Joining Instructions & Directions
Directions to Commodore Yachting:
Our address is:
Commodore Yachting
C/O Premier Marinas
Mumby Road
Gosport
Hampshire
PO12 1AH
If you use the Search and Rescue App “What3Words”
Do a search for “Water. Ruler. Amuse” and you’ll find exactly where we are!
By Road:
Leave the M27 at junction 11 and take the A32 into Gosport town centre. Follow the signs for Gosport town centre, (you will notice signs at Fareham that also say town centre, but you should follow the signs to Gosport).
Keep following the road into Gosport town centre. You’ll see some of the landmarks along the way, such McDonalds, Aldi, Kwik Fit Garage on your left, Crown Bingo on your right and St. Vincent College on the left-hand side.
Go through a set of traffic lights about half a mile past the college and continue straight on all the way into Gosport.
As you pass ALDI on your left you’ll see the marina car park and dry-stack on your left hand side. The entrance to Premier Gosport Marina is on the left-hand side just after STS Defence, and before the Castle Tavern.
Enter the marina and drive past You-Boat chandlers which is on your right. Turn left into the main marina car park and park up. The car parking system logs your entry so you don’t need to pay for parking in advance.
If you then walk towards the marina office (around the corner from the Clipper Marine office), you’ll see a white gate and ramp leading down to the marina. We are at the foot of the ramp with our floating office around the corner.
By Rail:
Catch a train to Portsmouth Harbour railway station (not Portsmouth & Southsea) – from London these regularly go from London Waterloo Station, with some of the faster trains taking just under 90 minutes. There is also a train from London Victoria as well. From Portsmouth Harbour station follow the signs for the Gosport ferry (not the Isle of Wight ferry!). The trip across Portsmouth harbour takes about three minutes and a standard adult return ticket costs £3.70.
Further information about the Gosport Ferry can be found on their website.
On leaving the ferry, you can walk to the marina in about 3 minutes. Walk up from the ferry to the road and turn right, you will pass the Castle Tavern on your right hand side, with the marina entrance 20 metres past the pub. Walk past You-Boat Chandlers and the small ‘compass’ roundabout and towards the marina reception where they will direct you to where we are. We look forward to welcoming you!
Parking:
There is plenty of secure paid parking at the marina, please use the main berth holders car park. You will see the entrance on your left as you enter the marina. Just turn left at the ‘compass’ roundabout past You-Boat Chandlers. The marina make a charge of up to £3.00 per day for parking with a special discount code we will give you. Please be aware if you don’t pay for your parking, you’ll get a charge issued by letter from the parking company, and it’s £100. Please also note that we have no influence or sway on the parking company and cannot get charges cancelled, so please don’t ask us to interject on your behalf. Thank you for your understanding.
Joining Instructions For Your Course or Charter
Practical Sailing Courses:
Please ensure you arrive promptly on the first day so the course can start at 9:00am. Unfortunately we are now unable to offer overnight accommodation the night before your course. If you are undertaking either an RYA Day Skipper/Coastal Skipper/Powerboat Level 2 practical course, please remember to bring along a photograph of yourself for your certification card – UK passport standard sized photographs only please.
Practical Powerboat Courses:
Please ensure you arrive promptly on the first day so the course can start at 9:00am. Unfortunately we are unable to offer overnight accommodation for your course however there are plenty of hotels in the local area to suit all budgets. If you are undertaking an RYA practical Powerboat course, please remember to bring along a photograph of yourself for your cert card – UK passport standard sized photographs only please. Please bring comfortable clothing for wearing under the wet weather kit. Sailing boots are preferred as this course can get wet! Please bring with you a passport sized photo graph of your self for the course.
Theory or Classroom Based Sailing Courses (Including Sea Survival courses):
Please ensure you arrive promptly on the first day so the course can start at 9:00am. Unfortunately we are unable to offer overnight accommodation for your course however there are plenty of hotels in the local area to suit all budgets. If you are undertaking an RYA SRC/VHFcourse, please remember to bring along a photograph of yourself for your certification card – UK passport standard sized photographs only please, please also make sure you have paid for your exam via the RYA website RYA Marine Radio SRC Exam Payments if you cannot print this off please call us to email it and we will print it off for you for your course.
