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 section of a waterway in which the water level is changed to transfer vessels between different levels. A chamber is closed by gates and filled or emptied through sluices, culverts or pumps until its level matches the waterway ahead. Locks range from manually operated canal structures to large controlled systems for ships, and…
An enclosed or partly enclosed compartment used to store equipment, supplies or personal belongings aboard. Lockers may be located on deck, under seats or bunks, in the cockpit or within machinery and accommodation spaces. Their name often reflects purpose or position, such as chain locker, gas locker, wet locker or cockpit locker, and those specialised…
A chronological record of a vessel’s operations, navigation and significant events. Entries can include time, position, course, speed, weather, sea state, engine or sail changes, watch handovers, communications, drills, defects, incidents and persons aboard. The required content and retention depend on vessel type, flag, company and voyage; a private craft’s passage log may be less…
The continuous watch maintained by sight, hearing and all appropriate available means to detect and assess relevant hazards. A lookout may be a specifically assigned person or a duty shared within a watch, depending on vessel, conditions and applicable requirements. The task includes detecting vessels, lights, shapes, sound signals, navigation marks, floating objects, weather and…
To steer a sailing vessel closer towards the wind. Luffing up reduces the angle between the vessel’s heading and the true or apparent wind and normally requires the sails to be trimmed for the new course. The term describes a heading change, whereas a sail itself luffs when its leading edge loses smooth airflow and…
To set or increase sail in preparation for or while proceeding under sail. Making sail can include hoisting, unfurling or setting one or more sails and trimming them for the intended course. The expression may describe getting under way under sail, but it can also mean adding sail after the vessel is already under way….
The sail set on the mainmast and normally regarded as the principal sail of that mast. On a modern sloop or cutter it is usually a fore-and-aft sail with its luff attached to or close to the mast and its foot on a boom or loose-footed. Other rigs use gaff, lug, square or multi-masted arrangements,…
An adjustable fitting or car that moves the mainsheet’s effective deck attachment across or along the vessel. On many yachts the car runs on a transverse track and changes the boom’s lateral position without the same change in sheet tension that would occur by easing the mainsheet. This allows angle of attack and leech tension…
To secure a line or object so that it remains held in the required position. A line may be made fast to a cleat, bollard, bitt, samson post or other suitable fitting using the appropriate turns, hitch, splice or hardware. The instruction can also apply to securing a vessel, fender, tender or item of equipment….
Moving through the water rather than merely moving over the ground with the surrounding water. A vessel may be making way under engine, sail, oars, tow or another means; the expression does not require its own propulsion. Conversely, a vessel drifting with a current can move over the ground while making little or no way…
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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