The Atlantic crew toolkit 2026-27
Cross the Atlantic as crew this season
Boats are leaving the Canaries and Cape Verde between November and January. Get the knowledge, connections and practical tools to find your boat, choose well and get ready to cross.
Boats are leaving now
Find your Atlantic boat this season
20+ opportunities scouted for you this month, crew exchange and paid gigs (not as paying passengers), with a weekly update this November. Opportunities change as boats find crew, and new ones come in through the season. The full list lives on the Notice Board, where members contact captains directly. For example:
- La Gomera to Cape Verde, around 25 November, costs split
- Gran Canaria via Mindelo to Martinique, this winter
- Paid delivery job: Las Palmas to St Lucia
- Crew exchange, paid berths and paid delivery jobs
- From the Canaries, Cape Verde, Spain and the Caribbean
There is no obvious way in.
Finding a boat is one part. The harder part is crossing safely and having a good experience on board. The questions are usually these:
- How do I find a boat?
- Who do I trust?
- What should I ask before I say yes?
- What do I bring?
- What happens if things go wrong?
- Who do I ask for advice?
- How do I become part of this world when I don’t know anyone in it?
Your Atlantic season
From looking for a boat to stepping aboard, prepared.
Step 1: understand the crossing
Routes, departure windows, costs and weather. Know where to go, when to look and what to expect. This offer includes Ocean Nomad E-Book – the Complete Atlantic Sailing Crew Guide (+4000 copies sold)
Step 2: get seen and find your boat
Create a crew profile captains respond to. Explore the weekly boats list and connect directly with boat owners and fellow crew. Connect with Ocean Nomads members on the different islands, including some that are sailing and welcome crew.
Step 3: choose well and prepare to sail
Know what to ask before you say yes. Spot the red flags, check a boat and skipper, and prepare for life offshore. Take this super serious!
Step 4: create ripple effects
Make your crossing count, for you and also for the places you visit and the ocean you cross. Low-impact living, citizen science from the boat, and people and places on the map to support along the way.
Then you’re ready to step aboard and head for the ocean.
What you get
Everything for your Atlantic season
Waypoints updated from Ocean Nomad for 2026 and turned into lessons. + Safety Scorecard, video trainings, 2026 crew websites and prices, and 20+ curated boat opportunities this month.
- Know the crossing: Waypoints for Atlantic Crossing (routes, timing, costs, weather and harbour maps), my book Ocean Nomad and the Atlantic Crew Report from 131 crossers
- Find your boat: 20+ curated boat opportunities this month on the Notice Board, plus video trainings on your crew profile and finding a boat online
- Choose well: the 54-point Safety Scorecard, captain red flags, the crew safety checklist and what to agree before you sail
- Get ready: the offshore packing list and provisioning
- Connect, on the way and beyond: full access to the Ocean Nomads network and resource library, our map of member boats and contacts in Cape Verde and the Caribbean (local organic spots too), resources for sailing with a lighter footprint, and our Mindelo meetup around New Year
Is this for you?
Made for Atlantic crew this season
No boat of your own or years of experience needed.
- You want to cross the Atlantic as crew this season
- You don’t own a boat, maybe you’ve never sailed
- You want to choose a safe boat and a good skipper
- You want people around you who have done it
- Not for you if you want a guaranteed berth
Your people at sea
A year in the Ocean Nomads network
Finding a boat is easier when you know people who are already out there. Both options give you a full year in the network, with around 250 ocean nomads: sailors, captains and crew.
- The Notice Board: curated crew opportunities (crew exchange and paid gigs), crew calls from captains, and room to post your own
- The Ocean Nomads map: members, member boats and contacts along the route, in Cape Verde and the Caribbean, plus local organic spots
- Direct messages: talk to captains, crew and members who have done it before
- Meetups: including our Mindelo meetup around New Year
- The resource library and the Impact Tracker: guides, tools and tips for life at sea
The expensive mistake is saying yes to the wrong boat
This is not an island hop. This is an ocean crossing, with two to three weeks at sea and help far away, so who you sail with matters. We see this almost every week in the Facebook crew groups. This one is a real case.
