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.A long structural member used to support, extend or control sails, rigging, signals or equipment aboard a vessel. Masts, booms, yards, gaffs, bowsprits, spinnaker poles and whisker poles are spars. They may be timber, aluminium, steel or composite and carry compression, bending, torsion and local loads through fittings and rigging. A spar’s section, support and…
A large lightweight headsail designed primarily for reaching or downwind sailing. A symmetric spinnaker has two interchangeable clews and is commonly controlled with sheets, guys and a pole; an asymmetric spinnaker has a defined tack and clew and may be set from a bowsprit or bow. Cut, cloth and intended wind angle vary widely. The…
A valve fitted to a through-hull opening so that water flow into or out of a vessel can be shut off. Seacocks isolate systems such as engine cooling-water intakes, toilets, sinks and drains. They are normally mounted directly on, or securely connected to, a skin fitting and must be compatible with the hull, pipework and…
A vessel whose hull operates with substantial buoyant displacement support while also developing dynamic lift at higher speeds. Semi-displacement forms can exceed the practical speed range of a comparable pure displacement hull without achieving the low immersed volume and lift-dominated condition of a full planing craft. They often have flatter after sections, moderate length-to-beam ratios…
A removable load-bearing connector formed by a bow or body closed with a pin or bolt. Common marine types include D, bow, screw-pin and bolt-type shackles used in anchoring, mooring, lifting and rigging systems. Shape, material, pin type, working load limit and certification must suit the direction and nature of the load. Side loading, point…
A propulsion arrangement in which an inboard engine turns a propeller through a shaft passing through the hull. The system commonly includes a gearbox, coupling, shaft, bearings, stern tube, shaft seal or stuffing box, and an external propeller supported by a strut or stern bearing where required. Alignment carries engine torque while allowing the hull…
A line or tackle used to control the position and trim of a sail’s clew or boom. Headsail sheets normally attach to or control the clew directly, while a mainsheet commonly controls the boom through blocks, a traveller or bridle. Easing or trimming changes angle of attack, twist and load, but the exact effects depend…
An elastic cord with a rubber core protected by a woven outer sheath. Also called bungee cord, it is used to retain light equipment, tension covers and nets, and provide a flexible return or restraint where some movement is useful. The sheath protects the elastic strands and limits extension, while hooks or other end fittings…
To reduce the sail area set or exposed to the wind. Sail can be shortened by reefing, partially rolling a sail designed for reefing, lowering or furling one sail, or replacing it with a smaller sail. The aim may be to control heel, loads, speed, balance or crew workload rather than only to cope with…
Standing rigging that supports a mast primarily against transverse loads. Shrouds lead from the mast or spreaders to chainplates or other hull attachments and may be arranged as cap shrouds, intermediates, diagonals or lowers. They can be wire, rod or high-modulus fibre and work with stays, spreaders, mast structure and the opposite shrouds as one…
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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