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 sudden, largely uncontrolled turn that leaves a vessel sharply across its intended course. A sailing yacht may broach when overpowered while reaching or running, causing rapid heel and loss of rudder effectiveness as it turns towards the wind. A power-driven vessel can broach when overtaken or slewed by a following sea, particularly while descending…
A point of sail with the true wind coming from aft of the beam but not directly astern. It lies between a beam reach and a run. Exact angle ranges vary between teaching schemes and vessel types, while the apparent wind experienced aboard normally lies farther forward than the true-wind direction and changes with boat…
Towards or on the side away from the wind. Alee is an adverb or positional expression related to lee and leeward. A helm put alee is moved towards the leeward side, while an object lying alee is on the downwind side relative to the stated reference. It should not be treated as a fixed side…
The wind velocity experienced on a moving vessel, resulting from the actual wind combined with the vessel’s motion. It is a vector quantity with both speed and direction. A masthead instrument measures apparent wind relative to the moving vessel; true-wind information is calculated by combining that measurement with vessel motion and, depending on the system,…
Standing rigging leading aft from a mast to support it against forward loads. A permanent backstay commonly leads from or near the masthead to the stern area. On some rigs its tension can be adjusted to control forestay tension and mast bend, affecting headsail shape and mainsail trim. Not every sailing rig has a fixed…
A thin, stiff strip fitted to a sail to support its shape and control the leech. Battens slide into pockets in the sail and resist unwanted folding and flutter. Short battens support the leech, while full-length battens extend from leech towards or to the luff and distribute loads across a larger part of the sail….
A reinforced sleeve or enclosure in a sail that retains a sail batten. The pocket positions the batten so it supports the sail’s designed shape, controls the leech and reduces flutter. Pockets may hold short or full-length battens and can include adjustable end fittings that set batten compression. The pocket end, stitching and closure carry…
A point of sail with the true wind coming approximately across the vessel’s beam. The vessel’s course is roughly at right angles to the true-wind direction. Because the vessel is moving, the apparent wind normally comes from forward of the beam, and sail trim must respond to that apparent wind rather than to the nominal…
To alter a sailing vessel’s course farther away from the wind direction. Bearing away increases the angle between the bow and the wind, for example from close-hauled towards a reach or from a reach towards a run. “Bear off” and “fall off” are related expressions, although preferred usage varies. As the apparent wind moves aft,…
Making progress to windward by sailing successive close-hauled legs on alternating tacks. A sailing vessel cannot normally sail directly into the wind. To reach a destination to windward, it sails close-hauled on one tack, turns its bow through the wind and continues close-hauled on the other. The resulting zigzag course is known as beating to…
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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