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.The condition of a sailing vessel when all sails are lowered or stowed. Even without sails set, wind acting on the hull, mast and rigging can continue to drive the vessel through the water or cause it to drift. Sailing under bare poles is principally associated with severe-weather tactics, but the vessel’s behaviour depends on…
A platform at or near the stern that provides access between a vessel and the water. It may be moulded into the hull, fixed externally, folded or lowered hydraulically. A ladder, handhold, non-slip surface or tender-handling fittings may be incorporated, but the precise arrangement and permissible loads depend on the vessel. People using the platform…
A thin, stiff strip fitted to a sail to support its shape and control the leech. Battens slide into pockets in the sail and resist unwanted folding and flutter. Short battens support the leech, while full-length battens extend from leech towards or to the luff and distribute loads across a larger part of the sail….
A reinforced sleeve or enclosure in a sail that retains a sail batten. The pocket positions the batten so it supports the sail’s designed shape, controls the leech and reduces flutter. Pockets may hold short or full-length battens and can include adjustable end fittings that set batten compression. The pocket end, stitching and closure carry…
To bring a vessel deliberately onto a shore or drying surface. Beaching may be used for landing, inspection, maintenance, emergency action or planned drying out. Suitability depends on hull and appendage design, bottom material and slope, wave action, tidal range and how the vessel will be supported as the water falls. A plan should cover…
A fixed aid to navigation that marks a position, hazard, boundary or route.
The maximum width of a vessel, measured across the hull at the stated reference level. Beam is a principal dimension, but published figures may refer to moulded beam, extreme beam or another defined measurement and can include or exclude projections. The widest point is not necessarily at the vessel’s longitudinal midpoint. Beam influences space, resistance…
A point of sail with the true wind coming approximately across the vessel’s beam. The vessel’s course is roughly at right angles to the true-wind direction. Because the vessel is moving, the apparent wind normally comes from forward of the beam, and sail trim must respond to that apparent wind rather than to the nominal…
To alter a sailing vessel’s course farther away from the wind direction. Bearing away increases the angle between the bow and the wind, for example from close-hauled towards a reach or from a reach towards a run. “Bear off” and “fall off” are related expressions, although preferred usage varies. As the apparent wind moves aft,…
The horizontal direction of an object or point from an observer, expressed relative to a stated reference. A true bearing is measured clockwise from true north, a magnetic or compass bearing from the corresponding north reference, and a relative bearing from the vessel’s heading or fore-and-aft line. Bearings are commonly written as three figures from…
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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