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.An enclosed compartment aboard a vessel used for accommodation, work or another assigned purpose. A cabin may be a sleeping space for crew or passengers, a wheelhouse, an office or another enclosed room depending on vessel type and usage. On small craft, the word often refers generally to the sheltered interior rather than one private…
A craft supported wholly or partly by a pressurised cushion of air close to the surface. A hovercraft is the familiar example. Lift fans supply air beneath the craft, often retained by a flexible skirt, while separate or combined propulsion moves and steers it over water, mudflats, ice or suitable land. Because it operates with…
Above the deck or high in a vessel’s mast, rigging or superstructure. A person may go aloft to inspect or work on sails, rigging, antennas, lights or other equipment. The term can also describe an object positioned or hoisted high above the deck. Work aloft exposes people to falls, vessel movement and dropped-object hazards. Safe…
In or towards the middle of a vessel, especially along its fore-and-aft length. The term may describe the location of a compartment, load or person. It does not necessarily identify the point of maximum beam, the centre of gravity or the exact geometric centre, all of which can lie elsewhere. As a helm order, “midships”…
A device connected to a vessel by a rode and deployed to the bottom to limit the vessel’s movement. Different anchor designs hold by burying in the seabed, hooking suitable ground, resisting through shape and weight, or a combination of these effects. Holding performance depends on anchor design and size, bottom type, setting technique, load…
A floating marker connected by a buoyed line to an anchor or its crown to show the anchor’s position. It can help identify where the anchor lies and, when correctly arranged, may provide a trip line for freeing an anchor that is fouled. The buoy and line must have suitable size, strength and length for…
The chain, rope, wire or combination connecting a vessel to its anchor. On ships, “anchor cable” commonly means the chain cable; on small craft, the broader term “anchor rode” is often used for chain, rope or a combination. The cable transmits the vessel’s load to the anchor and its weight and elasticity influence shock loading…
A compartment designed to stow an anchor, anchor rode or associated anchoring equipment. It is commonly located near the bow so the rode can lead to the windlass, bow roller or hawsepipe, but arrangements vary. A chain locker may be a separate compartment below the windlass into which cable self-stows as it is recovered. Drainage,…
A bow fitting with one or more rollers that supports and guides an anchor and its rode during handling. The roller reduces friction and helps lead chain or rope between the water, windlass and stowage position. Its geometry must suit the anchor so that the anchor launches, returns and nests without damaging the stem, pulpit…
Behind a vessel or in the direction beyond its stern. An object astern lies behind the vessel, while a vessel moving astern is travelling stern-first. An “astern” propulsion command requests thrust in the reverse direction, although the resulting motion and steering response depend on the vessel and existing way. Astern is normally used as an…
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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