Booking Terms

Blyth Tall Ship

Booking Terms and Conditions

‘Customer’ will refer to the person who is booked for the sailing voyage.

‘The Vessel’ will refer to the Williams II

Our Promise to You

• Ensure that the vessel will be under the command of a suitably qualified individual, supported by the required crew.
• Ensure that all fire-fighting, lifesaving and safety equipment onboard the Williams II conforms to statutory requirements.
• Ensure that all risk assessments and policies are up-to-date and reviewed regularly.
• Wherever possible the date, time, and place for embarking and disembarking the Williams II will be sent to the passengers a minimum of 2 weeks before commencement of the voyage. However, this is not always possible. In these circumstances, passengers will receive initial embarkation details which may be updated nearer the time.
• Blyth Tall Ship reserves the right to cancel or amend a voyage for any reason beyond its control, including, but not limited to, severe weather, which may endanger the safety of the vessel and the crew. Blyth Tall Ship will issue a voucher that can be applied to other voyages but otherwise, accept no liability whatsoever.
• Blyth Tall Ship reserves the right to make necessary amendments to any voyage with regards to start/end destinations or planned itinerary. In the unlikely event of any changes, we will endeavour to contact you at the earliest opportunity. All decisions of any amendments will be made by the skipper and no refunds will be made or liability accepted by Blyth Tall Ship.
• Ensure that all the voyage crew / trainees are properly briefed and trained as required before departure. This can take a varying amount of time depending on the group and the proposed sail. The captain will not depart until he / she is satisfied that everyone is fully briefed and ready. This again is for your personal welfare and safety.

Booking and Payment:

• Access to sailing on the Williams II is by way of direct booking or gift voucher. 
• By purchasing a voucher or directly booking you agree to adhere to these terms and conditions
• Day sails and overnight sails must be paid in full at time of booking. 
• Longer voyages will require a 20% deposit to reserve your berth
• Payment in full is required 90 days before departure
• Payments are taken via Square on our checkout page. Blyth Tall Ship does not hold your payment details.

Cancellation:

• If you cancel a voyage 2 months or more before the start of the voyage then you will be liable for 50% of the full voyage fee
• If you cancel a voyage less than 2 months before the start of your voyage then you will be liable for the full cost of the voyage.
• If you cancel within 14 days of booking, a full refund will be made.
• Your deposit is non-refundable after 14 days
• You are recommended to take out travel insurance to cover yourself should you need to cancel a voyage (see insurance section below)
• We appreciate that things change in life and if you need to change a voyage, please contact us at the earliest opportunity. All changes of voyages or crew are subject to availability and at our discretion. 
• In nearly all cases we will need to take a £50 administration fee if you are due a refund for a cancellation
• In the unlikely event that Blyth Tall Ship are forced to cancel a voyage due unusual and unforeseen circumstances beyond our control, we will endeavour to offer an alternative voyage at a mutually agreeable date. If we have to cancel a voyage due to any other reasons, e.g. mechanical failure, then an alternative voyage will be offered. In all cases our liability is limited to offering a credit voucher only up to the amount paid and we will have no further liability to you in respect of consequential economic loss such as travel to and from ports.

Participation and Health and Medical form

• All customers will have to fill out a health declaration form upon booking a specific voyage
• If this form is not completed one week before your departure date we reserve the right to refuse your space onboard and no refund will be given. This if for your safety and to plan our food for the voyage.

Safety

• All customers will be given a safety briefing
• All customers shall abide by the rules set out by the skipper on the voyage

Under 18

• We regret that we cannot let people under the age of 15 sail with us
• 15 year olds can attend a daysail with a parent or guardian.16-18 can attend solo for day sails with a release form. 16-18 can attend an overnight voyage with a parent or guardian.

Behaviour

• All customers will show respect to their fellow passengers, crew, and skipper
• All customers will agree to follow any instruction given by professional crew
• The Williams II has a Zero Tolerance Bullying Policy

Accommodation and Food

• There are a variety of bunks available on the Williams II. They shall be assigned on a per voyage basis closer to the time. If you have any special needs please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
• All food is prepared fresh in our galley by the cook. There will be a food questionnaire when you book your space. While we try our best to accommodate food allergies it is not always possible in extreme circumstances in our tiny kitchen. Please email adventure@williams-sailing.co.uk to discuss.

Access

• Unfortunately our ship is not wheelchair accessible. To book an amazing voyage for wheelchair users on a Tall Ship please check out Tenacious- https://sailtraininginternational.org/vessel/tenacious/
• There is a 2m ladder to access the ship and a set of steep stairs to access the saloon and accomodation. If you have any concerns about this please get in touch.
• As we are a Gaff rigged Ketch, there will be no need to ‘go aloft’ into the rigging (unless you want to!) There are opportunities to climb out into the net under the bowsprit but this is not a requirement.

Media Release

• All customers are requested to sign a media release allowing use of your image and likeness in photos and video for promotional use on our website and social media. We will never sell images of your likeness to third parties.

Insurance

• Blyth Tall Ship is covered by professional insurance that includes third party liability. This does not cover you for any loss or damage to your property not attributable to our negligence or defects in the vessel. For overnight sails from Blyth we recommend you take out your own travel insurance to cover as a minimum, medical and personal accident expenses, travel costs, loss and damage to personal effects, covering sailing over 12 nautical miles offshore and voyage cancellation. 

• For any voyage lasting more than 3 days we will REQUIRE you to show proof of insurance to cover your voyage. We recommend Topsail Insurance:
• https://topsailinsurance.com/travel-insurance/

Liability

Sailing can be a particularly dangerous activity in rough weather which may be encountered at any time during the voyage. Blyth Tall Ship shall not be liable for any damage, loss or injury consequential, direct, economic or indirect, arising out of, or in connection with the specified voyage. The Skipper and permanent crew of sailing vessel Williams II shall have no responsibility for the failure of the vessel to complete the voyage or scheduled programme, due to severe weather, mechanical breakdown whilst at sea or for any other reason beyond the control of Blyth Tall Ship or any other person for whom Blyth Tall Ship is legally responsible.

Updates

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. The updated version will be indicated by an updated “Revised” date and the updated version will be effective as soon as it is accessible. If we make material changes to this privacy policy, we may notify you either by prominently posting a notice of such changes or by directly sending you a notification. We encourage you to review this privacy policy frequently to be informed of how we are protecting your information. 

This policy updated June 2023