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 principal communal living space within a yacht or other vessel. The saloon commonly contains seating and a table and may connect directly with the galley, navigation area and sleeping cabins. On some vessels it can also provide convertible berths or access to machinery and storage. Layout and terminology vary with vessel type and region;…
A drain or opening that carries water from a deck, cockpit or other exposed area overboard or into a drainage system. A scupper may pass directly through the vessel’s side, connect by hose to an outlet or feed a freeing port or drain manifold. Its capacity and height relative to the waterline determine whether it…
A drag device deployed in the water to limit drift and control a vessel’s orientation relative to wind and waves. A sea anchor is commonly a parachute-shaped fabric device deployed from the bow or another designed strong point to hold the vessel broadly head-to-weather. It differs from a drogue, which is usually streamed astern to…
The after part of a vessel’s port side, or the relative direction abaft the port beam. As a structural location it lies towards the stern on the left when facing forward. As a lookout report, an object on the port quarter lies in the sector between approximately abeam and astern to port. The directional reference…
A small, usually circular window fitted in a vessel’s side or superstructure. A porthole admits daylight and, if it is an opening type, ventilation. Marine construction more formally distinguishes side scuttles and windows, but “porthole” is the familiar general term. Opening portholes have a hinged or removable closure with seals and dogs or another fastening…
A proprietary chartwork plotting instrument combining a rotating compass rose with straight edges and distance scales. It is placed on a paper chart and aligned with a meridian or parallel so courses and bearings can be plotted or measured without walking parallel rulers across the chart. Versions may include common chart-scale distance markings and conversion…
A line or tackle rigged to restrain a boom from crossing the vessel unintentionally. A properly arranged preventer leads from a suitable point on the boom to a strong point or controlled line system forward and aft. It is used when sailing with the wind abaft the beam to reduce the likelihood and violence of…
A sideways tendency of a vessel’s stern caused by transverse forces from a rotating propeller. Also called transverse thrust or prop walk, it is often most noticeable when applying astern power at low speed before useful water flow reaches the rudder. Direction and strength depend on propeller rotation, shaft angle, aperture, hull and rudder geometry,…
A rigid guardrail structure around part of a vessel’s bow. The pulpit normally connects with the side guardrails or lifelines and helps reduce the risk of people falling overboard while working forward. It may also support navigation lights, an anchor roller or other fittings if designed for those loads. Tube joints, bases, backing plates, fasteners…
A rigid guardrail structure around part of a vessel’s stern. The pushpit normally connects with side guardrails or lifelines and may incorporate gates. It can support lights, antennas, a lifebuoy, solar panels or other equipment only where its design and attachments are suitable for the resulting static and dynamic loads. Bases, backing, welds, fasteners, gates…
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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