The £1.2 million extension provides additional residential accommodation for students with additional lecture rooms.

The UKSA's own charitable work in 2003 surpassed the £1 million mark - the amount of money and support the UKSA has donated to marine related charitable causes over the years, the most recent being the UKSA's link up with the Ellen MacArthur Trust; the new charity launched by Ellen MacArthur to take children suffering from cancer on sailing trips.

New boats were also added to the UKSA's fleet of 360 craft, the most notable being UKSA Whirlwind , the second former BT Global Challenge 67ft yacht now owned by the UKSA.

And new courses were added, ranging from steward/ stewardess training, for students looking for a career aboard the world's ever growing fleet of superyachts, to adventure sailing.

The UKSA also opened a satellite operation at the exotic sounding Mooloolaba in Queensland, Australia.

"2003 was certainly an extraordinary year for the academy, " said UKSA director, David Green. "Growth exceeded our expectations and it was very satisfying to see plans such as the new building and our new venture in Australia come to fruition."

We have ambitious targets for 2004 with several new initiatives to launch that will consolidate our position as the world's leading sail training establishment, he added.