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 Guy Miller
Following a successful career as an officer in the British Army Guy Miller decided to follow a life long ambition to learn to sail, buy a yacht and undertake some serious blue water sailing. Guy started the Professional Sail Training Programme in February 2008 and successfully graduated on 8th June 2008 along with all 6 of his fellow students. Below Guy tells us a little about how he found life at Hamble School of Yachting, the training and how it equipped him for his future plans.
"Before joining the course, the principal question in my mind was “am I going receive the quality and level of instruction required to become a good Yachtmaster”? Having now completed the training, I can unequivocally state that the answer is a resounding yes. In fact, the sheer talent and personality present throughout the training staff cannot help but rub off onto you!
Excellence pervades through the school almost as if it were ingrained.
At times the PST can be both physically and mentally draining and you can find yourself asking why such fatigue is necessary. However, it soon becomes apparent that these times are intentionally designed to help mould you into a professional Yachtmaster, able to handle arduous situations for longer and with more skill than many others. Perversely, I found this element of the course to be just as enjoyable as the other aspects.
It has long been an ambition of mine to buy a boat and sail it across the Atlantic to explore the sea around the Caribbean and South America. Thanks to the knowledge and preparation passed onto me by HSY, this dream is being realised later this year, just four months after passing my exam."
 Kirsten Hunter
Kirsten joined the PST course in November 2008 to fullfill a lifelong ambition to gain her Yachtmaster and increase her skills and abilities. Having allready done some sailing she joined at module 2 and worked her way through to succesfully pass her Yachtmaster on 7th February 2009.
"I wanted to write to thank you both and everyone else involved with Hamble. I still can't quite believe that the whole experience is over but what an experience it was!
Seriously the PST course was brilliant. All aspects were so well organised and that says volumes for the organisation within Hamble. On top of that the quality of instructors was exceptional. Given we had several different people you would have expected to have the odd one that you maybe didn't get on so well with but all were absolutely brilliant and I would be delighted if you could pass my thanks to each of them.
Each instructor, whilst different made a significant contribution to my learning and I am grateful to each one of them from Terry who had the excitement of my power handling in the first week and still didn't lose his cool, to Richard ( those turns in Gosport and that slide), Tom (you finally got the headsail or mainsail approach through to me), Mark (why stay longer than an hour anywhere?) , Seb (bringing a great French style to enjoying sailing) , Matt (MOB are not just an exercise and I will never forget anchoring in the O in Osborne bay), Caroline (that sail back from Dartmouth to Poole was brilliant) , not least James who is beyond exceptional and of course you giving us a mock exam on Thursday - oh that RYA fog!
There is no doubt I found the distance sails the most challenging but somehow Mark and James managed to help us keep laughing as they set us the next challenge and reduced the breaks between each sail!! Tom and James even managed to keep a fun aspect to the 'gruelling' coastal skipper 'tests' in the last week before Christmas. Tom was a brilliant actor with his broken leg and I will never forget getting ready to abandon ship and relieved that I now know I can lift a life raft.
Thank you also to Alison for getting the theory into us before we set sail and her book which is my bible now. It was good to see her just before our final week - and thanks for her weather warning which of course was so accurate. I never envisaged snow ball fights on a boat!!.
I know there are other people behind the scenes that help make things work that I didn't get to meet properly but I would still wish to say thank you to them. I know only too well how everyone in the team contributes and makes things happen and so how important everyone in the team is.
I would certainly recommend Hamble to anyone who was wanting to learn/improve their sailing and am so glad I chose Hamble myself. Hamble seems to be a prefect size - big enough to have stature/quality/professionalism but small enough to have a family and personal feel. The team work is also superb. Overall very professional
Really seriously - thank you very much for such a great course. It was much much more than course - a real challenge and change in way of life. Who knows where it will take me but it is certainly an experience I will treasure and remember."
 Rob Pankhurst
Having spent 20 years in the IT sector Rob Pankhurst joined the Professional Sail Training Programme in April of 2007. Rob had already completed his Dayskipper practical, Yachmaster theory and possessed about 1500 miles of logged experience. As a result, he joined during module 2. Rob graduated on 10th June 2007 and has not wasted any time putting his Yachtmaster qualification to good use. He has since undertaken numerous yacht deliveries, initially as Mate and more recently as skipper both on private jobs (across the Atlantic both ways) and for Professional Yacht Deliveries Worldwide to a wide variety of destinations. Now qualified as a commercial Ocean Yachtmaster and also as a Cruising Instructor with Hamble School of Yachting, Rob also teaches at the school and will look to upgrade his teaching skills to Yachmaster Instructor in due course.
Of Hamble Rob says "I would highly recommend Hamble to anyone looking to further their sailing skills from complete novices to people wanting to brush up on the latest recommended sailing techniques. Throughout the PST course the quality of instruction was very high, which when combined with the friendliness and enthusiasm of the instructors and support staff made the course a fantastic experience overall."
 Jason Hughes
Following a successful career in property development Jason decided to take a change in direction and pursue his ambition of becoming a Yachtmaster. Not put off by a challenge Jason joined the programme in November 2007 just as the weather was really becoming demanding! Below Jason tells us a little about how he found life at Hamble School of Yachting, the training and what his plans for the future are.
"I had done various sailing courses with other schools around the Solent and elsewhere and reached Day Skipper level, but didn’t feel confident enough to go further. I was taking two steps forward and one step back.
I contacted Hamble School of Yachting, following a recommendation, and explained where I was with my sailing and could they help. Immediately they came back with the answer I was looking for and suggested their Professional Sail Training course.
I jumped into the PST course at the appropriate place given my previous experience. Straight away I felt comfortable and not out of my depth. Rob and James, the Chief Instructor, had assessed my ability correctly and this gave me the confidence not only in them but also in myself.
The others on the course came from all walks of life, from the young guy hoping one day to skipper a super yacht to those who just fancied a change or a challenge. But having the same interest in sailing meant that team spirit soon grew and we all worked hard together as a crew to help each other out.
The Hamble skippers are some of the most experienced you will ever meet, and this is reflected in the training. Many of the exercises we did went beyond Yachtmaster and as a consequence when exam time came we were well prepared.
There were times when it was tough. When you’re tired and cold and skippering for the first time on your own, worried about making the right decisions Hamble were there to pick you up and dust you down and help you get over that hurdle. The support goes right on to the end and even beyond. When I passed my Yachtmaster late on a Saturday night the first people to ask how I got on were James and the guys. I think Rob was even more pleased than me when he heard of our success!
I’ve now done my Cruising Instructors course and can teach up to Day Skipper Practical. And my contact with Hamble doesn’t end there. They have helped me find work as a professional skipper and are encouraging me to go further as an instructor. I’ve now moved down to the Solent to pursue my new career in sailing.
Michael Holman
"The level of instruction provided on the Hamble School of Yachting PST course is in my opinion second to none.
All of my instructors were an inspiration and without doubt the most knowledgeble and skillful sailors I have ever seen.
The course although intense is very well structured and by the time the distance self sail comes along you know you have been well trained and feel confident and ready to start skippering the yacht on extended passages and in a wide variety of conditions.
The preparation given for the RYA Yachtmaster exam was very thorough and when it came to the exam itself, although I was a bit nervous at first my training soon helped me to gain the confidence and self belief I needed to pass."
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