Southampton Sailing School - local activities?

[Zugbug99]

Hi all! I am finally making it to Briton!
I'm hoping to connect with some on the board who have experience in sailing in the UK, and in training schools.
I hope to become a more accomplished sailor, and possibly buy a boat to sail around the isles, and Europe.
My 1986 London trip from Germany to the UK was cancelled by the Chernobyl incident. Terrible sorrow in my heart for the local Chernobyl people. They really suffered!
Will travel across the Atlantic from NYC to Southampton to start a tour of the UK. Courtesy of Norwegian Cruise Ship.
So I signed up for a RYA Dayskipper course in Southampton, 5 day live aboard the boat with Solentboattraining.co.uk. They look like a great school.
This will give me a chance to get experience in tidal waters.
Most of my experience has been lakes, or costal ocean out of Southern California.

It will also give me the ICC (International certification of competence) that seems to be a big deal for renting in the UK/EU/Med. I can also complete the British VHF course, although I have a HAM amateur license.
I then want to look for a sailing cat, Heavenly Twins 27, or Catalac 8, 9, or 10m boat with dreams of sailing to the canals of France and the Netherlands. Then on to the Med and Greece.