Imagine if your commute to work was as easy as stepping onto a sun-drenched yacht. Or if your office window overlooked the open seas. How about waking up each morning in a different exotic port?試想一下，如果上下班像登上沐浴陽光的游艇一樣輕松;如果透過辦公室的窗戶，你能俯瞰浩瀚的大海;如果每天清晨總在一個別樣的、具有異國風(fēng)情的港口醒來，你覺得怎么樣?

Now imagine if you could do it for free。現(xiàn)在再想象下，如果不掏腰包你就可以做到會怎么樣。

From 20-year-old backpackers to 80-year-old retirees, an increasing number of people are volunteering on boats for a remarkable chance to travel the world -- all without spending a dollar。從20歲的背包客到80歲的退休老人，越來越多的人在船上作義工，只為不花一分錢遍游全世界。

Here are our top five tips for living the yachting lifestyle, without the luxury price tag。生活在游艇上如何省錢呢?我們在這里提供五個頂級秘技。

Volunteer as crew 做義務(wù)船員

You don't need sailing experience to crew a yacht -- but you do need to be flexible. From cleaning to night watch shifts and stocking supplies, crew members are the worker bees of the boating world。在游艇上作船員不需要航海經(jīng)驗——但你要眼中有活。從清潔、輪班守夜到物品供應(yīng)，船員是航海世界的工蜂。

Many private yacht owners will offer free board and food, in return for volunteer deck hands。許多私人游艇的主人提供免費食宿，以此作為義工在船上付出勞動的報酬。

"A lot of boat owners are more than happy to have someone with no experience because it means they can teach them how to do things their way," said Kylie Gretener, of the findacrew.net website。“許多船主巴不得這些人沒有經(jīng)驗，因為這意味著，他們就可以采用自己的方式教他們做事情，” findacrew.net網(wǎng)站的凱利-格林特納說。

"What's most important is your attitude -- you've got to be adventurous and open to learning. It's a bit like being an exchange student in someone's home."“最重要的是你的態(tài)度——喜歡冒險并渴求知識。這有點兒像寄宿在某人家中的交換生。”

Be a friend 做朋友

If crewing sounds more like work than pleasure, perhaps your charming company is enough to earn you a free ride。如果你覺得做船員聽起來不大像娛樂，更像是工作，那你或許可以選擇陪別人度過一段令人愉快的旅行，這同樣能讓你免費游覽世界。

"We had one man from Italy who had a two-man submarine," explained Gretener. "He would take it out on weekends and wanted a companion to share the experience。“我們有過一名意大利客戶，他有一艘雙人潛水艇，”格林特納解釋說。“每逢周末，他駕駛潛水艇出來，尋找一名旅伴來分享他的經(jīng)歷。”

"Then there was the 80-year-old couple from Alaska who joined a yacht in Greece -- they contributed as deck hands but also told great stories to keep the crew entertained."“曾有一對來自阿拉斯加的80歲的夫婦，在希臘登上一艘游艇——他們不僅在船上做幫手，而且還給船員講有趣的故事逗他們開心。”

Teach the kids 做家教

It's not just the adults that need entertaining on board -- there's also their children。在船上，不僅大人需要娛樂——他們的孩子也同樣需要。

Families traveling the high seas may need a teacher or nanny to care for youngsters on long voyages。在公海上進(jìn)行漫長的家庭旅行時，請教師或保姆來照顧他們的孩子或許很有必要。

"We had one family who were circumnavigating

Australia and needed a teacher to home-school their children," said Gretener, adding "As much as you're sailing the world for free you're still contributing in some way, whether it be your time or expertise."“我們曾有一個環(huán)游澳大利亞的家庭，需要一名教師為他們的孩子作家教，”格林特納說，然后又補充道：“游覽世界雖然沒有破費你的金錢，但你需要以某種方式付出作為等價交換，時間或者專業(yè)知識。”

Jump on a research ship 隨行考察船

From submarines to superyachts, vessels looking for volunteers come in all shapes and sizes -- including research ships。尋找義工的船只各式各樣、大小不一，有潛水艇、超級游艇、普通船只——包括考察船。

Many environmental groups, such as Greenpeace or the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust, have research vessels that spend months at sea gathering marine samples and conducting experiments。“綠色和平”、“ 赫布里底鯨魚”和“海豚基金”等許多環(huán)保組織擁有自己的考察船，常在海上徘徊數(shù)月，采樣實驗。

Volunteers range from deck hands to administration staff and scientists working in onboard laboratories。船上需要的義工不僅有船員、管理人員，還有在船上實驗室里工作的科學(xué)家。

Cook up a storm 做一手好菜

Often preparing meals before any of the crew has even woken up, cooking is one of the most demanding jobs aboard a yacht。烹飪是游艇上要求最高的崗位之一，廚師常常在船員醒來之前，就要把飯菜準(zhǔn)備好。

While bigger vessels such as research ships or superyachts usually require a trained chef, smaller boats tend to take on versatile crew members able to lend a hand on deck as well as in the galley。考察船或豪華游艇等較大型的船只通常需要受過訓(xùn)練的廚師，而小型船只傾向于雇用萬能型船員，既能做雜活，也能烹飪。

With limited access to supermarkets, on board cooks must also be creative with the local produce -- even if that sometimes means fishing for dinner。由于不方便去超市，船上的廚師還必須有就地取材的本領(lǐng)——有時這意味著靠捕魚維生。

It seems you don't need to be a wealthy yacht owner to sail into the sunset. If you're willing to roll up your sleeves, the world could be your oyster。這樣看來，即便不是富有的游艇主人，同樣可以在落日的余輝中徜徉大海。只要你愿意捋起袖管，世界就在你腳下。