Online Courses:
Following your purchase of an online course, within 24 hours you will receive a set of log-on details for your online course. A course pack including manual will be posted to you by DHL and usually arrives within 2-5 days of course purchase (Depending on time and day of the week you bought your online course). At which point you can log-on and start your online course.
9-Day Courses:
Courses start at 9am on the first day. Accommodation is available on a Yacht for the whole 9 days course duration. You will receive a theory pack and have free use of our navigation equipment as needed. We do however recommend you buy a decent set of Plotters and Dividers for the course, which will be essential for your future navigation practice (These can be bought from us upon arrival at £35/set). We provide breakfast only during the theory part of any 9-day course.
Milebuilding Weekends:
These start at 6.00pm sharp on Friday evening, usually with an overnight sail. Please arrive from 5.00pm and certainly no later than 6.00pm. This is subject to weather, tides, and restrictions within Portsmouth Harbour by KHM/Royal Navy.
Longer Milebuilding Courses (i.e. our five day cruises) usually start on Saturday or Monday unless stated otherwise. Please refer to individual instructions which will be emailed to you for any longer Milebuilding Course, or mentioned on the booking confirmation you will receive.
We would advise you to have a valid Passport on you, should the course itinerary have to change due to unforseen circumstances, which may mean a sail over to Northern France or the Channel Islands.
We provide breakfasts, lunches and one evening meal for Saturday night during Milebuilding Weekends. We would advise you arrive on Friday night having eaten beforehand as we do not cater for the Friday night evening meal.
Solent Sailing Weekends:
These start at 9.00am sharp on Saturday morning. Please arrive at least half an hour prior to the start time, so we can sort out any foul weather kit you may need and for everyone to have a relaxing start, load kit onto the yacht etc. The start time is subject to weather, tides, and restrictions within Portsmouth Harbour by KHM/Royal Navy.
The weekend is confined to the waters of the Solent, and will visit various marinas in the Solent area. A passport will not be needed.
Beyond The Solent Weekends/Weeks/Holidays:
These start at 9.00am sharp on Saturday morning (or Monday if scheduled as such – Please check your ticket confirmation start date). Please arrive at least half an hour prior to the start time, so we can sort out any foul weather kit you may need and for everyone to have a relaxing start, load kit onto the yacht etc. The start time is subject to weather, tides, and restrictions within Portsmouth Harbour by KHM/Royal Navy.
We would advise you to have a valid Passport on you, should the course itinerary have to change due to unforseen circumstances, which may mean a sail over to Northern France or the channel islands.
Sail around Britain:
These start at 9.00am sharp on Saturday morning (Or whatever the first scheduled day is – Please check your ticket confirmation start date). Please arrive at least half an hour prior to the start time, so we can sort out any foul weather kit you may need and for everyone to have a relaxing start, load kit onto the yacht etc. The start time is subject to weather, tides, and restrictions within Portsmouth Harbour by KHM/Royal Navy.
We would advise you to have a valid Passport on you, should the course itinerary have to change due to unforseen circumstances, which may mean a sail over to destinations not on the itinerary.
Round The Island Race:
Training weekend starts at 9.00am sharp on Saturday morning and goes through to around 5-6pm the next day. Please arrive an hour before for the skippers briefing on the first day. On race-day the starting time will be dependant on the class start time, tides etc. Please ensure you arrive by 6.00pm on the Friday evening. We will provide notification and written instructions well before the race – at least two weeks prior. Please be aware some race classes start VERY early in the morning! We may need to anchor at Osborne Bay the night before in order to get to the start-line on time.
Lonely Rock Race / RORC Fastnet Race:
A separate set of instructions and a detailed itinerary will be issued with all the information needed, course dates, practice weekends, qualifying races etc.
Food Safety & Dietary Requirements:
We provide breakfast, lunches, snacks, and some evening meals (normally 3 evening meals for a 5-day course). We can usually cater for most simple dietary needs (For example – Vegetarian, Vegan, Lactose intolerant etc) but anything likely to cause an allergic reaction or something which is potentially life-threatening will require the student to cater for themselves. If this is the case we will provide a nominal discount to the course cost for any student catering for themselves. We will need full details of any food allergies and medical conditions to be made at the time of booking. This will be disclosed to your instructor.
