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.
Floating freely without being secured to the shore, seabed or another fixed point. A vessel, boat or object may be adrift after parting a mooring, losing an anchor, being abandoned or being deliberately allowed to drift. Wind, waves and current then determine much or all of its movement unless propulsion or steering is restored. Adrift…
Supported by the water and not resting on the bottom or shore. A vessel is afloat when buoyancy supports its weight and it is free of the ground, although it may still be anchored, moored or unable to manoeuvre. The term can also describe people, cargo or debris floating in the water. Being afloat does…
Towards or in the rear part of a vessel. Aft may describe direction, as in “move aft”, or location, as in “the aft cabin”. Its opposite is forward, while the stern is the actual rear end or structure of the vessel. The layout of the aft part varies widely and cannot be assumed to contain…
A deck or part of a deck situated towards the stern of a vessel. Also commonly called the aft deck, its precise boundaries and use depend on the vessel’s design. It may provide working space, access to accommodation or machinery, a leisure area, or a station for handling mooring equipment. The name describes location rather…
In contact with or resting on the seabed, shore or other ground instead of floating freely. A vessel may take the ground deliberately or run aground unintentionally on mud, sand, shingle, rock or another obstruction. The consequences depend on bottom material, contact point, speed, sea state, tide, hull construction and the vessel’s loading. Before attempting…
In front of a vessel or in the direction of its bow. An object dead ahead lies approximately on the vessel’s fore-and-aft line beyond the bow. When used for propulsion or movement, “ahead” means driving or moving in the forward direction, as opposed to astern. Ahead is a relative direction and does not by itself…
A traditional spoken hail used to attract attention at sea or between a vessel and the shore. It can follow the subject being hailed, as in “ship ahoy”, and historically helped initiate communication before the message itself. “Land ho” rather than “land ahoy” is the better-known traditional cry for reporting land in sight. Ahoy remains…
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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