Significance Transport of gases between the ocean and the atmosphere has profound implications for our environment and the Earth’s climate. An example of this transport is the oceanic uptake of carbon dioxide, which has buffered us from a higher concentration of this greenhouse gas in the atmosphere while also causing ocean acidification. Here we describe the first direct measurements of air–sea methanol transfer. Atmospheric methanol, a ubiquitous and abundant organic gas of primarily terrestrial origin, is observed to be transported over thousands of kilometers and deposited over the ocean, where it is likely consumed by marine microbes. We quantify the rate of methanol deposition and examine the governing processes near the air–sea interface.