Welcome to navigation

What is navigation?

Navigation is working out where your boat is, deciding where you want it to go, and getting it there safely and on time. It sounds simple — and the core ideas are — but the sea has no road signs, the water moves, and the things that can hurt you are often hidden beneath the surface. A navigator’s job is to turn a handful of clues into confident decisions.

Every navigator, on every boat from a dinghy to a superyacht, is answering four questions:

1. Where am I? Your position, as accurately as you can know it.
2. Where am I going? Your destination, and the direction (course) to get there.
3. How do I get there safely? Avoiding rocks, shallow water, wrecks and other vessels.
4. When will I arrive? Using speed, time and — later — the tide.

Everything in this course is a tool for answering one of those four questions.

Navigators often split the work into two kinds:

The chart: a map of the sea

The most important tool on board is the chart. A land map shows roads and towns; a chart shows what matters to a boat: the depth of the water, the dangers under it, and the buoys, lights and landmarks you can use to find your way. The coastline is drawn in detail, but inland the chart shows only things you can see from the sea — a church spire, a radio mast, a hill.

Throughout the course you will use one practice chart of a fictional island, the Isle of Kerran. It is drawn in the style of an Admiralty chart, with real chart conventions, so everything you learn transfers directly to real charts.

The navigator’s toolkit

Chart work needs surprisingly little equipment. At the chart table you need dividers to measure distance, a plotter to measure direction, and a soft pencil and eraser. On deck you need a compass to steer by and a hand-bearing compass to take bearings of landmarks. Instruments tell you your speed (the log) and the depth (the depth sounder), and the almanac gives you tides and harbour information.

Why learn this when we have GPS?

Satellite navigation is one of the best safety devices ever put on a boat, and you will learn to use it well in Module 5. But a careful navigator never relies on one source of information:

• Electronics fail. Flat batteries, wet connections, a lightning strike or a dropped phone can leave you with nothing.
• Electronics can be wrong. A wrong setting, an out-of-date chart or signal interference can put you somewhere you aren’t — while looking perfectly convincing.
• Understanding beats button-pressing. Knowing how the chart, compass and tide work is what lets you judge whether a plan is safe.
• Training courses and exams expect it. Chart work is the core of every shore-based navigation course.

How this course works

The course has six modules and builds steadily. Module 1 starts from zero: the parts of a boat, how position is described, how to read a chart and measure distance and direction, and how speed, time and distance relate. Modules 2 to 5 cover the compass, position fixing, buoyage, the collision regulations, tides and passage planning — the theory of a typical Day Skipper and Coastal Skipper course. Module 6 takes you to Yachtmaster-level theory and ends with a mock exam.

Every lesson has the same four parts:

1. Watch the narrated walkthrough at the top of the page. Use the CC button for captions, or open the transcript.
2. Read these notes at your own pace. The key terms are summarised at the end.
3. Try the interactive charts and tools — they are the fastest way to make the ideas stick.
4. Practise with the exercises. They are marked instantly, and “Practice more” gives you unlimited fresh questions.

This course is independent training material. It is not accredited by the RYA and does not lead to a qualification; it is designed to complement practical tuition and shore-based courses at a recognised training centre.