Offshore Group Information
Early May Weekend Cruise / August Bank Holiday Cruise
Based out of the Solent or West Country with several boats sailing together bu independently, the rally could take a number of routings depending on charter location, availability and what members would like to do, possibilities include:
- Solent, Chichester, Poole and environs
- West Country (from Dartmouth to Falmouth)
- Scilly Isles
- Channel Islands (Alderney & Guernsey)
- A cross-channel location such as Deauville, St Vaast, Cherbourg
Boat Handling and Skills development
Based on the South Coast generally, but probably more specifically, the Solent, these courses are organised by our experienced Offshore sailors to help up and coming yachting sailors develop their knowledge and experience :
- Crewing skills
- Rope and rigging skills
- Boat handling
- Sail setting
- Knowing the boat's equipment and systems
- Manoeuvring and getting in and out of marinas
- Skipper practical
- Day Skipper assessment preparation
- Skipper experience and mile building for qualifications
Boat charter rates will vary according to the season for a weekend from Friday evening to Sunday 1600. Given a crew of 6, the per person rates will be in the order of:-
- Low season - November-March incl. - c. £250 pp
- Medium season - End March-April and October - c. £300 pp
- High season - May-September incl. - c. £350 pp
Mediterranean Flotilla Holiday
After a number of successful flotilla holidays to Greece and Croatia with 3/4 boats and 15/20 sailors, if you would like to participate in a relaxing fun flotilla holiday in the Mediterranean in the August/September period, then keep a look out in the latest programme of events and get in touch with the designated organiser.
Round The Island Race - June/July
We have entered a number of 'Round the Island Race' (RTIR) races over the years, and we plan to hold a similar entry in the seasons coming up.
| Day | Programme / Plan |
|---|---|
| Thursday Evening | Join the boat at Port Solent and meet up with your fellow crew-mates from about 7pm. |
| Friday | Practice Day !!! - On Friday morning we will sail down the Solent, practising our boat handling skills, check out the starting area and arrive at Cowes Yacht Haven in the afternoon. |
| Saturday | Race Day !! - An early get-up for an early race start. The actual race starts and finishes outside Cowes Harbour, so it will be very busy with potentially over 1000 participating boats. It will be a full day's race, and on returning back to Cowes in the evening you'll be feeling triumphant and shattered !! Enjoy the festivities !!! |
| Sunday | On Sunday morning, after a lazy get-up and breakfast, we will have a leisurely sail back to Port Solent, arriving back at base by 4.30pm latest. |
If you would like to join the crew of the next RTIR, then please check the latest programme and get in touch with the event organiser.
Cruising-2-Racing Course
This is a mainly practical course for established cruising sailors to discover and learn some of the dark-arts of 'yacht racing'If you have been cruising for several years and you are now looking for a little bit of "je ne sais quoi" in your sailing, then yacht racing might be an avenue you might like to explore ...
Whilst the jump up from cruising into racing might seem a challenging one, we provide a course of practical 'on-board' sessions, together with a mix of theory and skills building to help you make the transition. To find out more about the 2024 C2R course click here. Please consult the Offshore Programme and get in touch with event organiser.
Yachts & Yachting match racing weekends
Organised by Prometheus Sailing in Port Solent using their Sunsail 410 matched yachts, racing takes place in the Eastern Solent on the Saturday and Sunday of each weekend concerned. We meet up on the Friday evening at Port Solent and enjoy a meal out together, then on Saturday night, we stay over in Cowes and sample some of the delights it has to offer. Charter rates have remained stable over a number of years and we should be able to offer a weekend of yacht match racing for around £230 per head, which represents tremendous value for money. Please consult the Offshore Programme for the race programme, and get in touch with event organiser to book your slot.
JOG and RORC Offshore racing events
Amongst the racing section in the SOG, we have spend several years participating in JOG (Junior Offshore Group) and RORC (Royal Ocean Racing Club) offshore race programmes. Individual race events are diverse in nature, and range from cross-Channel destination racing with JOG to a definitive Fastnet project with the RORC. The Fastnet is held every 2 years, so it has been known for us to run a JOG offshore programme in non Fastnet years, then a RORC Fastnet program in the yeaars when it is held. Individuals in the SOG club together to form a crew, and we will charter a yacht for the programme, then enter that yacht for the designated races. We encourage individual skills development and considerable effort is allocated to training and qualifications. Costs are highly specific to the programme but average out at around £250-350 per person sailed day. Please consult the Offshore Programme for the race programme, and get in touch with event organiser to book your slot.
Useful Links
Various Yachting Skills and Tips.
Offshore Offshore Group Risk and Insurance.
Last updated 14:53 on 22 June 2025