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, strongly built storm sail set abaft the mast in place of, or independently from, the mainsail. A trysail has reduced area, heavy cloth and reinforced corners and is normally set without the main boom or with the boom secured. A dedicated track can allow it to be hoisted without removing the mainsail from…
A sector-shaped fitting on a rudder stock that converts steering-cable movement into rudder rotation. In a cable-and-quadrant system, wire or rope runs around the quadrant to the wheel steering mechanism. The quadrant’s radius provides leverage and determines cable travel for a given rudder angle. Fastenings, key or clamp, cable tension, sheaves, end stops and emergency-steering…
A wearable device that provides buoyancy to help support a person in the water. PFD is a broad term covering lifejackets, buoyancy aids and specialised flotation garments. Performance differs in buoyancy, turning ability, freeboard, water type, activity and support for an unconscious wearer. Selection must match the user, clothing, activity and conditions. Correct fit, crotch…
The main longitudinal body of an anchor connecting the cable attachment to the crown and flukes. Load from the rode passes through the shank to the anchor’s working parts. Its shape, strength, attachment eye or shackle point and relationship to the flukes influence setting and retrieval. The shank does not normally provide the principal seabed…
The United Nations specialised agency coordinating international cooperation in weather, climate, operational hydrology and related environmental observations and services. WMO establishes technical frameworks for observing, exchanging and using data and supports warning, forecasting and capacity-building through its member states and territories. National services remain responsible for their operational forecasts and warnings. Its maritime work includes…
A pivoted mounting that allows supported equipment to remain approximately level as a vessel heels or pitches. One or more pivot axes let a compass bowl, stove, lamp or instrument rotate relative to its frame. A two-axis arrangement can compensate for motion in two directions within its travel limits. Gimbals do not cancel acceleration and…
A lightweight downwind sail with mirror-image luff and leech edges, normally flown with a spinnaker pole. Either lower corner can act as tack or clew as the pole changes sides during a gybe. A halyard supports the head, while sheets and guys control the corners and pole position. It is primarily used on broad reaches…
The United Kingdom’s national meteorological service, providing weather and climate science, observations, forecasts and warnings. Its marine services include the Shipping Forecast, gale warnings, inshore-waters forecasts, strong-wind information and specialist products for government, defence, transport and industry. Forecasts describe expected conditions and uncertainty rather than guaranteeing local weather at a vessel. Mariners should combine the…
Four coverage-based areas—A1, A2, A3 and A4—used to determine GMDSS radiocommunication carriage and alerting arrangements. A1 is within continuous VHF DSC coverage of a coast station; A2 extends beyond A1 within continuous MF DSC coverage; A3 lies beyond A1 and A2 within recognised mobile-satellite service coverage; A4 is the remaining area. They are not a…
A standardised set of English phrases for safety-related ship-to-ship, ship-to-shore and onboard communication. The IMO adopted the SMCP to reduce misunderstanding across language barriers. It covers routine navigation, pilotage, berthing and onboard operations as well as distress, urgency and emergency situations. The phrases support clear communication but do not replace competent English, correct radio procedure…
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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