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.
Short, steep and closely spaced waves that create an irregular, uncomfortable sea. Chop often develops when wind acts over a limited fetch, when wind opposes a tidal stream or current, or when waves are reflected and disturbed around a headland, harbour entrance or sea wall. It may be locally severe even when the individual waves…
A highly accurate timekeeper used in traditional celestial navigation to determine longitude. A marine chronometer keeps the time at a known reference meridian while observations establish local time aboard the vessel. The difference between those times can be converted into longitude because the Earth rotates through 15 degrees in one hour. Traditional marine chronometers were…
Free from an identified obstruction, hazard or vessel. The word is used in instructions and reports such as “clear of the buoy,” “clear of the shoal” or “the stern is clear.” It describes separation from the particular object or danger being discussed, not a general guarantee that the surrounding water is safe. A vessel may…
The available distance between a vessel and an overhead, underwater or nearby obstruction. Vertical or overhead clearance is compared with the vessel’s air draught when passing beneath a bridge, cable or other structure. Under-keel clearance is the distance remaining between the vessel’s lowest point and the seabed or a submerged obstruction. The unqualified word “clearance”…
A fitting shaped to secure or control a line. A horn cleat has two projecting horns around which a line can be made fast, commonly with a cleat hitch. It may be fitted to a vessel, pontoon or quay. Cam and jam cleats grip a line differently and are generally used to hold running rigging…
The lower aft corner of a fore-and-aft sail, where its foot and leech meet. The sheet is attached at or led from the clew, allowing the sail’s angle and shape to be controlled. Because it carries substantial load, the corner is reinforced with a cringle, webbing or another purpose-designed fitting. A triangular mainsail or headsail…
A point of sail on which a vessel sails as close to the wind as it can while keeping the sails drawing effectively. The sails are trimmed in and the vessel makes progress to windward on one tack. The closest useful angle varies with rig, sail condition, hull and appendages, wind strength, sea state and…
The raised roof structure over a vessel’s cabin or accommodation space. Also called a cabin top, it increases internal headroom and may carry windows, hatches, ventilators, handrails, tracks, clutches, winches or other deck fittings. Its form and location depend on the vessel rather than always being amidships or on the centreline. The structure must shed…
A raised boundary around a deck opening or recessed area that helps keep water out. Hatch, companionway and ventilator coamings lift the opening above the surrounding deck so runoff, spray and water on deck are less likely to enter. Cockpit coamings define and protect the cockpit edge and may also support seating or fittings. A…
The United Kingdom service that initiates and coordinates civil maritime and coastal search and rescue. HM Coastguard is part of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. Its coordination centres receive and assess distress information, task suitable resources and coordinate responses involving coastguard rescue teams, lifeboats, helicopters, ships and other emergency services within the UK search-and-rescue arrangements….
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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