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 forecastle: the raised forward part of a vessel or the space beneath it. “Fo’c’sle” is a traditional contraction of “forecastle.” On older ships, the forecastle was a short raised deck at the bow, and the compartment below was commonly used as crew accommodation. On modern vessels the word may refer more generally to the…
Suspended microscopic water droplets or ice crystals near the surface that reduce horizontal visibility below 1,000 metres. Fog forms through several processes, including cooling moist air to saturation, moving warm moist air over colder water, radiation cooling and evaporation into cold air. Mist is the corresponding obscuration when visibility remains at least 1,000 metres under…
A sound-signalling appliance used to make a powerful warning signal in fog or other restricted visibility. Foghorns may be carried by vessels or installed at fixed locations such as lighthouses, harbour entrances and offshore structures. Modern appliances can be pneumatic, electric or electronic; the familiar deep tone is intended to carry over distance, although its…
A propeller whose blades fold towards the shaft when not driving the vessel, reducing drag under sail. When the shaft turns, the blades open into their working position through centrifugal force and hydrodynamic loading. When rotation stops, water flow folds them aft. The design is common on sailing yachts where the resistance of a fixed…
Waves travelling in broadly the same direction as the vessel. In a following sea, waves approach from astern and overtake the vessel or carry it forward. The effect depends on wave speed, steepness and direction relative to the vessel, as well as the vessel’s speed, hull form and steering characteristics. Large or steep following seas…
The lower edge of a sail between its tack and clew. A mainsail foot may be secured along a boom, retained only at tack and clew as a loose-footed sail, or arranged in another rig-specific way. The foot of a headsail usually spans above the deck rather than being attached to it. Outhaul and tack…
A drag device streamed from a vessel to reduce speed through the water or influence its orientation. Drogues include cones, fabric devices and series drogues and are commonly deployed from the stern to control speed in following seas, reduce the tendency to surf or broach, or slow drift during fishing or recovery work. Their behaviour…
The charted height of a feature above chart datum when that feature covers and uncovers with the tide. Drying heights are used for rocks, banks and areas that are above chart datum but submerged when the tide rises sufficiently. They are normally printed differently from soundings so the navigator can distinguish a height above datum…
To let out a loaded line or control gradually while maintaining control of it. A sheet is eased to allow a sail to move farther from the centreline or to reduce load, while a mooring line may be eased to change the vessel’s position or share load with another line. The amount and rate depend…
The falling phase of the tide between high water and the following low water. Ebb describes changing water level; the associated horizontal flow is an ebb tidal stream. The stream may continue after local high or low water, reverse at a different time, or follow a channel rather than simply flowing directly away from 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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