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 small, usually open boat used independently or as a tender to a larger vessel. A sailing dinghy is a lightweight craft sailed for training, recreation or racing and may be designed to capsize and be righted by its crew. A tender dinghy carries people or stores between a parent vessel and shore and may…
A two-pointed hinged instrument used to transfer and measure distances on a chart. The points can span two positions, step a distance along a line or transfer a measurement to the chart’s distance scale. On a Mercator chart, distance is commonly read from the latitude scale at approximately the same latitude as the measurement, not…
To add mooring lines or duplicate selected leads to increase security or redundancy. A vessel may double up before strong wind, heavy wash, a long unattended period or another expected increase in load. Additional lines can share loads and provide backup if a line chafes, slips or parts, provided they lead to suitable vessel and…
To lower or take in a sail, or in another context to extinguish a light or flame. Dousing a sail means removing its driving effect and bringing it under control, often before harbour entry, a sail change or worsening conditions. The method differs for a mainsail, headsail and spinnaker and need not always be rapid….
To move across the seabed because an anchor is no longer holding the vessel securely. An anchor may drag because it has not set, the holding ground is poor, insufficient scope has been used, or wind, current and wave loads exceed the holding available. Dragging can be gradual and may not be obvious from the…
A vessel or floating plant equipped to excavate or remove material from the seabed. Dredgers deepen or maintain channels and berths, recover aggregates, prepare construction sites and carry out other seabed work. Types include trailing suction hopper, cutter suction, grab and backhoe dredgers, each using different equipment and operating methods. A working dredger may be…
Free from an identified obstruction, hazard or vessel. The word is used in instructions and reports such as “clear of the buoy,” “clear of the shoal” or “the stern is clear.” It describes separation from the particular object or danger being discussed, not a general guarantee that the surrounding water is safe. A vessel may…
The raised roof structure over a vessel’s cabin or accommodation space. Also called a cabin top, it increases internal headroom and may carry windows, hatches, ventilators, handrails, tracks, clutches, winches or other deck fittings. Its form and location depend on the vessel rather than always being amidships or on the centreline. The structure must shed…
A raised boundary around a deck opening or recessed area that helps keep water out. Hatch, companionway and ventilator coamings lift the opening above the surrounding deck so runoff, spray and water on deck are less likely to enter. Cockpit coamings define and protect the cockpit edge and may also support seating or fittings. A…
The United Kingdom service that initiates and coordinates civil maritime and coastal search and rescue. HM Coastguard is part of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. Its coordination centres receive and assess distress information, task suitable resources and coordinate responses involving coastguard rescue teams, lifeboats, helicopters, ships and other emergency services within the UK search-and-rescue arrangements….
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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