Meteorology and Oceanography
Pressure and wind
Low and high pressure systems, isobar spacing, geostrophic wind, Coriolis effect and surface friction. Buys Ballot's law: in the northern hemisphere, with your back to the wind the low is on your left; the reverse applies in the southern hemisphere. Practise deriving the bearing of a centre from wind direction, and deciding which side of a tropical revolving storm you are on.
TRS avoidance
The dangerous semicircle is the right-hand one in the northern hemisphere and the left-hand one in the southern; the other is the navigable semicircle. Know the storm's likely track and the recommended manoeuvre - in the dangerous semicircle put the wind on the starboard bow and make best speed; in the navigable semicircle put the wind on the starboard quarter.
Local weather
Land and sea breezes, fog types (advection, radiation, frontal, steam), dew point and condensation, monsoon and trade wind patterns, the ITCZ, wave and swell formation, Beaufort scale, sea state and ocean currents. Read a synoptic chart: fronts, troughs, ridges, isobar spacing and system movement.
Trap: applying northern hemisphere rules in the southern hemisphere, and heaving to on the wrong side of the track.
Rule of thumb: in the northern hemisphere, wind veering means the low is passing north of you; backing means it passes to the south.