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 stand or housing that supports and protects a vessel’s magnetic compass at the steering position. A traditional ship’s binnacle may incorporate lighting and corrector magnets or soft-iron correctors used during compass adjustment. On a yacht it may form part of the pedestal carrying the wheel, engine controls or instruments. The compass and its correction…
The airflow component attributable to a vessel’s own motion through the surrounding air. It is a teaching term used when constructing apparent wind. The motion-wind vector acts opposite to the vessel’s velocity through the air; during ordinary forward motion it therefore appears to come from ahead and becomes larger as that velocity increases. Boat wind…
The forward part of a vessel. The bow includes the hull structure at and around the vessel’s forward end, where the port and starboard sides converge or are joined by the stem. Its form varies with intended speed, displacement, seakeeping, cargo or accommodation needs and construction method. Some bows are fine and wave-piercing, others full…
A structure built to reduce wave action and shelter a harbour, anchorage or section of coast. Breakwaters may be built from rock, concrete or other materials and can be fixed or, in some settings, floating. By absorbing, reflecting or interrupting waves, they create more sheltered water on their inner side and may also help protect…
A sudden, largely uncontrolled turn that leaves a vessel sharply across its intended course. A sailing yacht may broach when overpowered while reaching or running, causing rapid heel and loss of rudder effectiveness as it turns towards the wind. A power-driven vessel can broach when overtaken or slewed by a following sea, particularly while descending…
A point of sail with the true wind coming from aft of the beam but not directly astern. It lies between a beam reach and a run. Exact angle ranges vary between teaching schemes and vessel types, while the apparent wind experienced aboard normally lies farther forward than the true-wind direction and changes with boat…
A floating marker or device used for navigation, mooring, measurement or another designated purpose. Most navigational and mooring buoys are secured to a charted or defined position, while some scientific or tracking buoys drift. Shape, colour, topmark, light and sound can identify the function of an aid-to-navigation buoy under the applicable buoyage system. A buoy…
A traditional short-distance unit at sea, now commonly treated as one-tenth of a nautical mile. Using the international nautical mile, one cable is therefore 185.2 metres. Historical definitions varied by country and practice, and the frequently quoted 100 fathoms equals 182.88 metres rather than exactly one-tenth of the modern nautical mile. The context and standard…
A craft supported wholly or partly by a pressurised cushion of air close to the surface. A hovercraft is the familiar example. Lift fans supply air beneath the craft, often retained by a flexible skirt, while separate or combined propulsion moves and steers it over water, mudflats, ice or suitable land. Because it operates with…
Towards or on the side away from the wind. Alee is an adverb or positional expression related to lee and leeward. A helm put alee is moved towards the leeward side, while an object lying alee is on the downwind side relative to the stated reference. It should not be treated as a fixed side…
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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