Course Requirements:
For some of our courses there is an assumed level knowledge that the student must have achieved. Please make sure you have this or to the level of that assumed knowledge. If there are any gaps in this pre-course knowledge, please contact us ASAP as we may be able to help or provide additional training/help prior to your course commencing.
RYA Start Yachting – No prior experience/knowledge needed
RYA Competent Crew – No prior experience/knowledge needed
RYA Day Skipper theory – Sailing experience to the level of RYA Competent Crew, with some sailing time preferred
RYA Day Skipper practical – Theory knowledge to the level of RYA Day Skipper, with practical skills to RYA Competent Crew standard (We recommend that you have been sailing regularly within the previous 4-6 months prior to your RYA Day Skipper Practical Course starting)
RYA Yachtmaster / Coastal Skipper theory – Theory knowledge & practical sailing skills to RYA Day Skipper level
RYA Coastal Skipper Practical – Approximately 15 days / 300 miles of sailing, with at least two days as Skipper of the vessel. Theory knowledge to the level of RYA Yachtmaster/Coastal Skipper, with practical sailing skills to the level of RYA Day Skipper with time as skipper (To make the most out of this course we recommend you have done a marina skills/power handling day and have refreshed your RYA Day Skipper practical sailing skills)
RYA Yachtmaster offshore – As per below
- 50 days and a minimum of 2,500 miles logged (Before you sit the exam)
- During this time you would have completed five passages of over 60 miles
- Five days experience as skipper
- GMDSS short-range radio certificate (VHF)
- A valid first aid certificate
RYA Yachtmaster Coastal – Exam Details
RYA Yachtmaster Offshore – Exam Details
Please make sure you are up to the minimum levels of skills and prerequisites for the course. If you are not able to meet the minimum required standards you may not reach your goal. We will work hard with you to help as much as we can but there is no guarantee of passing if you do not come well equipped for the course. Please bring with you the printed exam application form and your log book with your logged miles, passport Photo and some form of ID (photo graphic).
What To Bring With You:
The practical courses are all at sea or are yacht orientated. You will need appropriate clothing for the time of year and the usual “UK weather” factor which changes daily! There is a high chance that there will be a night sail or two, please remember that is does get colder at night, especially at sea.
As a guide we would advise people to bring plenty of comfortable, warm clothes to wear under foul weather gear, suitable sleeping attire, a sleeping bag and pillow, hats (cap and a woolly hat), sailing gloves, sunglasses (retaining strap recommended!), sun cream/after sun (Aloe Vera is great!), at least one large bath/shower towel and suitable toiletries (smelly sailors aren’t good!), thermos-style travel mug, water-bottle, phone charger (12v & 230v) plenty of thick warm socks, and appropriate footwear for a wet environment (Trainers don’t tend to grip wet decks well!) All footwear must be non-marking and clean. Please remember to bring suitable dry footwear for when you aren’t on the yacht and go ashore. For RYA Day Skipper practical courses and above, a head-torch which can show red light is a very handy thing to bring along as well.
Please bring your personal items in a “holdall” which can fold or roll flat. Please do not bring hard suitcases as whilst the yachts have plenty of storage, the lockers are not designed for bulky hard luggage. If you do bring hard luggage with you, you’ll be asked to unpack and then leave them in your car. Overboard Dry bags are a very good option and roll flat.
For longer courses there are usually pay-to-use washing machines and tumble driers at various marinas you’ll visit. Please make sure that if you use the marina facilities for clothes washing and drying that you don’t delay yacht departure!!! Speak to the skipper about departure times and planning your clothes washing in good time.
For the Sea Survival course you will need to bring along a swimming costume, towel etc as you’ll be in the swimming pool.
Please also remember that for RYA VHF, RYA Day Skipper practical/combination, RYA Coastal Skipper and RYA Powerboat Level 2 courses you will need to bring along a photograph of yourself. A standard photograph you’d use for a UK passport application is perfect.
Last but not least……….
We would like to thank you for booking a course with Commodore Yachting, and we look forward to meeting you!
See you soon!
Jon, Tom & Team