Booking Conditions

Pacific Sailing School PSS

Booking Conditions

If you have any questions regarding our booking conditions, please email the principal at [email protected]  

Section 1: Insurance for Students

Current financial members of an Australian Sailing Yacht Club/Association and PSS Students are automatically covered by Australian Sailing insurance. We strongly recommend if this does not apply to you that you take out Insurance for at least the duration of your course.

https://networkmarine.com.au/sailing/personal-accident/

We advise you to insure against loss of fees in case of emergency or sickness.

We do not provide insurance.

Section 2: AUSTRALIAN SAILING COURSES

Discover Sailing Experiences 

Full payment is required at the time of booking. 

If you book a Competent Crew Program (CCP) on the day of your Experience we will discount the CCP by the amount you have paid for the Discover Sailing Experience.

AS Keelboat Practical Courses

A 50% deposit is required per Keelboat course booked. 

Balance of course fees to be paid 7 days prior to commencement of each course.

On booking your first practical course with PSS, an additional fee for Australian Sailing (AS) Registration and Insurance is applicable to any new/returning students. Insurance is valid during the AS courses and for 3 months after completion of the last course. The amount of the fee will be noted on your invoice.

A Course Kit containing logbook, AS Start Yachting textbook and rope will be provided on booking/payment and a Certificate on completion of the course.  

Practice Sessions

We add value to your course by offering Practice Sessions on a standby basis.

Practice Sessions can be booked by calling the office the day before and are dependent on whether we have space available. You can book a practice lesson on the Keelboat course you have most recently completed, providing you are within the 3 months Insurance period.

Start Crewing Course – Available for 2 weeks after attendance of Lesson 4.

Start Helming Course – Available for 2 weeks after attendance of Lesson 4.

Competent Crew Course – Available for 6 weeks after attendance of Lesson 8.

Rescheduling Australian Sailing Lessons

• You must provide:
  • more than 72 hours notice to reschedule, cancel or change the date of your Start Crewing, Start Helming or Competent Crew lesson.
  • more than 15 day’s notice to reschedule, cancel or change the date of your Keelboat Spinnaker, Start Racing or Start Skippering lessons.
• Inside the stipulated reschedule time periods we have our boat, Instructor and other students committed and we will charge a reschedule fee per person per session.
• Rebooking is on a standby basis and subject to availability.

Weather and Attire

• Sailing is an outdoor sport, and we ask that our crew/students arrive for the lesson appropriately attired. 
• We have a limited supply of light wet weather jackets for inclement weather. 
• The Principal, at their sole discretion, may cancel lessons prior to or on the day of the lesson if they deem the weather forecast to be adverse.  We will endeavour to give you as much notice as possible.
• If for reasons of safety the lesson is cancelled the lesson will be rescheduled.
• If weather conditions deteriorate during a lesson, the instructor has the final say on whether lessons will continue.

Section 3: Royal Yachting Association COURSES

RYA Theory Courses

A 50% deposit is required for each eLearning or Virtual/ELearning course booked.

eLearning course login details and materials and Virtual session login details will not be provided until the course has been paid in full.

Virtual sessions are available to supplement eLearning for RYA Day Skipper Theory and RYA Coastal/Yachtmaster Theory courses. These are group sessions, and dates and times cannot be changed without consent of all participants.  

Private sessions can be arranged at additional cost, subject to Instructor availability, to supplement group sessions.

Full private virtual sessions covering the same content as the group sessions can also be arranged, subject to Instructor availability. 

Assumed Knowledge

Essential Navigation and Seamanship (ENS) is the entry level course. There is no prior assumed knowledge.

The Day Skipper Shorebased Theory (DSST) course assumes you have undertaken ENS and understand the basic terminology and concepts of navigation, terminology and collision regulations. While a brief review of ENS concepts are undertaken at the commencement of the DSST, they are not focused on in depth.

The RYA Coastal Skipper Shorebased Theory Course (CSST) is generally undertaken after successful completion of the RYA Day Skipper  Shorebased Theory Course (DSST). We strongly recommend students have a good grasp of theory subjects to DSST level prior to attending the CSST course. Please see the CSST page for a more information on assumed knowledge for this course.

Rescheduling RYA Practical Courses

A non-refundable deposit is required to secure your place on the course, unless booked inside 60 days in which case full payment is required.

Any balance is due 60 days prior to course commencement.

NB:  A fee for Australian Sailing Registration, Insurance, RYA Logbook and Certificates is also due prior to course commencement if you have not been a student of PSS in the prior three (3) months.

