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.A pigmented surface resin applied to the mould before a fibre-reinforced composite hull or component is laminated. Gelcoat is commonly based on unsaturated polyester or vinyl ester resin. It provides a smooth coloured finish and a protective surface barrier, but it is not the structural laminate and should not be assumed to remain completely impermeable…
An overlapping headsail whose clew extends abaft the mast when sheeted. Genoa size is conventionally expressed by comparing its luff perpendicular, or LP, with the foretriangle base measurement J. A 150 per cent genoa has an LP equal to 1.5 times J; this does not mean that exactly half of the sail’s area overlaps the…
To take the action required to keep clear of another vessel in a collision-avoidance situation. Where the collision regulations require a vessel to give way, its action should be early and substantial enough to be readily apparent and should result in passing at a safe distance. Depending on the circumstances, that can involve altering course,…
The vessel required by the applicable collision regulations to keep out of the way of another vessel in a particular encounter. This is a role created by the circumstances and the relevant rule, not a permanent class of vessel. The give-way vessel should take early and substantial action that is readily apparent and produces a…
A fibre-reinforced composite in which glass reinforcement is embedded in a cured polymer resin. The reinforcement may be chopped strand mat, woven cloth, stitched fabric or unidirectional fibres, while the matrix is commonly polyester, vinyl ester or epoxy resin. Strength and stiffness depend on fibre type, orientation and quantity, laminate design, resin choice and the…
The international maritime communications framework for distress alerting, search-and-rescue coordination and the dissemination of maritime safety information. GMDSS combines terrestrial and satellite services and equipment that can include VHF, MF and HF digital selective calling, recognised mobile satellite services, NAVTEX or enhanced group calling, emergency position-indicating radio beacons, radar or AIS search-and-rescue transponders and portable…
The United States satellite-based positioning, navigation and timing system. GPS is one constellation within the wider family of global navigation satellite systems. A receiver estimates position and time from the measured travel times of coded signals transmitted by multiple satellites, and can derive speed and course over the ground from successive measurements or signal changes….
To tack a sailing vessel by turning its bow through the wind. As the bow crosses the wind, the sails cease drawing and then fill on the opposite side, placing the vessel on the other tack. The command may initiate a coordinated sequence of helm movement and releasing and trimming sheets, but exact calls and…
Moving a vessel stern-first through the water or applying astern propulsion. Applying astern power does not always produce immediate sternway because the vessel may still carry forward momentum. Once moving astern, many vessels steer less predictably than ahead, and propeller side force, wind, current, hull form and rudder arrangement can strongly affect the motion. Astern…
The standard spoken code word for the letter G in the international radiotelephony spelling alphabet. It is pronounced “GOLF” and is used to spell names, call signs and other information clearly over marine radio. The same word is used in the NATO phonetic alphabet. Golf is also associated with International Code of Signals flag G,…
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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