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 secured line, wire or webbing arranged to guide, support or provide attachment for people or equipment aboard a vessel. On yachts, deck jackstays commonly run fore and aft so a clipped-on crew member can move while remaining attached. The same word also has rigging and working uses, including supporting sails or guiding equipment, so…
A triangular headsail set forward of a mast, normally with its luff supported by a stay or foil. A jib is generally non-overlapping or less overlapping than a genoa, although terminology and size conventions vary. It may be hanked to a forestay, set in a luff foil or roller-furled, and specialised forms include working, storm…
The lines attached to or led from a jib’s clew to control its angle and shape. One sheet normally leads to each side of the vessel. The working sheet is tensioned on the leeward side while the lazy sheet remains ready on the opposite side, and their roles exchange when the boat tacks. Lead position…
A temporary arrangement assembled to replace or support damaged or failed equipment. A jury rig uses the materials and equipment available aboard to restore a necessary function after damage. The expression originated in sailing practice, particularly for a temporary mast and rig, but it now applies to improvised steering, pumping, structural support and many other…
To move or turn a vessel by hauling towards an anchor or other secure point laid away from it. The anchor may be carried out by a boat, deployed from the vessel or set by another suitable method, after which a windlass, capstan, winch or tackle hauls the vessel along the rode. Repeating the process…
An anchor carried or laid away from a vessel so that hauling on its rode can move, turn or assist the vessel. A kedge is often smaller and easier to transport than the main bower anchor, but small or lightweight is not its defining property. It may be used for kedging, warping off a grounding,…
A line used to hoist, support or lower a sail, flag, yard or other item aloft. A halyard normally runs over or through a sheave and is secured by a cleat, clutch or winch. It may be rope, wire or a combination, and its tension can affect sail luff shape as well as holding the…
A portable compass designed to measure the magnetic bearing of a visible object. The user sights a landmark, navigation mark, celestial body or other vessel while reading its bearing. Successive bearings can establish a position fix, monitor whether a contact’s bearing is changing or help follow a planned bearing. Readings are magnetic unless converted and…
A rail positioned to provide a secure handhold aboard a vessel. Handrails may be fitted on deck, cabin tops, companionways and within accommodation. Their shape, clearance and continuity should allow a person to grasp them while the vessel moves, and their construction may be metal, timber, composite or suitable rope. Fastenings, backing structure, corrosion, cracking…
A small portable block-and-tackle purchase that can be temporarily rigged where extra pulling force is needed. It commonly has hooks, shackles or rope tails at its ends so it can be moved between jobs such as tensioning rigging, hauling equipment or controlling a load. Its theoretical mechanical advantage depends on the number of rope parts…
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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