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.Changing from one tack to the other by turning the bow through the wind, or progressing by a series of such manoeuvres. A single tack moves the sails from one side to the other; repeated tacking allows a sailing vessel to make progress towards a destination lying within its direct no-go sector. The optimum headings…
To lower, furl or otherwise remove a sail from use. The instruction may mean lowering a sail onto the deck or boom, rolling it on a furler or bringing it aboard, according to the sail and rig. It differs from reefing, which reduces the working area while leaving the sail set. Crew should prepare halyards,…
A spar used to position the windward clew or guy of a symmetric spinnaker away from the mast. Its inboard end attaches to a mast fitting and its outboard end carries the guy or brace. A topping lift supports it, a foreguy or downhaul controls upward movement, and these controls establish height and angle for…
A lightweight performance-oriented sailing boat designed for high speed, responsive handling and competitive sailing. Sportsboats commonly use a high sail-area-to-displacement ratio, asymmetric spinnaker, retractable bowsprit and a keel or centreboard, with crew weight contributing strongly to stability. Size, cabin provision, ballast and class rules vary, so the term does not define one regulated design category…
A compression strut projecting from a mast to deflect and support a shroud or stay. Spreaders increase the angle between mast and rigging so shroud tension can support the mast more effectively. They may be straight or swept, fixed or articulated, and arranged in one or several sets according to the rig. Their roots, tips,…
A sailing vessel with one mast and a fore-and-aft mainsail, normally with a headsail set ahead of it. The modern sloop is a common yacht rig, usually carrying a mainsail and one working headsail such as a jib or genoa. Variations include masthead and fractional rigs, and additional sails may be set without changing the…
The gap through which air flows between two adjacent sails. The term most commonly describes the space between a headsail and mainsail. Its width and shape change with sail trim, sheet lead, mast position and the relative sizes of the sails. Airflow through the slot influences the pressure distribution and flow over both sails. A…
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…
To reduce a sail’s aerodynamic force by allowing airflow or pressure to escape from the working sail shape. Wind can be spilled by easing a sheet, twisting the sail, feathering closer to the wind, dropping a traveller or opening the leech through another control. The result can reduce heel, load or acceleration without immediately reducing…
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…
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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