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 metal ring provided as an attachment point for a vessel’s mooring line or connection. A mooring ring may be fitted to a buoy, quay, wall, pile or another fixed structure. A line can be passed through it or connected by an appropriate shackle or strop, depending on the mooring arrangement and local instructions. The…
Lights displayed by a vessel to indicate its presence, aspect, type, size or operational status to other vessels. Common navigation lights include red and green sidelights, a white sternlight, white masthead lights and all-round lights. The required colour, arc, number, vertical and horizontal arrangement, and range of visibility depend on the vessel’s length, propulsion, activity…
A sail control that tensions or positions the clew away from the mast or towards the outboard end of a boom or spar. On a conventional mainsail the outhaul pulls the clew aft along or towards the boom end, changing foot tension and lower-sail depth. It may be a simple line, an internal purchase, a…
The vessel’s overall fore-and-aft length measured between the specified extreme points. LOA usually spans the foremost and aftermost permanent parts of the hull or vessel, but standards, marinas and authorities differ over whether bowsprits, pulpits, davits, rudders, outboards and other projections are included. It is therefore a defined measurement only when the convention is stated….
A safety tether connecting a person’s harness or lifejacket attachment point to a strong point or jackstay on a vessel. Its purpose is to reduce the risk of separation from the vessel while allowing controlled movement on deck. The tether, clips, attachment point, jackstay and harness system must be compatible and capable of carrying the…
A survival craft designed to provide emergency flotation, shelter and support after people abandon a vessel. Most small-vessel life-rafts are inflatable and packed in a valise or rigid container; commercial ships may carry approved inflatable or rigid types. Capacity, canopy, ballast, boarding arrangements, equipment pack, operating temperature and approval standard vary with intended service. A…
A length of rope, cordage or wire assigned to a particular working purpose aboard a vessel. Once cordage is selected and put to use it is commonly named for its function, such as a sheet, halyard, mooring line, painter or towline. Material, construction, diameter, stretch and termination are chosen for the expected load and handling…
A persistent inclination of a vessel to port or starboard when it would normally be upright. A list is commonly caused by uneven loading, movement of cargo or ballast, flooding, free-surface liquid or a structural or stability problem. It differs from heel caused temporarily by wind pressure, turning forces or wave action, although the terms…
An enclosed or partly enclosed compartment used to store equipment, supplies or personal belongings aboard. Lockers may be located on deck, under seats or bunks, in the cockpit or within machinery and accommodation spaces. Their name often reflects purpose or position, such as chain locker, gas locker, wet locker or cockpit locker, and those specialised…
The distance or speed value indicated by a vessel’s log instrument at a recorded time. A cumulative distance-log reading is entered in the navigation record at regular intervals and compared with the previous reading to find distance run through the water. Some instruments also display instantaneous speed through the water. The reading is affected by…
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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