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.Favourable or clear when describing weather, and smooth or continuously shaped when describing a vessel’s surface or line. A fair wind assists the intended passage or sailing direction, while fair weather generally means settled or suitable conditions in the stated context. Neither expression defines a wind force, visibility or sea-state threshold. In boatbuilding, to fair…
A fitting that guides a rope, wire or cable along a required lead or through a change of direction. Fairleads include smooth eyes, horns, rollers and specialised deck or bulwark fittings used for mooring lines, sheets, control cables and other running systems. Their shape, strength and alignment must suit the line material, diameter, load and…
A navigable channel or recognised route through a harbour, river or other confined waterway. A fairway is normally the part of the waterway intended for through navigation and may be defined by its depth, lateral marks, charted limits or local directions. It is not necessarily the deepest water everywhere, and its available width and depth…
A safe water mark used to identify a channel centreline, approach or landfall. Under the IALA buoyage system, the mark has red-and-white vertical stripes and may carry a single red spherical topmark. Its permitted white-light characteristics identify it as safe water rather than a lateral or isolated-danger mark. A fairway mark is often placed at…
A resilient buffer placed between a vessel and a berth or another vessel to reduce contact damage. Portable fenders may be inflatable, foam-filled, cylindrical, spherical or flat and are suspended at the expected contact points and heights. Fixed berth fender systems serve the same broad purpose on quays and pontoons but are engineered for their…
The uninterrupted distance of open water over which wind blows in a broadly constant direction. Fetch is measured along the upwind water surface available for wave generation, not as the path travelled by an individual parcel of air. Coastlines, islands, ice and major changes in wind direction can limit the effective fetch. Wave growth depends…
A tapered tool used to open rope strands and assist with splicing and ropework. A traditional fid is commonly wood or metal and is pushed between the strands of laid rope without cutting or damaging them. It creates space for another strand to be tucked during an eye splice, short splice or similar work. Modern…
A determined vessel position obtained from observations or reliable position data. A traditional fix is plotted from two or more position lines observed at the same time or corrected to a common time. Electronic navigation systems can provide a direct position fix from GNSS or another suitable positioning source. Every fix has uncertainty arising from…
Pyrotechnic signals used to indicate distress, attract attention or help rescuers locate people or a vessel. Rocket parachute flares provide a high, long-range red light; red hand flares provide a shorter-range locating signal; and orange smoke signals aid daytime location. The correct signal depends on whether distant alerting or close-range location is required and on…
A rhythmic navigation light whose periods of light are shorter in total than its periods of darkness.
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...
Our 1% commitment
My Sailing Course contributes 1% of every Stripe payment to help promising carbon removal technologies move from the lab into the field.
Stripe Climate commitments fund the development and purchase of carbon removal. They are not carbon offsets or credits attached to an individual order.
Welcome to My Sailing Course. Where's this adventure going to take you?
Ahoy there, Visiting Sailor! Ask us anything—whether you need help choosing a course, have a sailing question, or want to speak to the crew.
Scan with your phone to open the My Sailing Course WhatsApp service. You can review or edit the prepared message before sending it.
Your conversation stays with My Sailing Course so our Support team can respond securely.
Enter at least two characters to explore.
Welcome back aboard. Sign in with the email address connected to your My Sailing Course account.
Your account details are encrypted in transit and your password is never displayed or stored by this form. By continuing, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and acknowledge our Privacy Policy.
Join free to save your favourites, unlock bonus learning resources and keep everything nautical close at hand.
Join the My Sailing Course community with one secure account for your courses, profile and support.
We've successfully created your account. Hold station for a few moments and you will be returned to the page.
Already have an account? Sign in
Enter your account email and we will send you a secure reset link.
This reset link is invalid or has expired.
Your new password is saved securely. We are confirming it across My Sailing Course before you sign in.
Please keep this window open. It will change to the sign-in form as soon as every service confirms the update.
