Mile Building Weekend
Booking details
Please select your preferred start date below.
Please select your preferred start date below.
Joining Instructions: Please click here for course joining instructions
Please note that the Mile Building weekends start the evening before at 6pm!
Recommended Reading: Sailing magazines and newspapers, but this is not essential
Mile Builder Sailing Course Prerequisites: No assumed knowledge
Minimum Age: No minimum but Under 16’s must be accompanied by adult. Persons aged 16+ can be unaccompanied subject to other pre-requisites having been met
Holiday Insurance: We would advise ALL our customers to ensure they have suitable holiday insurance in-place. Yachtsman’s insurance is available from a variety of sources like Topsail Insurance and can cover things like cancellations and personal effects cover.
So what is included in the course cost?
Well, unlike some other centres, we include all your meals (Breakfast, lunches, dinners and snacks), so you won’t have to go to any extra expense during your Mile Builder with us. We also include the following:
We can accommodate most dietary requirements, such as vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian or gluten free. Just let us know when you fill out the booking form.
All of our 2-day Mile Builder sailing weekends take place aboard spacious and fully-equipped Bavaria 38 and Bavaria 44 cruising yachts. These comfortable vessels are ideal for both novice and seasoned sailors, offering ample room to learn, collaborate, and relax between passages. With modern amenities and reliable handling, you’ll have everything you need on board for an enjoyable and productive weekend out on the water.
Safety sits at the heart of every mile under sail with us. Our courses are delivered following RYA & MCA operating procedures and best practices, ensuring a professional and secure environment throughout. Our instructors are RYA/MCA Qualified and highly experienced, continually monitoring both tidal and weather conditions to make well-informed decisions at sea.
Before you even set foot on deck, we conduct clear safety briefings covering life jacket use, emergency protocols, and safe movement about the yacht. High-quality Baltic automatic life jackets, wet weather gear, and essential safety kit are provided—and thoroughly checked before every departure.
Each passage is carefully planned with flexibility in mind, so we’re always prepared to adjust routes or schedules in response to changing conditions. If Mother Nature tries her best to surprise us, the safety and comfort of everyone on board will always come first.
It’s this uncompromising approach to best-practice seamanship and modern safety standards—with full respect for both sea and crew—that sets our experience apart.
All of our 2-day Mile Builder sailing weekends take place aboard spacious and fully-equipped Bavaria 37, Bavaria 38 and our Bavaria 44 cruising yachts. These comfortable vessels are ideal for both novice and seasoned sailors, offering ample room to learn, collaborate, and relax between passages. With modern amenities and reliable handling, you’ll have everything you need on board for an enjoyable and productive weekend out on the water.
For each Mile Builder Sailing Weekend, we keep group sizes small to ensure a top-notch learning and sailing experience. With a maximum of four participants on board, you’ll benefit from plenty of hands-on practice, personalised instruction from your RYA-qualified skipper, and a friendly, close-knit crew atmosphere.
This approach means every crew member has ample opportunity to get involved, ask questions, and develop their skills—whether you’re at the helm, plotting passages, or simply enjoying life at sea with fellow sailors.
The Mile Building Weekend is the perfect introduction to newly qualified sailors who want to gain more experience and take in some longer passages.
Running over two days (with the evening before) the Mile Building Weekend will give you longer more involved passages and a more intense sailing experience than just hopping from marina to marina.
A great way to build some extra experience before undertaking that next course.
Please be aware that the Mile Building weekend starts on the evening before at 6-7pm with an overnight sail.
You’ll get to visit marinas and ports a little further afield than the Solent, like Portland & Weymouth. It’ll involve more intense and longer days sailing around the South Coast or even some long sails across the channel on perfect days.
Depending on the wind and tide, a typical two-day Mile Builder might see us cruising from our home base to the western reaches, such as Lymington or Yarmouth, or heading east toward Chichester or perhaps even beyond if conditions allow. Each trip has its own flavour, shaped by the elements and the crew’s ambitions.
