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.This part defines the lights and shapes each type of vessel must display.
Lights serve three distinct purposes;
– Presence – awareness of a vessel,
– Heading – which way the vessel is travelling,
– Status – any special status the vessel has.
Shapes are the daytime equivalent of status lights. Black, three-dimensional geometric shapes, usually hoisted on a mast.
Side & Stern light Probably the best-known lights, the side and stern lights allow an onlooker to determine what aspect of a vessel they are looking at. Standard across all vessels, they divide the water around the boat into three distinct arcs. This allows the onlooker to determine which aspect they are viewing, which is…
The lights prescribed in these Rules shall have an intensity as specified in Section 8 of Annex I to these Regulations so as to be visible at the following minimum ranges: This rule outlines the minimum distance any navigation lights should be visible from. Masthead lights must be visible from a greater distance than side…
Any vessel is considered underway regardless of type when not anchored, made fast to the shore, or aground. Therefore, it must display lights to enable an onlooker to determine what aspect they can see. These are its side and stern lights, with some tweaks and minor exemptions depending on vessel size. Lights to be displayed…
A vessel constrained by her draught may, in addition to the lights prescribed for power-driven vessels in Rule 23, exhibit where they can best be seen three all-round red lights in a vertical line, or a cylinder. Any vessel can be constrained by its draught; the bigger the vessel, the greater the draught, the deeper…
Pilot vessels have identifying lights; however, they don’t have any specific privileges under the rules. As far as the rules are concerned, they are treated as power-driven vessels. A pilot vessel is likely to be seen alongside or leading another vessel with a special status, such as constrained by draught or restricted in its ability…
Where it is impracticable for a seaplane or a WIG craft to exhibit lights and shapes of the characteristics or in the positions prescribed in the Rules of this Part she shall exhibit lights and shapes as closely similar in characteristics and position as is possible.
Once a vessel becomes actively engaged in fishing, its definition changes. Until then, it is regarded as a power-driven vessel. This term can only be used to describe vessels that are either: Sea-angling boats and others whose gear does not restrict their manoeuvrability cannot define themselves as fishing vessels. Day shapes shown by fishing vessels…
This rule starts Part C: Lights & Shapes and introduces the overarching principles of when we should display appropriate shapes or lights based on the rest of the section. It also tells us that this part’s rules apply in all weather. Day shapes By day, vessels that need to declare their definition use shapes. This…
This rule covers many situations, with multiple vessels potentially becoming either one of these types.
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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