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.Struck or swept by a sea breaking over the vessel’s stern. A vessel is pooped when a following wave overtakes it and breaks onto the poop deck, afterdeck or cockpit. Water may flood open spaces, damage equipment or enter the accommodation, but the word does not necessarily mean that the vessel has been completely swamped….
Suspended microscopic water droplets or ice particles near the surface that reduce visibility but leave it at 1,000 metres or more. Under the meteorological distinction, fog reduces visibility below 1,000 metres while mist is the less dense obscuration above that threshold. Both can form through cooling moist air, evaporation or mixing, and visibility can vary…
An arrangement that secures a vessel to the seabed, shore or a fixed structure, or the act of using that arrangement. A mooring may consist of lines to a berth, a permanent buoy and ground tackle, piles, dolphins, fore-and-aft anchors or another engineered system. Unlike anchoring with the vessel’s own anchor, a permanent mooring is…
A buoy connected to seabed ground tackle and intended to provide or identify a point for securing a vessel. The vessel normally connects to a pickup line, pendant, ring or riser associated with the buoy rather than anchoring independently. Buoy colour, markings, ownership and permitted use vary by jurisdiction and purpose; some mooring buoys also…
Proceeding under engine while a sailing vessel also has one or more sails set. Motor sailing can increase speed, reduce rolling or help maintain a chosen course in light or adverse wind. Sail trim and engine power must be coordinated because the apparent wind and loads can change as the vessel accelerates or alters course….
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…
An international automated radio service that broadcasts maritime safety information to ships in coastal and sea areas. NAVTEX transmits navigational and meteorological warnings, forecasts, search-and-rescue information and other urgent messages by narrow-band direct printing. Receivers identify transmitting stations and message categories and can suppress many unwanted repeats while retaining mandatory safety categories. International NAVTEX commonly…
A vessel unable through exceptional circumstances to manoeuvre as required by the collision regulations and therefore unable to keep out of the way of another vessel. The status concerns actual inability, not merely inconvenience, restricted visibility, difficult handling or a voluntary decision to stop. Causes can include steering or propulsion failure or another exceptional loss…
An official notice providing navigationally relevant changes or hazards for a defined local area. A harbour, coastguard, hydrographic or other competent authority may issue an LNM covering works, buoyage, depths, closures, events, hazards or operating restrictions. The name, publication schedule, geographic scope and legal effect vary between countries and authorities. Some information is temporary while…
Situated, moving or operating away from the shore or towards the open sea. The term is relative unless a regulation, forecast, industry standard or local publication defines a boundary. It may describe direction, waters, wind, structures or operations, and ‘offshore’ in commercial or safety regulation can have a specialised meaning. Offshore water is not necessarily…
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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