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.The steering position or steering control of a vessel, and by extension the person operating it. The physical control may be a tiller, wheel, joystick, steering lever or other interface connected mechanically, hydraulically or electronically to rudders, drives or thrusters. ‘Take the helm’ means assume steering control, while helm orders direct the required steering action….
The person physically steering a vessel at a particular time. The helmsperson operates the wheel, tiller or other steering control and follows the ordered course or manoeuvre. The role does not automatically include command or navigation: a skipper, officer of the watch or pilot may direct the vessel while another person steers. Good practice includes…
A rope fastening formed around or to an object, another rope or its own standing part. Unlike a knot formed primarily within the rope itself, a hitch normally depends on the object or standing part around which it is tied. Common examples include the clove hitch, rolling hitch, round turn and two half hitches, each…
To raise a sail, flag, load or other item by means of a line or lifting system. A sail or flag is commonly hoisted with a halyard, while heavier loads may require a winch, tackle, crane or derrick. The word can also be a noun for the lifting operation or equipment and, in sailmaking, for…
A tank that retains sewage or other wastewater aboard until it can be discharged through an authorised route. Marine holding tanks most commonly receive toilet waste, but greywater may be stored separately or in a system designed for it. Typical components include inlet and vent lines, level indication, inspection access, a deck pump-out connection and,…
A horseshoe-shaped buoyant rescue aid intended to be deployed to a person in the water. Its open shape can make it easier to place around the casualty than a closed ring. Depending on the installation, it may be fitted with a drogue, light, whistle, retrieval line or marker pole, but these additions and any approval…
The area or fittings near a masthead where shrouds and stays are attached or supported. On traditional spars, the hounds are strengthened portions of the mast that support the trestletrees or rigging. On modern yachts, the word is often used more generally for the mast area and fittings at the upper attachment of cap shrouds,…
The principal watertight structural body of a vessel that provides buoyancy and supports its loads. The hull includes its bottom and sides and may incorporate decks, bulkheads, framing, tanks and internal structure according to the vessel’s design. It can be built from timber, steel, aluminium, fibre-reinforced composites, ferrocement or combinations of materials, and may have…
A regional name for a tropical cyclone whose maximum sustained surface winds have reached hurricane strength. The term is used in the North Atlantic and the eastern and central North Pacific; the same class of rotating warm-core storm is called a typhoon in the western North Pacific and a severe tropical cyclone in several other…
An underwater lifting surface shaped to generate hydrodynamic lift as it moves through water. A vessel may use one or more foils to support part or nearly all of its weight, reducing immersed hull area and wave-making resistance at sufficient speed. Foils may be surface-piercing or fully submerged and can be fixed, actively controlled or…
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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