Along with some cracking sailing, you’ll get to visit places you didn’t visit on your RYA Competent Crew or Day Skipper course. The passages are longer and it’ll involve more quality sea-time, but it’s such a rewarding weekends sailing.
Throughout the Mile Building Weekend, you’ll sharpen a wide range of practical sailing techniques essential for open water cruising. Expect to spend time refining your helming skills, mastering sail trim for varied wind conditions, and getting comfortable with passage planning and pilotage along the South Coast You’ll also practice advanced navigation—both traditional and electronic—as well as learn how to manage watch systems and undertake longer passages, sometimes through the night.
The focus is on real-world seamanship, so you’ll have the chance to practice:
It’s a hands-on opportunity to put theory into practice while experiencing the unique challenges and rewards of coastal and offshore sailing. You’ll leave with greater confidence and a toolkit of practical skills that translate directly to your next adventure afloat.
Courses run in a choice of two formats:
Starts from our Gosport marina base (Friday evening!) and visits various ports and marinas further afield from the Portsmouth and Southampton area.
Please be aware that our Milebuilders start on the evening before (Friday) at 6-7pm, so we can get the most mileage in for your weekend!
What better a way to celebrate that new RYA Competent Crew or Day Skipper qualification than with a Mile Building weekend aboard one of our fleet yachts!
A great way to build extra mileage and enjoy some longer passages to locations further afield than the Solent, guided by one of our experienced and professional RYA qualified instructors based in Gosport on the South Coast.
You’ll get to see first hand why the south coast is the perfect place to build some miles and gain more experience.
With so many locations to chose from (weather dependant of course) you might go and see Portland or Weymouth, or how about metropolitan Brighton Marina for a great night out when you arrive?
Please be aware that our Milebuilders depart Gosport Marina on the evening before (Friday) at 6-7pm, with a nice overnight sail, so you’ll really max-out the mileage on your weekend!
Please select your preferred start date below.
The perfect introduction to Powerboats & Ribs, the two day RYA Powerboat Level 2 practical powerboat course will give you the best building blocks to kick-off your powerboat adventure from!
Take a look at our live course calendar for dates for the RYA Powerboat Level 2 course! You can easily browse upcoming availability—simply select a specific highlighted date to see which courses are running, or search within a date range to find what fits your schedule.
Whether you’re planning ahead or looking for a last-minute adventure, our calendar makes it straightforward to find the perfect start date. Don’t forget you can spread the cost via invoice. Give us a call or email to talk about this option.
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Our exciting and very popular luxury 7-day Channel Island Cruises are aimed at breaking the confines of the Solent for a relaxed and enjoyable Channel Islands adventure. They are a great way to relax, gain sea miles, enhance your sailing skills and knowledge with a Channel Crossing, and see the beautiful Channel Islands along with some incredible sailing. All under the watchful eye of our professional Skipper. REDUCED PRICE FOR 2025!
Take a look at our live course calendar for dates for the Channel Island Cruise!
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The popular and fun Spinnaker & Downwind Sailing Weekend is a great introduction to flying the “big kite”, especially for budding racing sailors wanting a taster of the skills required. This is an essential for those wanting to do any offshore racing, including the iconic RORC Fastnet race!
Take a look at our live course calendar for dates for the Spinnaker & Downwind Sailing Weekend!
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Exciting Channle islands exploration!! This will be my third time with Commodore, no regrets. 😁 Such a great trip exploring the Channle islands and northern France. We got to see lovely towns in Guernsey and Jersey as well as a fab market in Cherbourg. The sailing was so great! Over 350 miles covered and well over doubled my night hours. Big shoutout and thank you to our amazing skipper Ed who always had to the best recommendation and was so flexible to what we wanted to do as a group. He was an amazing support through out the trip, gave great MOB training and help in passage planning. Boat was great as always. Amazing experience and can’t wait to go on similar trips with the company.
Orla SimpsonWe did a mile builder channel crossing with Karen. She was absolutely brilliant, a great combination of confident and relaxed to help us build our feeling of confidence. Would highly recommend the mile builder with her. Overall a tiring but extremely rewarding experience. Thank you Karen!!
Ana Sofia Almagro