best sailing school around the Solent?

+1 for Hamble School of Yachting, for both Day Skipper & YM Fasttrack - I did the latter with them a few years ago, really high quality instruction & very flexible, friendly set-up.

(One thought re YM Fasttrack - before doing mine I asked around as to which schools would be best regarded by potential employers, was told basically Hamble School & BOSS. Called both, BOSS were very unfriendly & unhelpful, Hamble entirely the reverse.)
 
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+1 for the southern sailing school. The boats aren't new but they go out in all weathers, teach well, and I've yet to see their boats involved in an "incident" (unike some). I was in Yarmouth last year, having decided to wait for a "weather window" when one of their boats came in. They rafted up on our next door neighbour, were quiet, well behaved and left in the morning before us. We didn't even hear them go. Good seamanship seems to be a watchword with them. John Goode was very helpful when I first got my own boat and he was teaching approaches to marina berths using the same slot in Port Solent. All for free, too.
 
I agree with Topcat in recommending Southern Sailing School.

I had a week's Day Skipper course in 1997 and it was excellent. Not a minute was wasted during the week, we covered everything in the syllabus and much more besides.

They also didn't overcrowd the boats and had a standby one in case of damage.
 
parsifal said:
I agree with Topcat in recommending Southern Sailing School.

I had a week's Day Skipper course in 1997 and it was excellent. Not a minute was wasted during the week, we covered everything in the syllabus and much more besides.

They also didn't overcrowd the boats and had a standby one in case of damage.
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Only in sailing could a recommendation that is 17 years old be considered valid!
 
Slight thread drift but since YM Fast track has come up I'll comment on it especially since opinions can be divided on the subject.
I have had a couple of people on board who have completed the Fast Track course with UKSA.
Wanting to know more about what goes on and how well these people are prepared I've drilled deeper.
I have to say I have a very positive opinion. Both on how these courses were delivered by UKSA and on the ability of those I've come across.

Regarding opinions of other sailing schools I hear lots of mixed results. Mostly good, but occasionally poor or indifferent. Sometimes the feedback from pupils is good but I raise an eyebrow or two once they start to tell me what they did or did not do.
However, most of the good, bad, indifferent feedback's tend to revolve around expectations. The expectations can be very different.
I remember the school where two of the clients walked off where they were less than impressed with the Happy Shopper food. Others though highly recommend the school as what they got for a budget price was excellent.
One school I worked for asked me to purchase a coffee percolator as one of the clients had requested 'fresh coffee'. Feedback excellent on that course but the opposite on a subsequent course where the percolator was found on board but no ground coffee to go with it.
I have also had courses where money was a big issue. 2 clients from the city wanted to eat out whilst the 'ebay clearance clients' did not want to spend one penny more than the cost of the course itself.
My point being that different people will form different opinions of exactly the same experience.
 
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Talulah said:
I have to say I have a very positive opinion. Both on how these courses were delivered by UKSA and on the ability of those I've come across.
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Nothing against UKSA but they didn't work for me as you had to do the course in one 12-week period straight through, no modules, no flexibility & no time to get back home. Also, we had one guy in his 50s on our course who rang them up & was told he was too old. Overall, they seem to cater more for the younger end of the market. This was five years ago, though, so things might have changed.
 
MissFitz said:
Nothing against UKSA but they didn't work for me as you had to do the course in one 12-week period straight through, no modules, no flexibility & no time to get back home. Also, we had one guy in his 50s on our course who rang them up & was told he was too old. Overall, they seem to cater more for the younger end of the market. This was five years ago, though, so things might have changed.
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Useful to know. It helps to pick up on these first hand snippets. I can modify my response to queries appropriately.
 
Talulah said:
I have also had courses where money was a big issue. 2 clients from the city wanted to eat out whilst the 'ebay clearance clients' did not want to spend one penny more than the cost of the course itself.
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...and some of us are in between, but even the instructor was a little embarrassed at the small portions of Asda Value food provided by the school owner for our "all inclusive" course :)

Pete
 
prv said:
...and some of us are in between, but even the instructor was a little embarrassed at the small portions of Asda Value food provided by the school owner for our "all inclusive" course :)

Pete
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Fully understand. Experienced the same and then had a grilling about the extra expenses on the invoice to top up stores.
 
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MissFitz said:
Nothing against UKSA but they didn't work for me as you had to do the course in one 12-week period straight through, no modules, no flexibility & no time to get back home. Also, we had one guy in his 50s on our course who rang them up & was told he was too old. Overall, they seem to cater more for the younger end of the market. This was five years ago, though, so things might have changed.
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They are geared toward careers on superyachts, so unless your young/bronzed/blonde/wear sunglasses on top of your head, go elsewhere. Excellent courses though.
 
One question I would ask is does the fee cover marina costs. I did my Coastal Skipper with First Class and we had to pay as we went along. Not a problem for me but one of the crew was on a tight budget and struggled.

First Class instructor was very good though and even arranged with CG for us to be used for a helicopter rescue exercise.

I'd also support those who say go out of season or early season, you get a good night sail without being knackered the next day.

+1 for Hamble, best instructor I've come across. She was also the best boat handler and where she moored the boat in their marina at the end of the weekend defied belief.

+1 for Trysail. I didn't do a course just along for the ride on a Coastal Skipper/DS but was impressed with the setup and instructor and Falmouth is a nice sailing area and good break from the Solent.
 
prv said:
...and some of us are in between, but even the instructor was a little embarrassed at the small portions of Asda Value food provided by the school owner for our "all inclusive" course :)

Pete
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If it's food you're after, go with hamble school of eating. I put on half a stone on getting my YM.
 
SimonFa said:
+1 for Hamble, best instructor I've come across. She was also the best boat handler and where she moored the boat in their marina at the end of the weekend defied belief.
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Once you've learned to park in the Hamble pen you can park anywhere.
 
From my experience you need to expect the following;

-All inclusive pricing... no extras for marina fees or fuel etc.
-Excellent fresh food... it's supposed to be fun, so why put up with tinned food every night ?
-A different marina each night, except one where you want to anchor out.
-Ideally for a DS course, a mixed crew of DS and CC... 4 guys doing DS means you get less time to practice.
-A skipper who doesn't mind lots of pontoon parking practice... some are way too precious with their boats !
-The full time on board that the RYA state... some schools shorten it I think.
-To have read fully beforehand the Tom Cuncliffe book for the course, and understood everything.
-To enjoy it !

As for location... I think it's true that if you can sail in and around the Solent, you can sail anywhere...

These guys did it for me... http://www.wildspirit.co.uk/
 
Talulah said:
the 'ebay clearance clients' did not want to spend one penny more than the cost of the course itself.
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.. that would be me then :o.

seriously: my recommendation of Trysail should have included that the principal is a fully qualified chef (to supplement his income in the winter months), and that is reflected in the menus on board (so I am told). So, just to reiterate: Falmouth as a great destination for a DS course, with Trysail if you want to eat well!
 
Instructor qualifications

When I was involved with the RYA system, yacht masters could teach up to Day Skipper, an instructor ticket only needed for YM prep. Is this still the case, if so I would check the level of the instructor you might get. Insist on the full ticket.
 
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