Provisional Booking

1. Whether by email, phone or in person, a provisional booking cannot be held without a deposit should the course become full.

2. Until a 50% deposit payment has been made the booking is not firm and PSS (Palma Sea School) reserve the right to sell the vacancy to another student.

3. The Sea School Co-ordinator will endeavour to contact students at risk of losing their place in this way, but this cannot be guaranteed. The only way to be sure of a place is to pay a deposit.

4. A booking will be deemed firm once the minimum deposit has been paid and a booking confirmation has been sent. When booking on the website you will receive a notification that your booking is being processed. This is not a confirmed booking until you have received an official booking confirmation email from us.

Payment

5. Payment can be made by Cash, Credit/Debit Card, PayPal or by Bank Transfer.

6. If paying by Bank Transfer please inform the Sea School Co-ordinator immediately to ensure your booking is held.

Deposit & Cancellation Charges

As we are a small school, cancellations and refunds really affect our business, therefore our deposit and cancellation policy is as follows:

7. A deposit of 50% is requested to be paid and a proof of payment must be sent in order to confirm the booking. The balance must be paid 4 weeks prior to the start date. In case the booking is made within 4 weeks prior to the course, a 100% payment is requested.

8. In case of your cancellation, we do not refund the deposit. In exceptional circumstances we keep the deposit as a credit towards a new booking in a form of voucher that can be used, subject to availability in 1 year time frame. Exceptions to cancellation policy and refunds can be made only in extreme cases and upon our discretion only. We advise you to purchase a Travel Cancellation Insurance (not purchasing travel insurance is not an exceptional circumstance. It is your responsibility to ensure you have the correct insurance)

9. If a booking is cancelled within 1 month prior to the course start date, the booking is non-refundable regardless of circumstances. PSS shall make every effort to re-sell the place on the course. If successful, the student may transfer their payment to a date in the future. If unsuccessful the money shall be retained without transfer to mitigate costs.

10. If a student abandons a course once it has started, before the scheduled termination of the course for whatever reason, no refunds will be given nor will possible additional travel costs be reimbursed. If a student wishes to attend another course date in the future this will be at full cost.

11. GROUP BOOKINGS ** for group bookings, a 50% non refundable deposit is required at the time of booking. This deposit is non refundable. The full course balance will be due no later than 8 weeks prior to the course starting and will be non refundable in the event of cancellation.

**IMPORTANT – It is your responsibility to ensure you have booked comprehensive insurance that covers prepaid, non-refundable travel arrangements such as the course you have booked with us. Palma Sea School will not process refunds within the above mentioned T&Cs because students have failed to book appropriate insurance. (eg illness/injury etc is covered on travel insurance and should be claimed from your insurance company)

School Cancellation

12. Please be aware that our courses require a minimum number of people to go ahead. Should the minimum number of people not be reached your course may be cancelled or rescheduled, we endeavour to give you as much notice as possible in these situations

If for any reason PSS cancels a Training Course, PSS shall inform students immediately. No liability shall be attached to PSS beyond refunding full fee paid to the course cancelled or unused portion if the course has been started.

13. No payment shall be made for incidental costs. Under no circumstances will refunds be given for unused flight tickets, accommodation etc. If this not covered by your travel insurance, we strongly recommend that you purchase changeable tickets/bookings. It is your responsibility to ensure you have booked the right insurance.

Exam / Examiner Cancellations

14. RYA Exams are conducted by independent RYA Examiners and are not affiliated in any way with Palma Sea School. PSS will book an examiner for you but have no involvement with the actual exam. The Exam fee is payable directly to the RYA as detailed on their website.

15. Should an exam be cancelled due to examiner illness, travel disruption or any other reason out of our control, we will endeavour to book you onto a future available exam. No guarantee can be made as to timeframe. No refunds will be given for any exam preparation course provided by PSS. No payment shall be made for incidental costs. No liability shall be attached to PSS for any examiner cancellation.

Force Majeure

16. The School shall not be liable for any expenses incurred due to Force Majeure, including Act of God, weather conditions, strikes, acts of Government or omissions, changes in laws or regulations, war or any other occurrence beyond our control. Where cancellations are due to Force Majeure no refunds for course bookings will be given, however, credit vouchers will be issued for courses at a later date.