Rescheduling Virtual/eLearning Theory Courses and RYA Practical Courses

• You must provide more than 31 days’ notice if you wish to reschedule, cancel or change the date of your course.  Within 31 days of the course start you will forfeit all fees paid.
• We advise you to insure against loss of fees in case of emergency or sickness.
• We will try to organise a replacement in the event of an emergency, however if we are unable to find a replacement the conditions above will be strictly enforced.
• If we are able to find a replacement, a reschedule fee will apply to your subsequent booking. 

Section 4: Winter SEries, Summer Series, Short Haul RAcing, Twilight Racing

More than 15 days’ notice is required to change a booked date. Inside 15 days we have our boat, the crew, and the instructor confirmed.  To rebook – rebooking is on a standby basis and subject to availability.

PSS reserves the right to cancel racing and or training days/or sessions due to weather and/or safety concerns. In such an event an alternate sailing day or session will be rescheduled.

PSS reserves the right to replace racing with training.

Non-attendance on sailing and training days will forfeit those days, they will not be rescheduled or refunded. 

Unused races cannot be carried over to the next season.

Section 6: SAILING HOLIDAYS

A 50% deposit is required for each boat booked, with the balance due 31 days prior to the event. If the balance is not received, we reserve the right to cancel the event.

Minimum numbers must be confirmed 7 days prior to the event.  You may increase numbers, subject to boat and staff availability.  A decrease in numbers will not result in a refund.

Rescheduling Teambuilding Events

• Reschedule more than 7 days from the booked event date – deposit less 20% administration fee.
• Reschedule less than 7 days from the booked event date – 50% reschedule fee per boat. 
• If the Principal determines it is too dangerous to sail, we have the right to cancel and in consultation with the event manager, either arrange for another day or refund less 20%.

Weather and Attire

• Sailing is an outdoor sport, and we ask that our Teambuilding participants arrive for the lesson appropriately attired. 
• We have a limited supply of light wet weather jackets for inclement weather. 
• If for reasons of safety the practical Teambuilding event cannot go ahead the principal in agreement with the group manager may: 1. move to a shore-based theory lesson as an alternative or 2.  rescheduled to a date convenient to the group manager.

Section 9: REFUND POLICY

There is no refund for change of mind.

The PSS refund policy is based on guidelines provided by the NSW Department of Fair Trading which can be found here

Open-dated Courses/lessons – From 1st January 2025 courses are valid for 24 months from the date purchased.

The Principal may, at his sole discretion, agree to reinstate courses more than 24 months old, with payment of the difference between course fee paid and current course fee.

Gift Vouchers – no refund – open dated indefinitely.

Special Offers

To qualify for any special offer, all conditions must be met.

Rescheduling other courses (not specified elsewhere)

Cancellation: All Courses & Programs

If you cancel the Course or Program within 5 days of the date of booking we will refund any monies paid, less a 20% administration charge per course.

There is no refund for courses cancelled more than 5 days from the date of booking. 

Section 9: Privacy

Pacific Sailing School (PSS) is a recognized training center of Australian Sailing (AS) and the Royal Yachting Association (RYA).

PSS policy on the handling of your Personal Information

All Courses

Data policy, terms, and conditions for RYA online courses.

How and why we hold your personal information.

Use of www.ryainteractive.org/ is open to those completing online RYA courses provided by RYA Recognised Training Centres or the RYA. This website is hosted and maintained by a third party called Learning Pool. Learning Pool will not use your personal information for any reason other than enabling your course on this website. In order to take a course, you will be asked for your name, email, date of birth and address. Your name and email address are used for the purposes of recording any grades or certificates achieved and to make contact with you. On completion of your course, your name, email, date of birth and address will be transferred to the RYA database for the purpose of recording details of the course and any certification gained as a result of it. This information allows the RYA to record your certification centrally, and to update any records we may already hold about you or your qualifications. Management of your course and any instructional support that you may need is provided by the RYA Recognised Training Centre that you booked your course with and may be time-limited (please check the center’s booking terms and conditions for details). To allow this to happen the training center has visibility of your progress and achievements in the course. The training center also has visibility of the information in your user profile.

Data sharing for RYA online courses

RTCs offering courses through www.ryainteractive.org are required to include the following data-sharing statement in their booking process or privacy policy, entering the RTC’s instructional support period in the space provided:

To enable access to your online course we need to share some of your personal data with the RYA via your user profile at www.ryainteractive.org. This learning management website is hosted and maintained by a third party called Learning Pool, which 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 center for a period of 12 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, 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.

