You have the certificate. What you do not have is a boat, a crew, or an obvious way to get the sea time that turns a piece of paper into a sailor. Charter companies want a skipper with a track record. Ownership is absurd for the purpose. Your sailing school has finished with you, and the miles are not going to log themselves.
This is the gap Speedbird fills. We are a club of over 300 members with two well-found yachts on the River Hamble, sailing all year. Trips are posted by our skippers and you sign up for the ones you want. There is no boat to buy, no berth to pay for, no crew to round up, and no minimum commitment beyond your annual membership. You turn up and you sail.
Mile building on the Solent, end to end
Nothing here is unusual and none of it is fast. It is simply a matter of sailing, which is the point.
Join
One form. Two days later you can book your first trip. Tell us on the form what you already hold, and email your certificates to our Sailing Director so we know where you are starting from.
Sail, and keep sailing
Sign up for trips as crew. Day sails across the Solent, weekends away, longer cruises. Sail with different skippers on different boats in different weather, which is exactly what the miles are supposed to teach you.
Take the Skipper Check
A practical assessment with one of our instructors. You sit it once. After that you move up the levels as you qualify, without being reassessed each time.
Take a boat out
Post your own trip, gather a crew from over 300 members who are always looking for a sail, and go. A 38-foot yacht, yours for the day, at the ordinary day rate.
What you are building towards
Club Day Skipper is where most people start: it lets you take a boat and crew out across the Solent. These are the requirements, so you can see exactly what the miles are for.
| To qualify as a Club Day Skipper you need | |
|---|---|
| RYA Day Skipper shorebased and practical certificates | Both |
| Minimum logged sea time | 400 nm |
| Days on board / days on club boats | 12 / 8 |
| Night hours | 4 |
| Short Range Certificate, radar and a valid first aid certificate | All three |
| Endorsement of two club skippers | Yes |
| Practical Skipper Check | Once |
Days on club boats must be sailed with three or more different skippers, on trips that are not training courses, so simply sailing with the club, as crew, with whoever is going, is precisely how you get there. The higher levels (Coastal, Yachtmaster Coastal, Yachtmaster Offshore) build on the same foundation: see the full requirements on the training page. The Club’s Sailing Orders are the definitive statement of these requirements.
Worth asking, wherever you go
There are several ways to buy sea miles on the Solent and they are not equally good value. Whoever you are considering, these are the questions that decide what a year really costs you and where it leaves you at the end of it.
- Is there a fee every month whether or not you sail?
- What does it cost to leave, and how much notice do you have to give?
- One boat or more? What happens to your sailing when it is lifted out, booked or broken?
- Does any of it lead to you skippering the boat yourself, or do you crew indefinitely?
- What does a day out cost before you commit to anything?
- Are the courses RYA certificated, or are you only buying miles?
- Who owns the boat, and who keeps the day rate?
We answer every one of them, for ourselves, in the frequently asked questions. Ask the same questions wherever else you are considering, and compare the answers.
Not there yet?
If you are still working towards Day Skipper, we teach it ourselves. We are an RYA recognised training centre and run the whole pathway in-house, on the club boats, at member rates, and the course fee covers the boat so you do not pay the daily sailing fee on top. See training for the courses and what they cost.