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 direction from the vessel’s present position to a selected waypoint. A navigation receiver or chartplotter normally calculates bearing to waypoint from successive position fixes and displays it in degrees. The value must be interpreted using its stated reference—true, magnetic or occasionally grid north. Bearing to waypoint is not necessarily the vessel’s heading, course over…
An expression meaning to feel sad, dispirited or melancholy. A frequently repeated maritime story connects the phrase with blue flags or markings displayed when a ship lost its captain or an officer during a voyage. Reliable evidence for that specific origin is weak, and the association of blue with sadness appears in English sources outside…
The challenging yacht club that agrees the next America’s Cup match conditions with the defending yacht club under the Deed of Gift. Once a valid challenge is accepted, the Challenger of Record and the Defender negotiate the protocol governing the event, including competition arrangements and the process for selecting the final challenger when multiple clubs…
An expression meaning open, honest and free from concealment or deception. The expression is commonly linked to conduct visible above a vessel’s deck rather than hidden below. Historical usage supports the sense of something being in full view, although simplified stories about pirates or concealed crew should not be treated as a single proven origin….
The inboard end of a cable or line, especially the end secured aboard a vessel. For an anchor cable, the bitter end is secured in the chain locker by an arrangement intended to hold it in normal use while allowing emergency release where fitted. The term is also used more generally for the last end…
A large-scale atmospheric circulation around a low-pressure centre, rotating anticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. Cyclone is a general meteorological term and includes extratropical depressions as well as tropical cyclones. Air converges towards lower pressure and is deflected by Earth’s rotation, commonly producing cloud, precipitation, shifting winds and unsettled conditions….
Water particles that fall from the atmosphere and reach the surface as rain, drizzle, snow, sleet, hail or related forms. Precipitation develops when cloud droplets or ice particles grow heavy enough to fall. Its form depends on the temperature and moisture profile between the cloud and the surface, so it may change during descent. For…
The amount of dissolved salts in seawater or other water. Ocean salinity varies with evaporation, precipitation, river input, ice formation and melting, and mixing between water masses. It influences seawater density, buoyancy, sound speed, freezing point and large-scale circulation. Modern oceanography commonly reports practical salinity as a dimensionless value derived from conductivity, while absolute salinity…
The rules published by World Sailing that govern sailboat, windsurfing and related forms of racing. Commonly abbreviated to RRS, they cover conduct between boats, race management, protests, penalties and other aspects of competition. The rules operate with the notice of race, sailing instructions, class rules and any applicable national prescriptions or approved changes. World Sailing…
The international governing body for the sport of sailing, recognised by the International Olympic Committee. World Sailing develops the Racing Rules of Sailing and competition regulations, oversees international events and Olympic sailing, supports officials and training and recognises member national authorities and international classes. Its rules govern organised sport within their stated scope and are…
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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