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 fore-and-aft-rigged sailing vessel with a mainmast and a smaller mizzen mast abaft it. In the conventional distinction, the ketch’s mizzen mast is stepped forward of the rudder stock, whereas a yawl’s smaller mizzen is stepped aft of it. The mizzen sail contributes materially to the ketch’s sail plan and can help balance the vessel….
A tackle that pulls a sailing vessel’s boom down and controls its upward movement. Also called a boom vang, it runs between the lower mast area and the boom. It controls leech tension and sail twist when the mainsheet no longer provides enough downward force, particularly on reaches and downwind courses. The tackle may be…
A line used to hoist, support or lower a sail, flag, yard or other item aloft. A halyard normally runs over or through a sheave and is secured by a cleat, clutch or winch. It may be rope, wire or a combination, and its tension can affect sail luff shape as well as holding the…
A portable compass designed to measure the magnetic bearing of a visible object. The user sights a landmark, navigation mark, celestial body or other vessel while reading its bearing. Successive bearings can establish a position fix, monitor whether a contact’s bearing is changing or help follow a planned bearing. Readings are magnetic unless converted and…
A rail positioned to provide a secure handhold aboard a vessel. Handrails may be fitted on deck, cabin tops, companionways and within accommodation. Their shape, clearance and continuity should allow a person to grasp them while the vessel moves, and their construction may be metal, timber, composite or suitable rope. Fastenings, backing structure, corrosion, cracking…
A small portable block-and-tackle purchase that can be temporarily rigged where extra pulling force is needed. It commonly has hooks, shackles or rope tails at its ends so it can be moved between jobs such as tensioning rigging, hauling equipment or controlling a load. Its theoretical mechanical advantage depends on the number of rope parts…
A fitting that attaches the luff of a headsail to a stay while allowing the sail to be raised or lowered. Hanks may be piston, snap, hook or soft types and are spaced along the sail’s luff. They keep the sail close to the stay but slide along it during hoisting and lowering; a hanked…
To haul in a sheet or other control so that a sail is held closer to the vessel’s centreline. The instruction is normally used when trimming for a course closer to the wind or reducing excessive sail movement. It describes changing sheet or control tension, not turning the vessel; the helm instruction to turn closer…
A closable opening that provides access, light or ventilation through a deck, cabin top or bulkhead. A hatch may be horizontal, inclined or vertical and can lead to accommodation, machinery, storage or an escape route. Its cover may lift, slide or be removed, and a raised coaming commonly helps limit water entry on exposed openings….
To pull a line or object towards the person hauling or towards the vessel. The phrase can mean taking up slack, shortening a working line or bringing equipment alongside or aboard. It does not by itself specify the required force, final position or whether a winch, purchase or other hauling device should be used. Before…
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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