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 local offshore wind produced when land cools more quickly than adjacent water, usually at night or near dawn. Cooler, denser air over land creates a pressure difference that drives low-level flow towards the relatively warmer water, with a compensating return flow aloft. The circulation is the nocturnal counterpart of a sea breeze. Strength and…
The international rules governing vessel conduct, lookout, safe speed, collision avoidance and navigation lights, shapes and sound signals. The 1972 COLREG Convention and its annexes apply on the high seas and connected waters navigable by seagoing vessels, with national implementation and permitted special local rules. They define vessel statuses and responsibilities in sight, restricted visibility…
To release slip-rigged mooring lines from aboard so a vessel can leave its berth. The crew lets go one end and retrieves the other as the line runs around the shore fitting. Lines are normally released in a planned order that accounts for wind, current, propeller and thruster effects. A line may fail to run…
Mooring lines arranged so both ends remain aboard and the vessel can release them without shore assistance. A line is passed around a bollard, ring or suitable fitting ashore and returned to the vessel. When departing, one end is released and the other hauled in, allowing the line to slip around the shore fitting. The…
A lightweight, curved downwind or reaching sail with dissimilar luff and leech edges. Its tack is secured forward, often on a bowsprit, while the clew is controlled by sheets and the head by a halyard. Unlike a symmetric spinnaker, it is not normally squared back with a conventional pole and cannot simply be reversed edge-for-edge….
The four-stage process used to develop, carry out and continuously check a passage plan. Appraisal gathers relevant information and assesses risks; planning converts it into a detailed berth-to-berth route and contingencies; execution manages the voyage; monitoring checks the vessel’s progress and the continuing validity of the plan. The stages interact rather than forming a one-way…
A sail-control line that pulls a sheet lead or sail clew inboard. On a headsail, an inhauler narrows the sheeting angle and can alter slot shape and pointing performance. On other sails or spars, the same general term may describe a control pulling the component towards the centreline. Excessive inhauling can close the slot, hook…
A line or tackle that changes a sheet’s lead position to adjust sail shape or sheeting angle. A barber hauler may pull a headsail sheet inboard or outboard, depending on the rig and sail. It can control leech tension, foot depth and slot shape, and is also used with spinnaker or reaching-sheet systems. The term…
One of two shortened two-hour watches traditionally scheduled from 16:00–18:00 and 18:00–20:00. Splitting the normal four-hour period creates an odd number of watches in the day, allowing personnel in a traditional watch system to rotate rather than keeping the same hours every day. The periods are often called the first and last dog watches. Modern…
The deck officer assigned responsibility for the vessel’s navigational watch on behalf of the master. The OOW maintains lookout, monitors position and passage plan, applies the collision regulations, manages bridge resources, responds to traffic and weather, and calls the master as required by standing orders and circumstances. The master’s presence does not automatically relieve 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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