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 abnormal rise or fall in sea level produced mainly by wind stress and atmospheric pressure during a storm. It is additional to the astronomical tide and can greatly increase coastal flooding or reduce depths. Impact depends on storm track, intensity, timing with tide and coastal or seabed shape.
A wind sea that has reached the greatest average wave condition possible for the prevailing wind over the available fetch and duration. Once fully developed, additional time does not substantially increase the sea for that wind speed unless wind or fetch changes. Real seas often contain swell and changing winds, so the idealised condition is…
The condition of the sea surface at a particular time and place, principally in terms of wave height and character. It reflects wind sea and swell and may be reported using a descriptive scale or measured wave statistics. Sea state affects vessel motion, speed, visibility, deck safety and the feasibility of manoeuvres or recovery operations.
Persistent seasonal northerly winds over the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean, most frequent in summer. Known as the meltemi in Greek and Turkish usage, they arise from the pressure pattern between higher pressure over the Balkans and lower pressure over southwest Asia, with strong modification by islands and channels. They are not primarily katabatic winds, although…
A strong, cold, usually dry northerly to north-westerly wind channelled from southern France into the Gulf of Lion and western Mediterranean. It commonly develops when pressure is high to the west or north and lower over the Gulf of Genoa, accelerating air through the Rhône valley and adjacent terrain. The mistral is a channelled regional…
A strong, gusty, cold downslope wind blowing from the Balkan interior towards the eastern Adriatic. Dense air crossing mountain passes accelerates down the coastal slopes, commonly producing violent local gusts and sharp spatial changes. Clear bora and cloud-bearing bora occur under different synoptic conditions. The wind is often north-easterly but terrain controls its local direction….
A rare descriptive term for fine rippling or small wavelets on an otherwise relatively smooth water surface. It may be used informally for the first texture produced by a light breeze or minor disturbance, but it is not a standard WMO sea-state or Beaufort-scale classification. Because the term is uncommon and inconsistently documented, forecasts and…
A forward capsize in which a vessel rotates end over end as the bow stops or buries while the stern continues forward. It is most associated with fast multihulls, dinghies and surf craft running into a wave or decelerating sharply. Sail force, high speed, bow immersion, crew position and wave shape contribute to the pitching…
The Beaufort force 10 wind description, corresponding to mean wind speeds of 48–55 knots. At sea, very high waves develop with long overhanging crests; the surface becomes white with foam and visibility is reduced by spray. Conditions are dangerous for small craft and place severe demands on vessels and crews. Beaufort force describes observed or…
An informal name sometimes given to Beaufort force 6, a strong breeze. On the Beaufort scale, force 6 corresponds to a mean wind speed of 22–27 knots. At sea, large waves begin to form, white foam crests are extensive and some spray is likely. The expression is colloquial rather than an official Beaufort description. Force…
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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