Risk Disclaimer

17. No liability is accepted for student’s personal possessions left in the classroom, on a pontoon or onboard any PSS training vessel.

18. No liability is accepted for students whilst in or on any PSS property, yachts, pontoon or whilst boarding yachts.

19. All students take part in any course at their own risk. notified PSS, will automatically forfeit the total monies paid.

Delay/ Failure to Arrive

20. If a student is likely to be delayed beyond the start time of a course, PSS should be told as soon as possible.

21. Any student who fails to arrive, for any reason whatsoever, including illness & has not notified PSS, will automatically forfeit the total monies paid.

Under 18’s

22. 12-16 year olds are accepted on some training courses when accompanied by a parent or guardian. Students of this age can only be issued with restricted certificates.

23. Students from the age of 16 are accepted unaccompanied but all booking forms for those under 18 should be signed by a parent or guardian stating the fact they are signing on behalf of a minor

Medical Conditions & Sea Sickness

24. If you have any worries about sea sickness, we suggest you check with your GP that you can take sea sickness tablets. Ideally these should be taken in advance of the training start time however they are available on board our training yachts in the first aid kits.

25. All students with special medical problems should also check with their GP that it acceptable for them to take part in the course.

26. Students should inform PSS of any medical condition when booking & ensure any personal medication is brought to the course.

27. If the Training course requires a medical disclaimer signed before the course, PSS reserve the right to refuse participation for any student who fails to produce a signed form.

Instructor’s Decisions

28. The instructor’s decision is final at all times on PSS property or yachts.

29.All students will accept all orders & decisions given to them by the instructor at all times whilst on board PSS yachts or ashore, until the course is finished.

30. The instructor’s authority is total, day & night in accordance with Marine Law.

31. If for any reason a student does not accept an order from the instructor or his designated substitute, whether the student considers it to be reasonable or not, the student shall be considered to be in breach of the Terms & Conditions of the Company.

32. The instructor shall take any action or decision he considers fit for the wellbeing of the crew & vessel.

33.If the student is placed ashore at the nearest port, no liability whatsoever shall attach itself to PSS, and neither shall the student have any redress for any expenses or unused portion of the fee, nor any redress against the instructor as a result of any action or decision by the instructor.

Complaints

34. If a student has any complaint, it should be raised with the Sea School Co-ordinator or Principal at the earliest time in writing, so that any problem can be resolved as quickly as possible.

Sea Time

35. Every attempt will be made to give students maximum sea time.

36. If, in the opinion of the Instructor, the weather conditions, safety or any other consideration makes it imprudent for training to continue, the Instructor’s decision is final.

Sea School Insurance

37. PSS is insured for instructions & Charters.

38. The needs of those who train with PSS will vary and PSS strongly advises students to obtain their own insurance for sickness, illness, loss of course fees, loss of personal effects, cancellation or curtailment, travel disruption or delay, accident on board or any other reason students consider sensible for their personal life style or wellbeing.

Breakages & Damages

39.Breakages and damages MUST be notified immediately to the Instructor or Sea School Coordinator for safety.

Duties on board

40. All students will be expected to participate in cleaning the yacht & ensuring the vessel is kept clean & tidy at all times (adhering to the rules of the Vessel).

41.On training vessels there is an A4 sheet making clear the rules that MUST be adhered to at all times. A copy of these rules is also available from the office.

42. At the end of the course/exam all students will be expected to clean the yacht thoroughly.

Certificates

43. Certificates will only be issued at the end of a course if, in the opinion of the Instructor, the student has reached the required standard & agreed the student has been in full attendance. This decision will be final & accepted by all students.

44. MCA AEC Certificates, ICC, RYA commercially endorsed licences; RYA Coastal Skipper & RYA Yachtmaster Certificates are issued by an external authority.

45.As soon as your certificate/licence has arrived you will be informed by email or telephone call. Please allow 3-4 weeks & ensure your details are supplied in full on your Booking Form.

46. PSS will not be held responsible for any delays in receipt of certificates/licences from external authorities. Nor shall PSS be held responsible for any loss of certificates if requested to be delivered to an address external to PSS.