Someone paid a $2,000 deposit for a Pacific crossing. Departure slipped week after week, six weeks in all, while the boat dealt with serious technical problems they only heard about through the captain’s social media. $2,000 and six weeks lost. You can catch this early by assessing carefully and asking the right questions. The 54-point Safety Scorecard walks you through those questions. We provide the knowledge, resources and connections to help you make informed decisions. You remain responsible for assessing each boat, skipper and opportunity. We don’t guarantee berths or inspect boats.
From never stepping on a sailboat to buying his own
“I signed up. One week sailing turned into 1.5 months. Together with other Ocean Nomads, we sailed from Northern Spain to the Canaries. I fell in love with the sailing lifestyle and bought my own sailboat. Without Suzanne and the community, I would not be where I am now.”
Nadiem
From “I didn’t know this was possible” to 4,700 nautical miles
“I was completely mindblown that traveling like this is even an option. None of us had ever set foot on a sailboat. Suzanne planted a seed. With the support of the Ocean Nomads network, that seed became 5 boats, 9 islands, 4700 nautical miles, and a journey from Tenerife to Guatemala. This community kept providing me with opportunities to continue my way closer to Central America.”
Simon. Sailed from Europe to Central America.
Starting from zero? Become a sailor for life
Zero to Ocean Nomad
Everything above, plus our complete online course, yours for life with every future update. €247, one payment.
- Seven modules, from your mindset and adventure plan to finding the right boat, safety checks and life on board
- Five filmed on-board sailing lessons with skipper Andy
- The 60-step Crew Chart and the Crew Coach, for every ocean, not just the Atlantic
- 55+ video lessons, yours for life, with every future update
- Bonus masterclasses: how to get paid sailing, and how to afford a long-term nomad life
- Build the knowledge and confidence to become a capable crew member, on the Atlantic and beyond
- See everything in the course
From zero experience to crossing the Atlantic. “Getting an insight into sailing community, what goes on at the docks, what to look out for. How to avoid bad experiences, how to be picky. There are a lot of things in the course that made me feel more secure coming the trip. It was the best week of my life.”
Jesse
Your guide, Suzanne van der Veeken
I didn’t learn this from a sailing school
Featured in Financial Times, CNN, Lonely Planet & Yacht Magazine.
I started with zero sailing experience, no boat, no connections and the assumption that sailing was only for rich people or people who grew up sailing. I was so curious to dip my toes into this lifestyle. I learned by walking docks, asking questions, getting seasick, making mistakes, and once walking off a boat hours before it left for the Atlantic, my budget gone but my life saved.
Nearly two decades later I’ve sailed 50,000+ nautical miles on 100+ boats, crossed the Atlantic five times and earned my Yachtmaster Offshore so I can take people sailing. What I wished for at the start was someone telling me how this world works, how you get in, and how you know when to walk away. I also created Zero to Ocean Nomad, our online course for people starting out at sea. So you can get out there in a happy, safe and meaningful way. And not too far from today.
As featured in
Financial Times: “One of the movement’s leading voices is Suzanne van der Veeken, author of Ocean Nomad, and founder of Ocean Nomads.”
CNN: “In the hitch-sailing world, Van der Veeken has become something of a guru.”
Atlantic crew 2026-27
Join the Atlantic crew
🌒🌓🌔🌕🌖🌗🌘🌑
Atlantic season offer, until 9 December.
€97
€97 for your first year: your Atlantic crew toolkit plus 12 months in the Ocean Nomads network, all updates included. Renew at the same €97 a year to keep the network and get next season’s toolkit, or cancel anytime. Not for you? Money back within 14 days.
- Waypoints for Atlantic Crossing: routes, timing, costs, weather
- My book Ocean Nomad
- Captain red flags and the crew safety checklist
- The packing list and the Atlantic Crew Report (131 crossers)
- The weekly list of boats looking for crew, on the Notice Board
- Contact captains and crew directly, plus the members’ map
- Introductions, meetups and the Mindelo meetup around New Year
- Next season’s toolkit when you renew
€247
Starting from zero? Everything in Atlantic crew, plus our full online course for life.
- Everything in Atlantic crew 2026-27
- Five sailing lessons with skipper Andy
- The Route and Season Guide and the Crew Coach
- 55+ video lessons, yours for life
Frequently asked questions
Not ready? Explore the free crew resources.