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.Marine navigation has its own secret language, and let’s face it—half of it sounds like someone making things up after too much grog. You’ve got your ‘dead reckoning,’ which isn’t nearly as ominous as it sounds, and ‘bearing,’ which has nothing to do with polar bears but everything to do with pointing the right way. Don’t even get us started on ‘knots’—why measure speed like you’re tying a shoelace? And then there’s ‘fix (not for your engine) and ‘DR’ (spoiler: it’s not a doctor). If you’re baffled, don’t worry—we’re here to help you decipher this nautical code so you can sound like a pro, not a landlubber who’s lost their compass.
A practical examination for the RYA/MCA Advanced Powerboat Certificate of Competence. The candidate is assessed as skipper on planning, pilotage, boat handling, navigation, safety, collision avoidance and command, including night or demanding conditions as prescribed by the current scheme. It is an examination rather than a training course. Eligibility, sea time, supporting certificates and commercial…
A practical examination for the RYA/MCA Yachtmaster Offshore Certificate of Competence in a motor vessel. The candidate demonstrates skippering, navigation, pilotage, safety, collision avoidance, passage management, crew leadership and motor-cruiser handling to the examiner. It is not a course-completion certificate. Current qualifying mileage, sea time, passages, age and supporting certificates must be evidenced under the…
The first RYA Youth Sailing Scheme stage, introducing young sailors to basic boat control and safety. Training is practical and normally covers getting under way, steering, sail awareness and returning under close supervision. It is a staged achievement rather than proof of independent sailing; age, boat, weather and supervision arrangements are set by the recognised…
The second RYA Youth Sailing Scheme stage, developing basic steering and sail control on more points of sail. Young sailors build confidence in rigging, launching, tacking, gybing and responding to instructions while remaining within an appropriate supervised environment. Progress depends on demonstrated skills rather than age alone. Stage 3 moves towards sailing independently in light…
The third RYA Youth Sailing Scheme stage, developing independent sailing in light conditions. Training consolidates sailing in all directions, manoeuvres, stopping, basic safety and decision-making with less direct instructor input. The award is condition and craft specific; Stage 4 extends techniques and independence rather than removing the need for appropriate supervision.
The fourth RYA Youth Sailing Scheme stage, consolidating independent sailing and introducing more advanced techniques. It develops rigging, launch and recovery, efficient sailing, manoeuvres and practical seamanship across a broader range of situations. Stage 4 completes the core youth progression but does not represent competence in every boat or condition; advanced, racing and foiling modules…
The 1884 Washington conference that recommended Greenwich as the initial meridian for longitude and proposed a universal day. Delegates from 25 nations adopted resolutions recommending a single prime meridian, longitude counted in two directions up to 180 degrees, and a universal day beginning at mean midnight at Greenwich. The resolutions influenced international practice but did…
Mean solar time at the Greenwich meridian, now commonly used as the name of the UTC+0 civil time zone in the United Kingdom. Historically, GMT was an astronomical time standard derived from Earth’s rotation. Modern navigation and technical communications normally use Coordinated Universal Time, an atomic time scale maintained close to UT1. In everyday UK…
The international reference time scale used for civil timekeeping, maintained close to Earth rotation by leap seconds. UTC is generated from atomic time and is the basis from which time-zone offsets are stated. It replaced Greenwich Mean Time as the principal technical reference for navigation, communications, meteorology and many legal or operational systems. UTC is…
A conventional boundary near 180° longitude across which the civil calendar date changes by one day. It bends around countries and island groups so political territories can share a chosen date, and it is not defined by a single universal treaty line. Crossing westward normally advances the date by one day; crossing eastward sets it…
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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