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.
The Met Office marine forecast for the named sea areas around the British Isles. It contains gale warnings in force, a general synopsis and forecasts of wind direction and force, weather and visibility for each area; sea state is also included in the operational product. It is issued on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard…
The international radiotelephony spelling word for the letter S. It is used to spell call signs, identifiers and words clearly over voice radio. Its prescribed spoken form is represented as ‘SEE AIR RAH’. The International Code of Signals assigns a separate meaning to the single flag S. That flag use should not be confused with…
A vessel restricted by the nature of its work in its ability to manoeuvre as required by the collision regulations and therefore unable to keep out of the way of another vessel. The definition applies to specified or comparable operations such as laying or servicing a navigation mark or cable, dredging, surveying, replenishment at sea,…
Any condition in which visibility is restricted by fog, mist, falling snow, heavy rainstorms, sandstorms or another similar cause. In the collision regulations this is a qualitative condition rather than one fixed distance. Darkness alone is not restricted visibility, although it affects what can be seen, and obstruction by a vessel’s own structure is a…
The international radiotelephony spelling word for the letter R. It is used to spell call signs, identifiers and words clearly over voice radio. Its prescribed spoken form is represented as ‘ROW ME OH’. In the International Code of Signals, the single flag R can have coded meanings in combination with other flags. Those signal meanings…
A navigation mark indicating navigable water around the mark. Under the IALA Maritime Buoyage System, a safe water mark has red-and-white vertical stripes and, when fitted, a single red spherical topmark. Its white light uses one of the characteristics allocated to this type of mark. It may mark a channel centreline, mid-channel point, landfall or…
An internationally recognised Morse-code distress signal formed by three dots, three dashes and three dots sent as one continuous sequence. SOS was selected for its distinctive radio-telegraph pattern and is not formally an abbreviation for ‘Save Our Souls’ or ‘Save Our Ship’. It can be conveyed by radio telegraphy, light or another signalling method capable…
The direction approximately at right angles to the vessel’s centreline on its port side. An object abeam to port has a relative bearing close to 270 degrees, or 90 degrees to the left of the bow. In less precise speech, ‘on the port beam’ may refer to a small sector around that direction rather than…
A signal or device that uses a controlled energetic chemical reaction to produce light, smoke, sound or heat. Marine pyrotechnics include rocket parachute flares, hand flares, smoke signals and line-throwing cartridges. Their colour, duration, altitude and pattern carry recognised meanings or serve particular alerting and locating functions; not every pyrotechnic is a distress signal. They…
A plain yellow International Code of Signals flag whose single-letter meaning is ‘My vessel is healthy and I request free pratique’. Free pratique is the health authority’s permission for a vessel to have contact with the port after arrival formalities. The flag is traditionally displayed on entering a foreign port until the required clearance is…
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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