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 rising phase of the tide between low water and the following high water. Flood describes changing water level; the associated horizontal flow is a flood tidal stream. That stream may begin or end at a different time from local low or high water and may follow a channel rather than simply flowing directly towards…
A broad pointed part of an anchor designed to penetrate or bear against the seabed. The number, area, angle and freedom of movement of flukes vary between anchor patterns. In suitable ground they develop holding resistance by burying and mobilising the surrounding seabed rather than by surface area alone. No single fluke shape is best…
The people assigned to operate, maintain or serve aboard a vessel. Crew can include the master or skipper, deck and engineering personnel, watchkeepers, catering staff and specialists, with roles determined by vessel type, size, operation and regulation. On a small craft, one person may perform several functions and an owner or guest may also act…
A reinforced eye or loop in a sail or canvas item through which a fitting or line can take load. A cringle may be formed around a metal ring, sewn ring, rope eye or pressed eyelet and reinforced with patches, webbing or roping. High-load cringles are fitted at the head, tack and clew and at…
The shortest lateral distance from a vessel’s position to its active intended track line. Usually abbreviated XTE or XTD, it is calculated by a navigation system relative to the selected route leg and may be given a port or starboard sign. It is a distance, not a rate of drift, and depends on how the…
A sustained movement of water with a measurable direction and speed. Currents may be driven by wind, density differences, large-scale ocean circulation, river flow, pressure gradients or other processes. Tidal streams are periodic horizontal water movements caused by the tide and are often treated separately in UK navigation terminology. A current changes a vessel’s movement…
A slender, upright floating marker used to make a position conspicuous on the water. A dan buoy typically has a weighted or ballasted lower section and a pole carrying a flag, light or reflective material. Fishing versions mark gear; emergency versions can be deployed near a person-overboard position and may incorporate flotation or other recovery…
A lifting appliance fitted to a vessel or structure for lowering and recovering a boat or other load. Davits commonly handle lifeboats, rescue boats, tenders, liferafts and operational equipment. Designs include radial, luffing, gravity and articulated systems and may use one arm or a matched pair with falls, winches and release arrangements. The appliance, foundations,…
Estimating a vessel’s position by advancing a known position using course steered, speed through the water and elapsed time. A dead-reckoning position, commonly marked DR, is plotted without using a new external position observation. In the traditional UK distinction, effects such as tidal stream and leeway are applied to obtain an estimated position rather than…
The standard spoken code word for the letter D in the international radiotelephony spelling alphabet. It is pronounced “DELL-tah” and is used to spell names, call signs and other information clearly over marine radio. The same standard word is used in the NATO phonetic alphabet. Delta is also associated with International Code of Signals flag…
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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