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 after part of a vessel’s starboard side, or the relative direction abaft the starboard beam. As a structural location it lies towards the stern on the right when facing forward. As a lookout report, an object on the starboard quarter lies in the sector between approximately abeam and astern to starboard. The directional reference…
The tack on which the wind is coming from the vessel’s starboard side. On a conventional fore-and-aft rig the mainsail and boom are normally to port, but sail position is evidence rather than the definition and backed or unusual sails can mislead. Tack is determined by the side from which the wind is received. Under…
A helm order to stop the vessel’s swing and maintain its present heading. The order tells the helm to use the rudder as necessary to arrest an ongoing turn and then keep the heading reached, rather than returning automatically to the heading held before the turn began. The heading should be reported or confirmed in…
The compass positioned so that the person steering can maintain and alter the vessel’s heading. It is normally mounted where its heading can be read readily from the helm and where vibration, movement and magnetic interference can be controlled. The compass may be magnetic or form part of an electronic heading system, depending on the…
The rear or aft-most part of a vessel. The stern is opposite the bow and includes the after end of the hull and associated structure. Its form may be transom, counter, canoe, cruiser or another design and influences resistance, buoyancy, handling, wake and usable deck or accommodation space. Steering gear, propulsion, boarding arrangements, navigation lights…
A white navigation light showing over an unbroken 135-degree arc centred directly astern. Under the collision regulations it is arranged to show from dead astern to 67.5 degrees on each side of the vessel. Its required visibility range, height and relationship to other lights depend on vessel type, length and status. A sternlight identifies an…
A charted category of unusually large buoy, generally more than five metres in diameter, whose size or function makes it a significant hazard or high-consequence object. IHO chart specifications use the category for items such as offshore loading or single-point mooring buoys and very large ocean-data-acquisition buoys. Their moorings, hoses, chains or operating exclusion areas…
A narrow channel crossing or winding through a shoal, sandbank or area of shallow water. A swashway is formed and altered by tidal streams and wave action and may provide a shorter passage for suitable shallow-draught craft. Depth, width and alignment can change after storms or as banks migrate. Use requires current local and chart…
The water area a moored or anchored vessel may occupy as it rotates or moves around its restraint system. For a single anchor it is influenced by deployed rode, vessel length, anchor position and movement caused by wind and current. A mooring’s riser, chain, elasticity and seabed geometry can create a different excursion pattern rather…
A weather map showing analysed or forecast atmospheric conditions over a broad area at a stated time. It commonly depicts mean-sea-level pressure with isobars, high- and low-pressure centres, fronts and troughs and may include observations or other meteorological features. Analysis charts represent a best estimate of conditions at the valid time, while forecast charts show…
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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