All our courses are engaging, interactive and fun! Whether formal training or simply looking to brush up, we take online learning to the next level.
Sailing EssentialsFreeA free course great for anyone who spends time on the water.
Essential Navigation & SeamanshipRYA course for beginners. Learn charts, tides, pilotage, and core seamanship with simple practice tasks.
Day Skipper TheoryMost PopularRYA course for inshore skippers. Plan day passages using chartwork, tides, weather, and COLREGs.
Coastal Skipper / Yachtmaster® TheoryComing SoonRYA course for advanced navigation and passage planning, secondary ports, tidal streams, and offshore weather.
SRC (VHF) Marine Radio CourseRYA Short Range Certificate radio course. Study online, then take the practical exam with an RYA assessor.Are you looking for something nautical related? Our directory is an extensive list of courses and places associated with the marine industry. Hop over and search now.
We believe every day’s a school day on a boat! That’s why we built Nautical Know-How, dedicated to answering your questions. Even better, if it can’t answer your question immediately, you can request it, and we’ll add it to our knowledge base.
Nautical Terms & TerminologyUnderstanding the language of the marine world is like trying to learn a pirate’s secret code while juggling fish. Let us explain why a sheet isn’t for your bed, why “heave ho” doesn’t mean throw up (most of the time), and why “dead reckoning” is surprisingly less ominous than it sounds.
Why do we have tides?Have you ever wondered what causes the tides? Check out this video, which introduces the forces that create the tides we experience on Earth.
What causes our weather?A video introducing the drivers behind our weather, part of our RYA Day Skipper & RYA Coastal Skipper / Yachtmaster® Offshore theory courses.
Buoyage FlashcardsFlashcards designed to help remember the buoys in the IALA system. If you want to learn them in detail, our module ‘Getting in and out of harbour‘, covers the IALA system and different buoys used.
Interactive Rule Book (COLREGs / IRPCS)Whether you’re a novice sailor or a seasoned skipper, we can help you navigate the IRPCS confidently and clearly. Our easy-to-use, easy-to-understand, plain English rule book with helpful interpretations of what each rule means.
The Salty Sea BlogFrom salty old sea dogs to fresh-faced deckhands, this blog is for anyone who finds peace, adventure, and a bit of mischief on the water. So hoist the main, set your course, and let’s sail into the stories, lessons, and musings that make life on the sea so irresistible.The ratio between the length of anchor rode deployed and the vertical distance from the anchor roller to the seabed. For example, 30 metres of rode in a total vertical depth of 5 metres gives a scope of 6:1. The vertical distance must include the height of the bow roller or fairlead above the water…
A fast, turbulent tidal stream, often concentrated by seabed or coastal features. Tidal races form where large volumes of water are forced through narrow channels, around headlands or over abrupt changes of depth. Eddies, overfalls and steep waves may develop, especially near the strongest part of the stream. Conditions can deteriorate sharply when wind opposes…
The vertical difference between a high water and an adjacent low water. A falling-tide range is measured from high water to the following low water, while a rising-tide range can be measured from low water to the following high water. Range varies through the spring-neap cycle and with longer astronomical constituents and local geography. Observed…
The speed of a tidal current at a stated position and time. Rate is normally expressed in knots and paired with set, the direction towards which the water flows. It changes through the tidal cycle and with springs, neaps, depth and location, and can differ substantially across a channel or near a headland. Atlas and…
The difference in height between mean high water neaps and mean low water neaps. It represents the average tidal range around neap tides at a particular standard port, derived from observations rather than from one individual high and low water. Neap ranges are generally smaller than spring ranges because solar and lunar tidal influences partly…
A period in the astronomical tidal cycle when the range between successive high and low waters is relatively small. Neaps generally occur near the Moon’s first and third quarter, when lunar and solar tide-generating effects are partly opposed. Local geography, shallow-water constituents and timing mean the smallest observed range need not coincide exactly with the…
Rough, broken or confused water produced when strong flow passes over an irregular seabed or meets another stream. Overfalls commonly form near banks, shoals, ledges, headlands and abrupt changes of depth, where tidal flow is accelerated or disturbed. They can also occur where streams converge. The surface may become steep and chaotic even when nearby…
An enclosed section of a waterway in which the water level is changed to transfer vessels between different levels. A chamber is closed by gates and filled or emptied through sluices, culverts or pumps until its level matches the waterway ahead. Locks range from manually operated canal structures to large controlled systems for ships, and…
The lowest tidal level predicted to occur under average meteorological conditions from any combination of astronomical influences.
The average height of the two successive high waters during neap-tide periods at a stated location and over a defined observation period.
If you belive the Earth is flat, you're about to fall of the end...
If you belive the Earth is flat, you're about to fall of the end...
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