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.The predicted date and time at which a vessel will reach a stated position, destination or operational point. Usually abbreviated ETA, it is calculated from remaining distance and expected progress, with allowances for route, speed changes, weather, current, traffic, pilotage, locks, port instructions and other foreseeable delays. The stated time zone and the point that…
The people assigned to operate, maintain or serve aboard a vessel. Crew can include the master or skipper, deck and engineering personnel, watchkeepers, catering staff and specialists, with roles determined by vessel type, size, operation and regulation. On a small craft, one person may perform several functions and an owner or guest may also act…
To lower a vessel’s ensign temporarily as a traditional maritime salute. The ensign is lowered part-way or, where the arrangement permits, close to the deck, then re-hoisted after the salute is acknowledged. The custom is most often associated with a merchant vessel saluting a warship or with formal maritime occasions. Flag etiquette and who may…
The United Kingdom service that initiates and coordinates civil maritime and coastal search and rescue. HM Coastguard is part of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. Its coordination centres receive and assess distress information, task suitable resources and coordinate responses involving coastguard rescue teams, lifeboats, helicopters, ships and other emergency services within the UK search-and-rescue arrangements….
The appropriate flag of a host state flown by a visiting vessel in accordance with local law and maritime custom. It is normally hoisted after clearance or entry into the host state’s waters at the position customary for a foreign national flag, often the starboard spreader on a yacht. The correct design may be a…
A business or person supplying equipment, consumables or provisions for vessels. A ship chandler commonly serves commercial ships in port, sourcing and delivering stores, tools, safety equipment, spare parts, deck supplies and provisions within a vessel’s turnaround time. A yacht chandler generally sells equipment and maintenance supplies for recreational craft. The term describes the supplier’s…
An assigned sequence of letters or letters and figures used to identify a radio station or vessel in communications. For ships, the call sign is normally assigned by the responsible national administration from international call-sign series allocated under ITU arrangements. It is used in voice and digital radio services to identify the station unambiguously. A…
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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