Sailing and Yachting Resources Worth Bookmarking

Which national sailing associations should I know?

Several organisations set training standards, issue certificates and represent sailors’ interests in the UK. Knowing who does what saves time when you need a qualification or a safety bulletin.

• The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) is the national body for all forms of recreational and competitive dinghy, yacht and motor cruising. It designs the training syllabus followed by most UK sailing schools, runs the Yachtmaster scheme and campaigns on access and environmental issues.
• The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) regulates professional seafarers and commercial vessels. It issues STCW endorsements, the Boatmaster licence and certificates of competency for workboats and superyachts, and enforces safety codes for small commercial craft.
• The Association of Sail Training Organisations (ASTO) brings together operators of large sail training vessels. Its members run voyages for adults and young people, and the association maintains common safety and operational standards across the fleet.
• The British Marine Federation represents the leisure marine industry, from boatbuilders to marinas. It runs the annual Southampton Boat Show and publishes market data, though it does not issue sailing qualifications.
• The Royal Naval Sailing Association (RNSA) promotes sailing within the Royal Navy and among service personnel. It also organises offshore races and manages a network of moorings and cruising events for its members.

For most recreational sailors, start with the RYA. If you work on the water commercially, the MCA’s requirements will apply instead.

Where do I find reliable marine weather forecasts?

The UK Met Office marine weather page is the primary source for British waters. Its inshore waters forecast covers areas up to 12 miles offshore and is updated four times a day. The shipping forecast, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and available on the Met Office site, gives wind, visibility and sea state for sea areas around the UK.

Beyond the official forecasts, most cruising sailors keep a few specialist wind tools on their phones. These give you a quicker picture of the wind right now and what it might do over the next few days:

• The Met Office inshore waters forecast for your sailing area, read in full rather than skimmed for the wind direction alone.
• Windy.com for its animated wind, gust and wave overlays, which let you compare several forecast models on one screen.
• PredictWind for its high-resolution PWG and PWE models, useful when you need a second opinion on a coastal passage.
• XCWeather for a fast-loading, no-frills summary of wind speed and direction at stations near your route.
• The BBC Shipping Forecast on Radio 4 long wave at 00:48 and 05:20, still the most reliable backup when you lose mobile signal at sea.

Which tide tables and tidal stream atlases are the official ones?

The UK Hydrographic Office publishes the official tide tables and tidal stream atlases for British waters under the Admiralty brand. The printed Admiralty Tide Tables come in several volumes covering the UK, Europe, and the rest of the world. Each volume lists daily high and low water times and heights for standard ports, with a method for calculating secondary ports from the differences tables at the back.

Admiralty Tidal Stream Atlases show the direction and rate of tidal flow hour by hour through a full tidal cycle. Each page covers one hour relative to high water at a reference port, with arrows indicating direction and numbers giving the spring and neap rates in knots. The UK and Ireland set includes separate atlases for the English Channel, the Irish Sea, the North Sea, and the west coast of Scotland. These atlases are the definitive reference for passage planning. Most commercial vessels carry them.

For a quick check without printed books, the Admiralty EasyTide service on the UKHO website provides free seven-day predictions for over 600 UK ports. The interface is plain but reliable. It gives times and heights in a simple table. A paid subscription unlocks predictions further ahead and for a wider selection of ports worldwide. The free seven-day window is enough for most weekend and short coastal passages.

What safety and distress resources do the coastguard provide?

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency publishes the core safety guidance for UK waters. Their leaflet "Stay Safe: A Guide to Your Safety at Sea" covers lifejacket checks, distress signals, and how to call for help on VHF channel 16. You can download it for free from the MCA website.

For passage planning and automatic alerting, the RYA SafeTrx app connects directly to HM Coastguard. You enter your vessel details and planned route before departure. If you fail to arrive and do not close the trip, the system alerts the coastguard with your last known position and boat description. The app works on any smartphone and does not require a separate GPS unit.

Local notices to mariners add another layer of safety information. They warn you about temporary hazards that are not yet on your charts: a buoy off station, a firing exercise area, or a regatta course. Here is how to get them:

• Download Local Notices to Mariners free from the UKHO website; they are published weekly for each coastguard region.
• Subscribe to email alerts from your local harbour authority for immediate updates on bridge closures, dredging, and lock times.
• Check Navtex broadcasts on 518 kHz for navigational warnings, weather forecasts, and search-and-rescue information within 200 miles of the coast.
• Monitor VHF channel 16 for urgent Marine Safety Information broadcasts; the coastguard announces them on channel 16 and directs you to a working channel.

Where can I read notices to mariners and chart corrections?

The UK Hydrographic Office publishes weekly Notices to Mariners as free PDF downloads on the Admiralty website. Each edition lists new dangers, changes to buoyage, wreck positions and other updates that affect paper and digital charts. You can filter by chart number to see only the corrections that apply to your folio.

For a complete picture of what has changed since your chart was printed, use the online Chart Updating Catalogue. You enter the chart number and the software shows every relevant notice, from the chart's publication date to the current week. A leisure sailor who keeps a small folio current would typically check the catalogue once a month and apply the listed corrections by hand.

If you use digital charts on a plotter or tablet, the notices still matter. They tell you when a feature has moved in the real world but the chart update has not yet reached your device. The weekly editions are also the source data that apps and third-party services repackage, so reading them directly is the most reliable way to stay informed.

Are there any other practical links a cruising sailor should save?

Beyond weather, tides and official notices, a handful of reference pages make passage planning and day-to-day skippering simpler. Save these documents on your phone or tablet before you leave the marina.

• The full text of the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGs) is published online by the UK government. Having the rules to hand settles any doubt about lights, shapes, and right of way in busy waters.
• SOLAS V checklists remind you what safety equipment and procedures are mandatory for your vessel length and voyage type. The MCA keeps a plain-English summary that is quicker to read than the convention itself.
• If you cross the Channel into French inland waterways, the CEVNI rules apply. The European Inland Waterways Code is available as a free PDF from the UN Economic Commission for Europe, complete with the latest amendments.
• A visual guide to buoyage, such as the IALA Maritime Buoyage System card, helps when you encounter an unfamiliar mark. Trinity House and the NGA both publish clear reference charts online.
• For long passages, a magnetic variation calculator lets you convert true bearings to compass bearings without flipping through an almanac. The British Geological Survey and NOAA both run free tools updated with the current model.
• The RYA's online knot guide covers the half-dozen knots you actually use aboard, with step-by-step drawings. It loads quickly on a patchy mobile signal and needs no login.

Save each page as a bookmark or download the PDF to your device. A printed copy in the chart table does the same job when the battery goes flat.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to check the shipping forecast if I only sail in the Solent?

Yes. The inshore waters forecast covers the Solent and gives you wind strength, visibility and sea state for the next 24 hours. Conditions can change faster than a general inshore forecast suggests, so a quick check before you leave the dock is always worth it.

Is the RYA the only association that matters for a UK leisure sailor?

The RYA is the national governing body for recreational boating and runs the training scheme most people use. If you sail a yacht that is commercially coded or you hold a commercial endorsement, you will also deal with the MCA. For racing, World Sailing sets the rules that the RYA adopts.

Can I rely on a free weather app instead of the Met Office?

Free apps often repackage the same GFS model data, but the Met Office marine forecast adds a human forecaster's interpretation and gale warnings you can act on. For passage planning, most skippers use the Met Office text forecast as the primary source and a visual wind app as a second opinion.