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.
Lines rigged on each side of a boom to guide and contain a sail as it is lowered. They normally lead from the mast or upper rigging to points along the boom, forming a cradle for a mainsail or similar fore-and-aft sail. They may be fixed, adjustable or integrated with a sail cover and are…
A pair or series of separated lights that define a navigational leading line when seen in vertical alignment.
A marked line with a weighted lead used to measure water depth and, in some forms, obtain a seabed sample. The line carries distance marks that are read when the lead reaches the bottom and the line is approximately vertical. A hollow or tallowed recess in the lead can bring up material indicating whether the…
A historical measure of distance whose value varied, commonly taken at sea as three nautical miles. The league was traditionally associated with the distance travelled in an hour, but definitions differed between countries, periods and land and sea use. A marine league of three nautical miles is approximately 5.556 kilometres. It is not a standard…
The downwind direction or the side away from the wind. The lee side of a vessel is the side towards which the wind is blowing, opposite the weather or windward side. A person, object or shore lying downwind may similarly be described as being to leeward. The word also conveys shelter: a vessel may seek…
A traditional warning call made as a sailing vessel begins or commits to a tack. The call alerts the crew that the bow will pass through the wind and that the sails, boom and sheets will change sides. It commonly follows a readiness call such as ‘Ready about’, but wording and exact timing vary between…
The trailing edge of a sail between its head and clew. On most fore-and-aft sails the leech is the aft edge, but ‘trailing edge’ is the more general definition and also applies to sails whose orientation is less conventional. Its shape may be supported by battens and controlled by sheet tension, twist, mast bend, vang…
A shore lying downwind of a vessel so that wind tends to set the vessel towards it. A lee shore reduces the room available to recover from loss of propulsion, steering or sail control. Waves may steepen or break as they approach shallow water, and an onshore current can worsen the set even when the…
In the direction towards which the wind is blowing, or on the side away from the wind. Leeward describes direction or relative position and is the opposite of windward. A vessel’s leeward side is normally the side away from the incoming wind, while an object may create a sheltered lee extending downwind of it. Shelter…
Unable to complete a tack because a sailing vessel has lost drive while pointing into or very close to the wind. With the sails luffing and little water flow over the rudder, the vessel may stop turning and begin to drift or make sternway. It commonly results from insufficient speed before the tack, excessive rudder…
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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