47. Lost certificates may be re-issued for a small administration charge.

Own Boat Tuition

48. The owner of the boat is considered to be the ‘skipper’ of the vessel at all times and is responsible for the vessel, the provisioning and fuel and for ensuring the vessel is fully insured, sea worthy, with all boat papers in date and safety equipment onboard to satisfy the local port authority and maritime law of the country in which the training is taking place.

49. If any accidents occur onboard during training, the claim is to be made against the insurance of the boat. PSS, and its instructors, shall not be liable for any incidents or accidents onboard. The owner should notify their insurance company that there will be a qualified instructor onboard delivering tuition but the owner remains the skipper at all times. It is also agreed that the owners insurance is fully comprehensive and covers all aspects of normal marine insurance for the area in which the skipper is expected to sail.

50. Upon booking, the school will request copies of the vessel’s insurance papers and vessel registration documents. The client will be asked to sign a disclaimer before the training can commence.

Additional Weather-Related Conditions for Yachtmaster Ocean Sights Trip

Weather Conditions: The ability to take celestial sights during the trip is dependent on weather and visibility conditions. We cannot guarantee that sights will be possible due to factors beyond our control, such as cloud cover or poor weather.
Trip Cancellations: If, before travel, it is determined that weather conditions will not be suitable for taking sights, the trip will be cancelled. In this case, students will be offered either a change of date or a full refund.
No Refunds for Suitable Weather: If the weather is deemed suitable for the trip to proceed, no refunds will be given if sights are ultimately not taken due to changing conditions during the trip.
Liability: Palma Sea School will not be held responsible for any inability to complete celestial sights due to adverse weather conditions once the trip has begun. No refunds or compensations will be issued for sights not taken after the trip has started.
Trip Adjustments: While every effort will be made to provide alternative learning experiences if sights cannot be taken, the itinerary and planned activities may be adjusted at the discretion of the skipper for safety and operational reasons.

Data Protection Policy

South West Maritime Academy comply with the General Date Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2018 with all data handled and proceeded by South West Maritime Academy outside of the provisions as set out below by our authorising bodies, whose requests for data collection and handling fall under and are carried our within the confines of their own Date Protection policies.

For all bookings and training carried out under the auspices of the Maritime and Coastguard Authority (MCA) and associated and required data handling please see the MCA’s policy on data protection.

RYA Interactive Data Protection Policy

To enable access to your online course we need to share some of your personal data with the RYA via your user profile in www.ryainteractive.org. This learning management website is hosted and maintained by a third party called Learning Pool, who will not use your personal information for any reason other than enabling your course.

Your name and email address will be entered on www.ryainteractive.org in order to create your user account. On your first access to the site, you will be asked to enter your address and date of birth. You will have access to the site for one year in order to complete your online course. During this period, your personal information will be held on the website by Learning Pool and be available to this training centre and
the RYA for the purpose of managing your course.

Instructional support will be provided by this training centre for a period of 3 months from the date of your course booking. On completion of your course, your name, email, date of birth and address will be transferred to the RYA’s central database for the purpose of recording details of the course and any certification you gain as a result of it. This information allows the RYA to record your certification, to update any records they may already hold about you or your qualifications and to verify your certificate if required. After one year from the date of your enrolment on a course, your user account will be removed from www.ryainteractive.org. Full details of how the RYA will deal with your personal information will be displayed when you first access www.ryainteractive.org. For the duration of your access to the site, your data will be held in accordance with the RYA Interactive Data Policy, Terms and Conditions. If you receive a digital certificate downloaded from the RYA Interactive site on completion of your course, your name, address, date of birth and certificate details will be transferred to the RYA database and held in accordance with the RYA’s Privacy Policy

For courses where we need to register your certificate with the RYA – On successful completion of your course your name, contactdetails, date of birth, certificate number and date of issue will shared with the RYA through a secure web portal on www.rya.org.uk. The data will be stored on the RYA’s central database. This information allows the RYA to record your qualification, to update any records they may hold for you, and to verify or replace your certificate if required. For further information on how the RYA will deal with your data, please see the RYA’s Privacy Policy at www.rya.org.uk/go/privacy.”