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.Signals and communication in the marine world are like a game of charades with the ocean as your stage. Picture a crew furiously waving flags screaming, “We’re out of snacks!” while another ship squints, trying to decode whether that’s a distress call or just terrible semaphore skills. Horns blast at decibels high enough to wake Poseidon, with meanings ranging from “I’m turning left” to “Move it or lose it!” And let’s not forget Morse code—nothing says “urgent message” like blinking a flashlight at a seagull for hours. Meanwhile, the VHF radio crackles with static and a dozen accents yelling about the weather, leaving everyone more confused than enlightened. It’s a symphony of organised chaos where somehow, miraculously, no one crashes into an iceberg. Usually.
An informal name for the forward masthead light shown by a power-driven vessel when underway. The expression “steaming light” is widely used on small craft, particularly for the white light displayed above the sidelights when a sailing vessel is proceeding under engine. In the collision regulations, the defined term is “masthead light,” not “steaming light.”…
A white navigation light showing over an unbroken 135-degree arc centred directly astern. Under the collision regulations it is arranged to show from dead astern to 67.5 degrees on each side of the vessel. Its required visibility range, height and relationship to other lights depend on vessel type, length and status. A sternlight identifies an…
A charted category of unusually large buoy, generally more than five metres in diameter, whose size or function makes it a significant hazard or high-consequence object. IHO chart specifications use the category for items such as offshore loading or single-point mooring buoys and very large ocean-data-acquisition buoys. Their moorings, hoses, chains or operating exclusion areas…
To assume responsibility for operating a vessel’s steering control. A proper handover identifies the course or heading, steering mode, traffic, wind and current, vessel response and any current helm order. The person taking over should confirm control and demonstrate that the wheel, tiller or autopilot interface is responding as expected. Taking the helm does not…
The international radiotelephony spelling word for the letter T. It is used to spell call signs, identifiers and words clearly over voice radio. Its prescribed spoken form is represented as ‘TANG GO’. The International Code of Signals assigns a separate meaning to the single flag T. That signal use should not be confused with saying…
The magnitude of a vessel’s velocity relative to the Earth’s surface. SOG is commonly derived by GNSS from successive positions or signal measurements and is paired with course over the ground. It differs from speed through the water because current and leeway alter ground movement, while wind affects it indirectly through vessel motion. SOG can…
The coordinated use of personnel and facilities to locate people in distress, assist them and deliver them to a place of safety. Maritime SAR is organised through rescue coordination centres and sub-centres within agreed search-and-rescue regions and can involve coastguards, ships, aircraft, lifeboats, emergency services and other resources. The 1979 SAR Convention provides an international…
A navigational light that shows different colours or characteristics in defined directions or is visible only within a specified sector.
The international radiotelephony safety signal announcing an important navigational or meteorological warning or another safety message. The word is normally spoken three times, pronounced approximately ‘say-cure-ee-tay’, followed by the addressed station or all stations, the caller’s identity and the safety message under the applicable procedure. A digital selective calling safety announcement may precede voice traffic….
A prescribed geometric shape displayed by day to indicate a vessel’s status, operation or restriction under the collision regulations. Balls, cones, diamonds and cylinders, normally black, are displayed singly or in specified combinations and orientations. They can indicate circumstances such as anchoring, being aground, not under command, restricted manoeuvrability, fishing, sailing while also under power…
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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