Mileage & Experience Builders
Our Mileage Builders are a relatively new departure for us and a solution to an ongoing question we are always asked at the end of courses - how to get more experience. Here we believe is a great solution – come & join one of our runs going further afield in a fleet of matched ribs.
Previous runs have included Lymington to Weymouth & back, a Solent pilotage run taking in all the main harbours and hazards in the Solent (a great way to familiarise yourself with the Solent if this is a new cruising ground), and a combined day & night run around the Isle of Wight (out through the Needles & round the south side of the island to Portsmouth inn daylight, then back through the Solent after dark).
We started running these in 2009 & they immediately proved to be a great success so needless to say we will be doing more of them & maybe also going further afield. In addition to more of the above, we would like to add a two-day run to the West Country and back this year and a run to Brighton & back.
The format is as follows – just two people per boat, with an instructor, meaning that participants are on duty, alternately helming or navigating, all the time. Typically we meet early on the day of the trip for you to plan your route and look at the navigational issues, pilotage, weather etc. Once you have compiled your passage plan we then set off aiming to arrive in time for lunch before returning the same afternoon. The instructors take a back seat and you run your route, keeping track of where you are, and navigating safely to the destination. The instructor is there to offer useful tips, to keep an eye on your navigation & if necessary steer you away from trouble, and to teach you as much as you would like about position fixing, pilotage, high speed navigation and the issues of longer distance, offshore passage making.
We do expect participants to hold a level 2 certificate as a minimum, and if you have done a course other than with us you will need to email or post us copies beforehand.