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.
The condition in which an anchor has dug into the seabed and is resisting the vessel’s pull. An anchor is set by lowering it under control, paying out appropriate rode and progressively applying load so its flukes penetrate a suitable bottom. The crew then checks position, transits, bearings or electronic movement to assess whether it…
A sheltered area of water where vessels can anchor, moor or berth with protection from open-water conditions. A harbour may be natural, artificially protected by breakwaters, or a combination of both. It may contain channels, anchorages, marinas, docks and port facilities, but a harbour is not necessarily a commercial port. Shelter varies with wind and…
A waterborne craft or other structure used, or capable of being used, as a means of transport on water. In the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, the term includes every description of water craft, non-displacement craft, wing-in-ground craft and seaplanes used or capable of being used for transportation on water. The exact legal…
A sheltered berthing facility for recreational and small commercial craft, normally organised around pontoons, quays or mooring berths. Facilities vary but may include shore power, water, fuel, waste disposal, toilets, showers, repairs, storage and launching. A marina may lie within a harbour or occupy a separate basin protected by breakwaters or locks. Entry, speed, radio,…
The horizontal direction in which a vessel’s fore-and-aft line is pointing. Heading is expressed as an angle clockwise from a stated north reference, normally true, magnetic or compass north. It may be read from a compass or heading sensor and can vary continuously as the vessel yaws. Heading is not the same as course over…
The angular error of a magnetic compass caused by magnetic influences aboard the vessel. Deviation is the difference between magnetic heading and compass heading and is named east or west. It normally changes with heading because permanent and induced magnetism in the hull, machinery, wiring and equipment affects the compass differently as the vessel turns….
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…
A dimensionless GNSS geometry factor combining horizontal and vertical dilution of precision for three-dimensional position. PDOP reflects how the spatial arrangement of the satellites used amplifies common ranging errors into the latitude, longitude and height solution. Lower values generally indicate more favourable geometry, and mathematically PDOP combines HDOP and VDOP by root-sum-square. It does not…
A dimensionless GNSS geometry factor for amplification of ranging errors into the horizontal position solution. HDOP reflects the east-west and north-south geometry of the satellites used. Lower values generally indicate that common ranging errors will produce a smaller horizontal position uncertainty, while clustered azimuths produce weaker geometry. HDOP is not horizontal accuracy by itself and…
A dimensionless GNSS geometry factor describing how ranging errors are amplified in the vertical component of a position fix. VDOP depends on the distribution of the satellites used in the solution. Because satellites are normally visible above rather than below the receiver, vertical geometry is often weaker than horizontal geometry and altitude uncertainty may be…
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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