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.An annual publication of predicted astronomical data used for celestial navigation and related calculations. It tabulates the Greenwich Hour Angle and declination of the Sun, Moon, navigational planets and selected stars, together with auxiliary information for reducing observations and determining time. National almanacs may also contain sunrise, sunset, twilight and other reference tables. A nautical…
An official notice providing navigationally relevant changes or hazards for a defined local area. A harbour, coastguard, hydrographic or other competent authority may issue an LNM covering works, buoyage, depths, closures, events, hazards or operating restrictions. The name, publication schedule, geographic scope and legal effect vary between countries and authorities. Some information is temporary while…
A chronological record of a vessel’s operations, navigation and significant events. Entries can include time, position, course, speed, weather, sea state, engine or sail changes, watch handovers, communications, drills, defects, incidents and persons aboard. The required content and retention depend on vessel type, flag, company and voyage; a private craft’s passage log may be less…
The United Kingdom executive agency responsible for maritime safety, seafarer and ship standards, coastguard coordination and marine pollution functions. The MCA is an executive agency of the Department for Transport. Its work includes HM Coastguard’s continuous maritime and coastal search-and-rescue coordination, ship survey and inspection, seafarer certification, administration of the UK Ship Register, maritime guidance…
A nine-digit identity transmitted by maritime radio systems to identify a ship, coast station, group or other assigned station type. MMSIs are used by systems including digital selective calling and AIS. Their digit patterns vary by identity type; a ship-station MMSI normally begins with three Maritime Identification Digits identifying the responsible administration, while coast, group,…
The intergovernmental organisation that develops international guidance and cooperation for marine aids to navigation. IALA produces standards, recommendations, guidelines and model courses covering buoyage, lights, vessel traffic services, digital services and related systems. Its work promotes harmonisation and supports authorities, manufacturers, service providers and mariners, while legal implementation remains the responsibility of states and relevant…
The specialised United Nations agency responsible for global standards concerning the safety, security and environmental performance of international shipping. IMO provides the forum in which member states develop and adopt international conventions, codes, recommendations and other instruments on matters including ship safety, pollution prevention, liability, facilitation and maritime security. Those instruments take legal effect through…
The applied science of measuring and describing the physical features of oceans, seas, coastal waters, lakes and rivers for navigation and other marine purposes. Hydrographic work determines depth, seabed character, coastline, hazards, tides, currents and the positions of relevant features. Surveys combine methods such as echo sounding, positioning, water-level observation, sonar and remote sensing, with…
The international maritime communications framework for distress alerting, search-and-rescue coordination and the dissemination of maritime safety information. GMDSS combines terrestrial and satellite services and equipment that can include VHF, MF and HF digital selective calling, recognised mobile satellite services, NAVTEX or enhanced group calling, emergency position-indicating radio beacons, radar or AIS search-and-rescue transponders and portable…
A maritime flag showing a vessel’s nationality or state service. Civil, state and naval ensigns may have different designs and eligibility rules within the same country. The ensign appropriate to the vessel is normally worn at the stern or another authorised position and identifies its flag state rather than its current location. Display requirements, permitted…
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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