Syllabus published
Buoyage, Lights and Shapes
The IALA buoyage system, and the navigation lights and day shapes that identify a vessel.
View courseSea Skills Online
Practical online maritime courses
Professional, self-paced training for seafarers, yacht crew and aspiring officers. Learn the COLREGs, the IALA buoyage system, navigation lights and day shapes, chartwork and marine weather.
- Clear outcomes
- Each course lists what you will be able to do, from give-way decisions to a plotted tidal stream.
- Self-paced
- Study a rule between watches or a whole block on a day off. Lessons stay in your browser.
- Certificate of completion
- Finish the course and receive a Sea Skills Online certificate. It is a record of study, not a licence.
Primary course
Learn the COLREGs
A collision regulations course for the Rules of the Road and IRPCS. Narrated lessons run from Rule 1 to Rule 41 and the four annexes, with quizzes at an 80% pass mark and a final assessment.
Built for seafarer training, Yachtmaster theory and OOW exam prep. The lesson player is ready to open after you enrol.
£4912–18 hours
- Say where the rules apply and who is responsible for complying with them
- Keep a proper lookout and judge safe speed and risk of collision
- Take the correct action in head-on, crossing and overtaking situations
- Apply Rule 19 in restricted visibility, including action on radar contacts
More maritime courses
Buoyage, lights and shapes, coastal navigation chartwork and weather for mariners. Each course has its own page, syllabus and price.
Syllabus published
Chartwork
Plot positions, courses, tides and tidal streams on a coastal chart.
View courseSyllabus published
Marine Meteorology
Pressure, wind, fronts, fog and forecasts, taught for people who make passage decisions.
View courseCourses in preparation
These slots are reserved. A full page is added when the course folder and catalog file are ready.
In preparation
Radar plotting
Relative motion, CPA and TCPA for watchkeepers. A course page will open when the lesson folder is added.
In preparation
Tides and tidal streams
Tidal heights, secondary ports and tidal stream diamonds, written to sit beside the chartwork course.
In preparation
Passage planning
Appraisal, planning, execution and monitoring for coastal passages. The slot is reserved for a future course folder.
Who the courses are for
Seafarers and watchkeepers
Rule-by-rule teaching for people who already stand a watch and want the collision regulations, lights and buoyage stated plainly.
Yacht crew and Yachtmaster theory
Self-paced study for IRPCS, IALA buoyage, coastal navigation chartwork and weather for mariners, written in the language of the yacht syllabus.
Aspiring officers
A clear theory companion for OOW exam prep and STCW theory: the rules, the marks, the lights, the chart and the weather.
How enrolment works
Choose a course
Read the outcomes and the syllabus. Learn the COLREGs is the course with lessons ready today.
Create an account
Checkout asks you to register or log in, then takes you to Stripe to pay. The course is added after payment.
Open the lessons
Your dashboard links to the course. COLREGs opens the lesson player. Other courses open the syllabus until their player is added.
Questions mariners ask
Where should I start?
Start with Learn the COLREGs. The collision regulations sit under buoyage, lights, shapes and every course you plot. The other courses stand on their own if you already know the rules.
Are these RYA, MCA or STCW approved courses?
No. Sea Skills Online is independent study for seafarers, yacht crew and aspiring officers. The lessons support Yachtmaster theory, OOW exam prep and STCW theory. The certificate is a certificate of completion from Sea Skills Online. It is not an STCW, MCA or RYA certificate.
What is the difference between COLREGs, the Rules of the Road and IRPCS?
They are the same regulations. COLREGs is the short name for the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea. Rules of the Road is the everyday name. IRPCS is the name used in many yacht syllabi.
Do I need an account?
Yes. Checkout creates your account, or you log in if you already have one, and then takes payment through Stripe. After payment the course appears on your dashboard. The account is stored in this browser.
Start with the rules of the road
Then add buoyage, lights and shapes, chartwork or marine meteorology as you need them.
Browse courses