Frequently Asked Questions

The RYA Competent Crew is the entry-level practical qualification for crew members on sailing yachts. It covers seamanship basics, safety equipment, sail handling, knots, helmsmanship, and living aboard. No prior experience is required, and the minimum age is 12 years. The course typically runs over five days or equivalent weekends.

While there are no strict formal prerequisites, it is strongly recommended that you have completed the Competent Crew course or have equivalent sailing experience. You should be comfortable with basic knots, sail handling, and nautical terminology. The Day Skipper course teaches you to skipper a yacht on short coastal passages by day.

You must document 30 days at sea, 2 days as skipper, 800 nautical miles logged, and 12 night hours within the last ten years on vessels under 24 metres LOA. If you hold the RYA Coastal Skipper Practical certificate, requirements reduce to 12 days at sea and 400 nautical miles, though skipper days and night hours remain unchanged. At least half your qualifying sea time should be in tidal waters.

Yachtmaster Offshore qualifies you to skipper a cruising vessel on passages up to 150 miles from harbour by day or night. Yachtmaster Ocean is the highest tier, covering passages of any length worldwide, including celestial navigation without electronics. To sit the Ocean exam you must first hold the Offshore Certificate of Competence and complete a qualifying ocean passage of at least 600 nautical miles lasting 96 continuous hours.

Yes. Operating a marine VHF radio legally requires a Short Range Certificate (SRC) in most jurisdictions. The SRC is also a mandatory prerequisite for the Yachtmaster Coastal exam. This platform covers VHF basics in the curriculum, but you must take an invigilated SRC exam through an RYA-recognised centre.

The figure-of-eight does not jam into a hard nut under heavy load like an overhand knot does. This makes it the standard stopper knot because it remains easy to untie even after being heavily loaded, which is critical when you need to release a halyard quickly.

A reef knot capsizes and falls apart under strain when used to join two different ropes. The loops slide apart and the knot fails completely. Reef knots are only for tying two ends of the same rope under light load. To join two different ropes, always use a sheet bend.

During a gybe the mainsail catches wind on the opposite side, swinging the boom violently across the cockpit with tremendous force. An uncontrolled gybe can break the boom, destroy rigging, knock a crew member unconscious, or pitch someone overboard. Tacking turns the bow through the wind safely; gybing turns the stern through it.

Shout 'Man Overboard' and specify which side immediately. Everyone on board must know instantly what happened and where to look. Alerting the crew is the critical first step before deploying any equipment, because a head in the water disappears incredibly fast.

Approaching from downwind positions the hull as a windbreak, creating calmer water on the lee side for safer retrieval. This protects the casualty from being battered against the hull and gives rescuers a more stable working environment.

Closely spaced isobars indicate a steep pressure gradient and therefore strong winds. Widely spaced isobars mean light winds. Understanding isobar spacing allows you to estimate wind speed directly from a weather chart without relying solely on forecast text.

Red. In IALA Region A (Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia), port-hand marks are red with can-shaped topmarks and are kept to port when entering harbour from seaward. Remember: 'port wine is red.'

Yes, entirely. There are no paid tiers, premium features, advertisements, or user data sold to third parties. All lessons, quizzes, tools, and written guides are open to everyone without requiring an account. Development is supported by open-source contributors who believe navigation knowledge should be accessible to all.

No account is required to read any lesson content. However, creating a local profile (stored in your browser) enables progress tracking, bookmarking, streak counting, and quiz score history. No data leaves your device unless you choose to export it.

Yes. The curriculum covers topics from the RYA Competent Crew, Day Skipper, Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Coastal, Yachtmaster Offshore, and Yachtmaster Ocean syllabi. Content is written by experienced instructors and reviewed against current RYA standards. However, completing online lessons does not replace the mandatory practical assessment required for RYA certification.

Absolutely. The interactive lessons, quizzes, drag-and-drop exercises, and comprehensive written guides are designed to build theoretical knowledge before your practical course. Students who arrive with solid theory learn physical skills significantly faster. Use the glossary, tide calculator, and COLREGs reference tools alongside the curriculum.