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 lever, screw or cam fitting used to clamp a hatch cover tightly against its seal. Dogs are secured in the correct sequence and tension so the gasket compresses evenly. Missing, seized or overtightened dogs can compromise closure integrity or damage the cover and seal.
The position and route by which a headsail sheet is led to its block, fairlead or car. Moving the lead forward generally increases leech tension relative to foot tension, while moving it aft does the reverse. The optimum position varies with reefing, sail shape and point of sail.
A satellite broadcast service that sends maritime safety information to selected groups or geographic areas. EGC is carried through recognised mobile-satellite services and includes services such as SafetyNET. Compatible GMDSS equipment receives messages according to programmed sea areas, coastal warning areas and message priorities.
An Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon carried to alert search-and-rescue authorities after a maritime distress. A 406 MHz EPIRB transmits a coded identity through Cospas-Sarsat and may include GNSS position and a homing signal. It must be registered, correctly mounted, tested only by approved methods and kept within battery and hydrostatic-release service dates.
A board placed between a vessel’s fenders and a rough or widely spaced berth face to spread contact loads. It bridges piles or irregular surfaces and prevents individual fenders entering gaps. The board and its lashings must remain positioned as the vessel moves with tide, wash and surge.
A safety device that shuts off fuel or gas when a burner flame is extinguished. It prevents unburned fuel accumulating after a flame goes out because of draught, spillage or interruption. Marine cooking and heating appliances should be maintained and ventilated in accordance with their instructions, and the device must never be bypassed.
A sail batten extending from the leech to or close to the luff. It supports the sail’s shape over a larger area than a short leech batten and can reduce flogging. Cars, pockets and compression loads require suitable design, and the battens can make hoisting, reefing or furling more demanding.
A wind sea that has reached the greatest average wave condition possible for the prevailing wind over the available fetch and duration. Once fully developed, additional time does not substantially increase the sea for that wind speed unless wind or fetch changes. Real seas often contain swell and changing winds, so the idealised condition is…
An official warning that gale-force winds are expected or occurring in a specified marine area. Thresholds and wording follow the issuing service’s definitions and include validity and area information. Mariners should consider timing, local acceleration, sea state and shelter rather than treating the warning as a single wind value everywhere.
Germany’s navigable coastal and inland waters governed by national and local navigation requirements. They include tidal estuaries, canals, rivers and coastal approaches with prescribed signs, traffic rules and reporting arrangements. Vessels must use current charts and publications and comply with the rules for the particular waterway.
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.
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