Miles matter. What you did matters more.

Start with your qualification.

Coastal, Offshore and Ocean have different experience requirements. Use the full exam page for vessel-size conditions, certificate requirements and permitted reductions.

The Coastal Skipper Practical certificate can reduce Coastal requirements to 12 days and 400 miles; it does not reduce the 2 skipper days or 12 night hours. Further conditions apply. Qualifying experience must be within the relevant ten-year window.

What actually counts?

These distinctions are easy to miss when you total a season’s sailing.

A day aboard

Eight consecutive hours aboard, with most of that period at sea. Short trips cannot be combined to make a day. Count no more than one day per 24 hours.

A qualifying passage

A continuous, non-stop voyage between departure and destination safe havens. Both the shortest navigable planned route and the actual distance run must meet the distance threshold. Artificial detours do not qualify.

Skipper responsibility

The skipper is responsible for planning, execution, vessel and watch management. If command changes during the passage, neither person can claim the whole passage as skipper.

Tidal experience

Published tidal, stream or current information must matter enough to affect the safe planning and execution of the passage. A location name alone does not establish this.

See the RYA’s qualifying-passage definitions. For unusual vessels, race routes or uncertain records, ask the RYA or your recognised training centre before relying on the entry.

Keep different kinds of experience separate.

A short evening sail can develop useful skills without meeting the day-at-sea definition. A long delivery as crew can add experience without making it a skippered passage. Record what happened accurately, including your watch duties and night sailing, and let the evidence support the claim.

Record enough to tell the story.

Use your logbook consistently and keep supporting passage records. This is a practical record-keeping checklist; your centre can tell you what evidence it needs for the exam.

• When and where: departure and arrival dates, times and safe havens.
• The vessel: name, sail or power, length and relevant tonnage information.
• The distances: shortest navigable planned route and actual distance run.
• Your responsibility: skipper, watch leader or crew, with any command changes noted.
• Conditions and duties: tidal considerations, watches, night sailing and key decisions.
• Verification: relevant ship’s log, passage plan and skipper confirmation where available.

Build the experience you are missing.

Look beyond the mileage total. If all your sailing has been in one harbour, more of the same may not address a gap in passage planning. If you have done long deliveries as crew, you may need opportunities to make decisions as skipper.

• Club sailing: build handling, teamwork and familiarity with changing conditions. Record actual trip duration.
• Coastal cruising: develop preparation, pilotage, watch organisation and decisions about arrival.
• Coached passages: agree your role and learning objectives with the instructor before booking.
• Deliveries and races: establish who is responsible, what evidence you can keep and whether the route meets the passage definition.

Find sailing clubs on YouSail ↗ or prepare questions for a training centre.

Make your next passage count.

Before arranging a mile-building trip, write down the exact gap you want to address. Share that with the organiser, check the proposed route and your role, and agree what records you will receive. Weather may change the passage, so review what actually happened afterwards.

Do not treat a named route, a paid berth or a programme’s advertised mileage as a guarantee that your own experience qualifies.