SeaMemo
Mile building: how to collect sea miles for your licence
A mile building trip is the quickest way to collect a lot of sea miles at once, if you book the right one and document the miles properly. Here is what matters about area, route and your role on board, and how to end up with an accepted record.
What is a mile building trip?
A mile building trip is a trip designed to cover distance, unlike a relaxed bay hopping holiday. Long daily legs, often one or more night passages and a brisk programme are typical. You find them as training trips from sailing schools, as deliveries (when a yacht has to be moved to the other end of an area) or as organised crewing trips. Popular areas are the Baltic, the North Sea, the Mediterranean and Adriatic, and for the ambitious the Atlantic.
How many miles for which licence?
| Licence | Country | Mile target | Special point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yachtmaster Coastal | 🇬🇧 | 800 nm and 30 days | 12 night hours, 2 days as skipper |
| SKS | 🇩🇪 | 300 nm | coastal waters, propulsion of the licence |
| SSS | 🇩🇪 | 1,000 nm (700 with SKS) | as watch leader |
| FB2 | 🇦🇹 | 500 nm | plus 3 night passages and 3 night arrivals |
| Offshore licence | 🇨🇭 | 1,000 nm and 18 days | sea time booklet |
What to check when booking
- Realistic distance: ask for the planned total. “About 350 nm in a week” is a real mile building trip, “relaxed sailing with 120 nm” only gets you halfway to the SKS.
- Night passages included? Austrian licences and the RYA need night passages or night hours. Make sure the trip includes them.
- Your role on board: for the SSS only miles as watch leader or deputy count, for RYA qualifying passages only skipper or mate. Clarify beforehand whether you can take on that role.
- Reputable organiser: look for experienced skippers and a proper plan. Sailing schools and established crewing platforms are the safe bet.
- Confirmation promised? Ask before booking whether you get a sea miles confirmation at the end.
Watch the area: a mile building trip on the IJsselmeer gives zero miles for the German SKS, because it is not coastal water. For the Swiss offshore licence it does count. Check the area against your licence before you book. How long a nautical mile is in km and miles, and which miles count at all, is explained in how long is a nautical mile.
During the trip: record, don't reconstruct
- every leg with start, destination, distance and time
- harbours visited and positions
- your role on each leg (crew, helmsman, watch leader, skipper)
- for Austrian licences: start and end of night passages and night arrivals
On a mile building trip you will usually sail at night too. Then you can only identify buoys by their lights, so learn the codes first in our guide to channel markers and buoys.
Any logbook app that records offline by GPS will do for logging as you go. Which ones exist and what they cost is in our comparison of the best sailing logbook apps.
After the trip: secure the confirmation straight away
Get the sea miles confirmation while still in harbour. Weeks later the skipper is often hard to reach, and the ship's logbook stays with the boat.
With SeaMemo: the whole trip documents itself
- Tracking on: every leg is recorded by GPS, distance, route and times, at night and offline too.
- Invite the crew: everyone joins the trip and keeps it in their own profile.
- Form at the end: choose the exam type (SKS, SSS, FB2 to FB4) and SeaMemo creates the PDF from your tracked data. For the RYA you copy the figures into your logbook.
- Skipper confirms: in the app, with their stored signature in the PDF.
Get SeaMemo for free
Logbook, travel journal and crew in one app. For iPhone and Android, works offline at sea.
Frequently asked questions
How many sea miles does a mile building trip cover?
As a rough guide, a one week mile building trip covers about 250 to 400 sea miles depending on area and programme, more with night passages. These figures depend on wind, yacht and route.
Does a mile building trip count for every licence?
Only if area, propulsion and your role fit. For the German SKS it must be coastal waters, for the SSS miles as watch leader, for the Austrian FB2 night passages too, and for the RYA qualifying passages in a responsible role.
What should I get at the end?
A signed confirmation with vessel, route, dates, sea miles and your role, ideally right in harbour. In Austria the Annex 9 form, in Switzerland the entry in the sea time booklet, for the RYA the entries in your own logbook.
Can the whole crew count the miles?
Yes, every crew member can have the miles they sailed confirmed. Your role on board decides: for licences with a watch leader requirement only those who actually held watch responsibility count.