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 craft supported wholly or partly by a pressurised cushion of air close to the surface. A hovercraft is the familiar example. Lift fans supply air beneath the craft, often retained by a flexible skirt, while separate or combined propulsion moves and steers it over water, mudflats, ice or suitable land. Because it operates with…
Towards or on the side away from the wind. Alee is an adverb or positional expression related to lee and leeward. A helm put alee is moved towards the leeward side, while an object lying alee is on the downwind side relative to the stated reference. It should not be treated as a fixed side…
Above the deck or high in a vessel’s mast, rigging or superstructure. A person may go aloft to inspect or work on sails, rigging, antennas, lights or other equipment. The term can also describe an object positioned or hoisted high above the deck. Work aloft exposes people to falls, vessel movement and dropped-object hazards. Safe…
Close beside and generally parallel to another vessel, a berth or a landing place. A vessel comes alongside to embark or disembark people, transfer stores or cargo, receive services, or secure at a berth. Fenders protect the contact area and mooring lines control relative movement once the vessel is in position. Wind, stream, tide, wash,…
In or towards the middle of a vessel, especially along its fore-and-aft length. The term may describe the location of a compartment, load or person. It does not necessarily identify the point of maximum beam, the centre of gravity or the exact geometric centre, all of which can lie elsewhere. As a helm order, “midships”…
A device connected to a vessel by a rode and deployed to the bottom to limit the vessel’s movement. Different anchor designs hold by burying in the seabed, hooking suitable ground, resisting through shape and weight, or a combination of these effects. Holding performance depends on anchor design and size, bottom type, setting technique, load…
Describes an anchor that has been lifted clear of the seabed and is no longer holding the vessel. During weighing, the cable is shortened until the anchor breaks free of the bottom; once clear, the anchor is aweigh. It may still be below the surface and must then be brought home and secured for sea….
A black ball-shaped day signal used to indicate that a vessel is at anchor. It is displayed where it can best be seen so that other mariners can distinguish an anchored vessel from one underway. The signal identifies the vessel’s status; it does not mean that the vessel is “not under command”. The applicable collision…
A floating marker connected by a buoyed line to an anchor or its crown to show the anchor’s position. It can help identify where the anchor lies and, when correctly arranged, may provide a trip line for freeing an anchor that is fouled. The buoy and line must have suitable size, strength and length for…
The chain, rope, wire or combination connecting a vessel to its anchor. On ships, “anchor cable” commonly means the chain cable; on small craft, the broader term “anchor rode” is often used for chain, rope or a combination. The cable transmits the vessel’s load to the anchor and its weight and elasticity influence shock loading…
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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