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 shorter distance between two points measured along a great circle on a sphere. It is the minimum spherical route distance and is especially relevant on long ocean passages. On the ellipsoidal Earth, geodesic calculations provide greater precision, while a Mercator chart represents the great-circle track as a curve except in special cases.
A mast whose heel is supported on the deck rather than continuing through it to a step below. Compression loads are transferred through the deck structure and usually a supporting post or bulkhead to the hull. Standing rigging becomes especially important to stability if the mast heel is not positively retained.
The detailed pilotage plan for leaving a berth, harbour or constrained waterway. It covers unberthing, communications, tidal and weather limits, courses, clearing bearings, traffic, abort options and the transition to the main passage. Responsibilities and contingencies should be briefed before lines are let go.
The straight-line distance between two positions actually reached by a vessel. It measures net progress over the ground rather than the total distance travelled along every alteration of course. Together with elapsed time it can be used to calculate speed made good.
A radio message giving the information needed to assist a vessel or person in grave and imminent danger. It normally follows a distress alert and call and includes identity, position, nature of distress, assistance required and other useful information. The prescribed format and channel for the equipment and service in use should be followed.
The entry of water into normally dry spaces through openings as a vessel heels or is immersed. Open hatches, vents, doors and damaged closures can cause progressive flooding and a rapid loss of stability and reserve buoyancy. Downflooding points are therefore important in stability assessment and heavy-weather preparation.
The angle of heel at which water can first enter a normally dry space through a relevant opening. It limits the usable stability range even if the theoretical righting lever remains positive beyond that angle. Loading, trim, open closures and damage can reduce the angle.
A buoy that is no longer held in its charted or intended position and is moving with wind or current. It may give dangerously misleading navigational information and should not be relied upon as a fixed mark. Its position and description should be reported promptly to the appropriate authority.
A digitally encoded distress transmission sent by Digital Selective Calling equipment. The alert identifies the station and may include position, time and nature of distress before voice or data distress traffic follows. It should be sent only for grave and imminent danger and cancelled correctly if transmitted inadvertently.
Lift produced by fluid flow around a moving foil, hull or planing surface. It increases with speed, fluid density, area and lift coefficient and can support part or all of a craft’s weight. Hydrofoils and planing hulls rely on dynamic lift, unlike static buoyancy, which exists without forward motion.
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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