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.
To secure a line or object so that it remains held in the required position. A line may be made fast to a cleat, bollard, bitt, samson post or other suitable fitting using the appropriate turns, hitch, splice or hardware. The instruction can also apply to securing a vessel, fender, tender or item of equipment….
Moving through the water rather than merely moving over the ground with the surrounding water. A vessel may be making way under engine, sail, oars, tow or another means; the expression does not require its own propulsion. Conversely, a vessel drifting with a current can move over the ground while making little or no way…
The United Kingdom executive agency responsible for maritime safety, seafarer and ship standards, coastguard coordination and marine pollution functions. The MCA is an executive agency of the Department for Transport. Its work includes HM Coastguard’s continuous maritime and coastal search-and-rescue coordination, ship survey and inspection, seafarer certification, administration of the UK Ship Register, maritime guidance…
A nine-digit identity transmitted by maritime radio systems to identify a ship, coast station, group or other assigned station type. MMSIs are used by systems including digital selective calling and AIS. Their digit patterns vary by identity type; a ship-station MMSI normally begins with three Maritime Identification Digits identifying the responsible administration, while coast, group,…
A principal upright or near-upright spar or structure that supports sails, rigging or equipment aboard a vessel. A sailing mast carries sail and rig loads through standing and running rigging and may be deck-stepped or keel-stepped. Power vessels also use masts for lights, antennas, radar, signals and sensors, and construction may be timber, aluminium, steel…
The structural fitting or support on which the heel of a mast is seated. A mast step locates the base of the mast and transfers compression and other rig loads into the vessel’s structure. It may be on deck, on the coachroof or lower in the hull for a keel-stepped mast, and its form must…
A white navigation light showing over the forward sector of a vessel. Despite its name, a masthead light need not be positioned at the physical top of a mast. It is carried over the vessel’s fore-and-aft centreline and shows from directly ahead to a specified distance abaft the beam on each side. It forms part…
The spoken radiotelephony distress signal indicating grave and imminent danger and a need for immediate assistance. Mayday is used for emergencies such as a vessel sinking, a serious fire or an immediate threat to life. The word derives from the French expression m’aidez, meaning “help me”, and is normally spoken three times at the start…
The average height of the two successive high waters during neap-tide periods at a stated location and over a defined observation period.
The average height of the two successive high waters during spring-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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