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.Understanding the language of the marine world is like trying to learn a pirate’s secret code while juggling fish. You’ll wonder why a “sheet” isn’t something you sleep under but a rope that controls a sail. “Bowsprit” sounds like a sneeze, “booby hatch” isn’t a bird’s hideout, and “port” doesn’t come in a glass—it’s just left. If someone yells, “Man overboard!” don’t ask which direction they swam. And heaven help you if you think “scuttlebutt” is gossip—well, actually, you’d be right about that one. By the time you’ve figured out that “head” means toilet and “galley” isn’t an alley with gourds, you’ve already been hit with a wave and lost your hat to the wind they call a “nor’easter.”
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.
The international radiotelephony spelling word for the letter S. It is used to spell call signs, identifiers and words clearly over voice radio. Its prescribed spoken form is represented as ‘SEE AIR RAH’. The International Code of Signals assigns a separate meaning to the single flag S. That flag use should not be confused with…
A raised threshold across a harbour, marina, lock or dock entrance that limits or retains water depth. A marina sill is commonly an underwater barrier designed to retain a minimum water level inside a basin as the tide falls. A sill also forms the lower threshold beneath lock or dock gates and can determine the…
A reefing method that reduces a sail by lowering a horizontal panel and securing new tack and clew points. On a boomed mainsail the halyard is eased, the selected reef tack and clew are brought to their working positions and the sail is re-tensioned. The loose panel lies along the boom and may be gathered…
To ease a line in a controlled manner so that its tension is reduced. The instruction may apply to a sheet, halyard, mooring line, control line or tackle and can mean a small adjustment rather than complete release. ‘Slack away’ or ‘ease’ may be used similarly, but crew terminology should be agreed. A loaded line…
A period when the horizontal tidal current at a particular location is weak or changing direction. Slack water can occur near the change between flood and ebb, but its time need not coincide with local high or low water because tidal height and horizontal flow respond differently. In rotary tidal streams the current may turn…
A sudden impact produced when part of a vessel’s hull re-enters or strikes the water with substantial relative velocity. Bottom slamming often affects forward flatter sections after they emerge in waves, while bow flare, wet-deck and stern slamming occur in other hull forms and conditions. The event creates short-duration pressure loads, noise and acceleration rather…
A fitting attached to a sail that runs in a track on a mast, boom or stay. Sail slides hold the sail’s luff or foot close to its supporting spar while allowing it to be hoisted, lowered or reefed. They may be metal or plastic and are attached by webbing, shackles, screws or another method…
Sailing with the apparent wind between close-hauled and directly astern. The range includes close, beam and broad reaches. Fixed degree limits are only illustrative because a vessel’s no-go angle, speed and apparent-wind direction vary with design, sails, conditions and course. Reaching trim generally eases sails progressively as the wind moves aft and may use different…
A preparatory command warning the crew that the vessel is about to tack. The call gives crew time to prepare the working and lazy sheets, check that lines and equipment are clear and move to safe positions before the bow turns through the wind. Crew normally acknowledge when their stations are ready. The person controlling…
A ridge, chain or area of rock, coral or other consolidated material lying at or near the water surface. Reefs may be biogenic, volcanic, rocky or artificial and can be exposed, drying or fully submerged. Sandbanks and shoals can create similar navigation hazards but are not necessarily reefs because unconsolidated sand alone is not the…
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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