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.
A triangular headsail set forward of a mast, normally with its luff supported by a stay or foil. A jib is generally non-overlapping or less overlapping than a genoa, although terminology and size conventions vary. It may be hanked to a forestay, set in a luff foil or roller-furled, and specialised forms include working, storm…
The lines attached to or led from a jib’s clew to control its angle and shape. One sheet normally leads to each side of the vessel. The working sheet is tensioned on the leeward side while the lazy sheet remains ready on the opposite side, and their roles exchange when the boat tacks. Lead position…
The standard spoken code word for the letter J in the international radiotelephony spelling alphabet. It is pronounced “JEW-lee-ETT” and is used to spell names, call signs and other information clearly over marine radio. The official spelling uses a double t and the same word is used in the NATO phonetic alphabet. Juliett is also…
A temporary arrangement assembled to replace or support damaged or failed equipment. A jury rig uses the materials and equipment available aboard to restore a necessary function after damage. The expression originated in sailing practice, particularly for a temporary mast and rig, but it now applies to improvised steering, pumping, structural support and many other…
To move or turn a vessel by hauling towards an anchor or other secure point laid away from it. The anchor may be carried out by a boat, deployed from the vessel or set by another suitable method, after which a windlass, capstan, winch or tackle hauls the vessel along the rode. Repeating the process…
An anchor carried or laid away from a vessel so that hauling on its rode can move, turn or assist the vessel. A kedge is often smaller and easier to transport than the main bower anchor, but small or lightweight is not its defining property. It may be used for kedging, warping off a grounding,…
A principal longitudinal structure along the lower part of a vessel’s hull. In traditional construction, the keel forms the backbone from which frames and other hull members are built. On many sailing yachts, the term also refers to a fixed external fin or deeper hull structure that provides lateral resistance and may contain ballast to…
A fore-and-aft-rigged sailing vessel with a mainmast and a smaller mizzen mast abaft it. In the conventional distinction, the ketch’s mizzen mast is stepped forward of the rudder stock, whereas a yawl’s smaller mizzen is stepped aft of it. The mizzen sail contributes materially to the ketch’s sail plan and can help balance the vessel….
A tackle that pulls a sailing vessel’s boom down and controls its upward movement. Also called a boom vang, it runs between the lower mast area and the boom. It controls leech tension and sail twist when the mainsheet no longer provides enough downward force, particularly on reaches and downwind courses. The tackle may be…
A line used to hoist, support or lower a sail, flag, yard or other item aloft. A halyard normally runs over or through a sheave and is secured by a cleat, clutch or winch. It may be rope, wire or a combination, and its tension can affect sail luff shape as well as holding 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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