Cookies

A session cookie is used to provide continuity and maintain your login from page to page. Cookies must be enabled in your browser to allow this to happen. When you log out or close the browser this cookie is destroyed. There is a second cookie that you may choose to allow on the login screen so that your username is remembered each time you log in to the site. This cookie is optional and can be disallowed if you wish.

Length of access

The RYA does not impose a time limit for access while you are actively using the site, however, your training centre may do so and may request the deletion of your user account once that time limit is reached. Please check their booking terms and conditions for details of the length of access and whether a fee is payable for extended access. If you do not actively use the site for one year (evidenced by the date of your most recent login) your user account will be deleted. Any course completion or certification achieved will be recorded on the RYA database.

Requesting the removal of your personal data

If you want your personal data removed from www.ryainterative.org/ prior to the end of your access period, please email your request to [email protected] giving your name and email address. Please note that if you request the deletion of your account before you have completed your course, your access to the course and records of your progress will be lost. If you also want details of your online course removed from the RYA database, please email your request to [email protected] giving your name, date of birth, RYA reference/membership number (if known), and the name of the course you want to be removed from your records. Please note that the removal of course details from the RYA database means that any certification gained as a result of this course will not be verifiable by the RYA, nor would the RYA be able to issue a replacement certificate.

Contact regarding your course

Contact will normally be made by your RYA Recognised Training Centre. However, occasionally the RYA may contact you in relation to your course or account. This would normally be done by email. You will not receive any sales or marketing information from the RYA as a result of holding an account on www.ryainteractive.org/ unless you have given consent via a personal account on www.rya.org.uk/. If you have any questions about how we look after your personal information please contact us by email at [email protected] or by phone on +44 (0)23 8060 4185.

Your course

While the RYA will endeavor to ensure the correct functionality of courses across the most commonly used devices and web browsers, as such technologies evolve continuously, access cannot be guaranteed. Copyright of the courses offered through this site belongs to the RYA. Any additional information added to the site by Recognised Training Centres, coaches or instructors is the responsibility of that person or organization. Course content is devised in good faith and is accurate at the time of publication. While the RYA endeavors to ensure that content is reviewed regularly and appropriate changes are made to ensure that content is correct and up to date, it cannot be held responsible for errors.

Unacceptable use of the site

You must use the site and the information available from the site responsibly. You may be invited to contribute to online activities such as forums, questionnaires, and surveys which may be read by others within your training centre or group. Any comments posted must not break the law, be abusive, pornographic, or sell products or services. Comments posted which contravene this will be removed and your continued access to the site will be reviewed.

Section 4:

PSS disclaimer 

Pacific Sailing School Disclaimer The student acknowledges that there are risks involved with any water sports and accordingly hereby releases Pacific Sailing School Pty Ltd and any of its employees or agents from any liability however arising from personal injury, financial loss, or loss & damage to personal belongings.

Student Disclaimer to sign at the start of your first course

Welcome to Sailing- Today is your introduction to sailing on Sydney Harbour.  I know this will be the start of an incredible voyage.  Set Sail safely and have fun!  Please read our disclaimer and then sign this document and return it to our office prior to setting sail:  Some safety first, can you swim?  If not, ask your Instructor for a Life jacket or a Personal Flotation Device. Please make sure that you are aware at all times of the boom, that you keep your head low, and don’t let your head be hit by the boom. Prior to setting sail, your Instructor will ask if you can swim and conduct a safety briefing. Please ensure that you have non-marking and enclosed soft-soled shoes. Disclaimer – I acknowledge that there are risks involved with any water sports, and accordingly hereby release Pacific Sailing School Pty Ltd. and any of its employees or agents from any liability however arising from personal injury, financial loss, or loss or damage of personal belongings. Booking Conditions – I have read and understood and agree to the booking conditions relating to the rescheduling of lessons, cancellations, and refunds, as set out in the Booking Schedule and on our website. Facebook/Photos – I AUTHORISE /I DO NOT AUTHORISE Pacific Sailing School or their agents to take photographs of me while I am participating in events organized through the School including sailing courses, social occasions, sailing holidays, racing, and Try Sailing workshops, and sailing events, I understand the images may be altered and copy added and I waive the right to approve the finished product that may be reproduced on the School’s website or Facebook pages. Email news – I AUTHORISE/I DO NOT AUTHORISE Pacific Sailing School to add my name to their mail chimp e-newsletter list and email me the newsletter on a regular basis.

Thank you