling, sailing skills, teaching skills...

If you bring something, then you have to be willing to adopt the customs of the board. You have to adopt the boats rising time and bed time, you have to relish the food served on board, if their are kids on board, you have to be ready to contribute to their lives too, what can you teach, what games do you know or stories can you tell, what skills can you share?

Some people are interested in having crew join their boat... and most stories have been of long friendships formed, and some stories are of a big question mark! Most are of young people with an expectation of the high life as one would expect on a yacht in the movies. The real life aboard is more of a simple lifestyle where a contribution is what is expected from everyone aboard. The space is small and the jobs are many. To join a cruising family is to be willing to participate in their life rather than to go along as a passanger.