In these Booking Terms and Conditions, the following terms shall be used by the parties in the following meaning:

Sailing Duck means a charter agency offering a yacht booking service in the name and for the account of the Customer;

Charter Company means an owner or an authorized representative of the owner of the yacht;

Skipper is an individual holding a relevant license confirming the availability of sailing and maritime navigation competence, as well as a certificate of authorization to use the VHF radio;

Yacht means any ship designed for sports, tourist and leisure needs.

Booking a yacht at www.sailingduck.com, you agree that Sailing Duck is booking a yacht on your behalf and at your expense for the specified dates directly from the Charter Company, whereof you will receive a booking confirmation to your email address. Booking allows you to book a yacht and additional services for a specific time, date, port and at the agreed time.

Subsequently, when taking a yacht, you will get an agreement signed by an authorized representative of the Charter Company, and the confirmation of the payment made, signed directly by the Charter Company. The yacht charter agreement shall be governed by the laws of the country where you get a yacht. The agreement is concluded by and between you and the Charter Company at the time of yacht receipt, provided that you comply with all yacht charter requirements.

Booking a yacht

Booking a yacht at www.sailingduck.com, you agree to pay the cost of charter (charter) of a yacht and mandatory fees (yacht cleaning, additional equipment) specified in the information about the yacht.

Booking is not a yacht charter agreement. Booking a yacht, you are granting your consent to receive an electronic copy of the booking terms and conditions to your e-mail address. Booking shall be governed by the laws of the country of residence of the charter agency.

The yacht may be chosen and booked in several ways:

1. Visit sailingduck.com and fill out the yacht search form, select the preferred filters and search for results. After you choose the yacht, you can:
   1. Send an offer, and you will receive a pdf-file with description of the selected yacht to your mailbox. Please, note, that in this case the yacht remains available for booking by the third parties.
   2. Open an option; this yacht will be pre-booked by you for 4 to 7 calendar days, and you will receive a confirmation of the yacht option to your mailbox. Upon expiry of the said term, the yacht will become available for booking by the third parties again. You cannot choose an option for more than 3 boats.
   3. Direct booking, i.e. book the yacht. Within 24 hours, you will receive a booking confirmation to your mailbox, as well as the advance payment instructions. To confirm the booking, you need to pay 50% of the cost within 4 days, and the balance of 50% – 45-30 days prior to commencement of the charter.
2. At this website, you will fill out the offer request form, and within 24 hours, we will send you the offers, which are the most relevant to your request.

After you select the yacht, you receive a booking confirmation to your mailbox and advance payment instructions. You need to make an advance payment within 4 days according to the invoice at any branch of your bank, or use the payment system PayPal. The transfer fee is 4%.

Please, note that upon receipt of the yacht, you need to provide a payment card used to make a booking, since it is used as a due diligence form to make sure that the yacht is leased to a person booking the same. For some groups of yachts, you need to provide two payment cards, issued in the name of the person who made the booking, and the person who is a skipper.

If you fail to present the payment card used to make the booking, we reserve the right to cancel your booking and charge to your payment card any losses incurred by us (to the extent permitted by law).

The port may, at its option, provide you with charter services at the cost calculated at the time of such service registration at the port, provided that the yacht is available and you comply with all charter requirements.

When making a booking, you are paying for the rental period and any additional services during the yacht booking. Not all additional services can be paid when booking. They can be paid at the port. Additional services, which have been pre-booked, but cannot be pre-paid, will be designated as services payable at the port.

Booking cancellation

You can cancel your booking only by writing to us at hello@sailingduck.com, and indicate “cancel” or “cancelation” in the subject line. We do not accept cancellation by telephone or in any other way, except for the one stated above.

If you cancel your booking for more than 90 calendar days prior to the commencement of the charter, you get back the total price you paid less the bank charges or any other fee related to the amount transfer.

If you cancel a booking more than 30 calendar days before the start of charter, a penalty in the amount of 50% of the rental shall be charged. All fees for additional services paid in advance shall be refunded in full less the bank fees or any other fees related to transfer of the amount.

For cancellations less than 30 calendar days before the start of the charter, a penalty in the amount of 100% of the rental shall be charged.

In the event of non-compliance with charter requirements, a penalty in the amount of 100% of the rental cost shall be charged.

Should you fail to cancel your booking and arrive to receive the yacht at the port a penalty in the amount of 100% of the rental shall be charged.

You have the right to prove that neither the Charter Company nor Sailing Duck suffered any loss, or that the loss suffered is considerably lower than the amount of the fine, and if you succeed in proving this fact, you may be eligible for a full or partial refund. At the same time, it may be possible to reduce the amount of the fine only if Sailing Duck or the Charter Company managed to find a customer for the same yacht and for the same dates; in this case, the yacht rental shall be equal to or higher than the rental paid by the Customer.

These terms and conditions of the booking cancellation may vary depending on the Charter Company. Should the Charter Company, who is the owner of the selected yacht, have the cancellation conditions other than those described above, you will be informed about the same separately prior to the advance payment.

In the case of emergency, where the yacht is not ready for charter by you because of damage inflicted by the previous charterer or in any other force majeure, you will be offered an alternative or an adequate substitute, or refunded all the money for the yacht charter.

Price

The cost of leasing a yacht shall be calculated in view of the dates specified by you and time of receipt and return of the yacht at the port (dispatch/arrival), charter term and selected class of the yacht.

The cost of additional services, such as additional packages for reduction of liability, delivery, accessories, as well as other additional goods and services shall be calculated according to the specified start and end dates and times, as well as the ports where you will receive and return the yacht.

Unless specified otherwise, the price also includes all the expenses you have to pay, for example, the yacht tax, local taxes and any additional port fees. In some ports, there is an additional charge. Do not worry, it will be included in the quoted price, but it may be shown as a separate item in your charter agreement or receipt.

Skipper’s qualification

For a bareboat yacht charter, you must hold a relevant license, confirming the sailing and maritime navigation competence, as well as a certificate of authorization to use the VHF radio. In order to avoid any misunderstanding, please, provide the copies of the said documents.

You will need to submit the above documents in original upon receipt of the yacht.

The Charter Company shall be entitled to challenge your expertise, and in this case you will be asked to demonstrate your qualifications during a short passage under sail together with a representative of the Charter Company. Should you fail to confirm your competencies, you will be offered a skipper at an extra charge or refused to charter a yacht.

We can refuse to provide the yacht to the persons, who (i) do not have a relevant license, confirming the availability of sailing and maritime navigation competence, as well as a certificate of authorization to use the VHF radio, which are valid for use in the country of charter; (ii) do not have an official translation (if applicable); (iii) do not have experience in the field of sailing, seafaring, and navigation; (iv) do not comply with local requirements; (v) have a criminal record or an administrative penalty related to irregularities in the yacht control; or (vi) failed to pass security checks.

The skipper shall be responsible for checking any legal requirements applicable in the country in which it is going to operate the yacht.

A person leasing the yacht shall prove its identity, namely to provide a valid passport or an identification card/document. Then photo on the documents must be recognizable. The Customer may be required to confirm its address using the recent bills or bank statement, or records in official documents indicating the Customer’s address. The skipper shall ensure indicating its personal mailing address in the charter agreement.

Crew list

At least two weeks before the beginning of the charter, you need to provide a complete crew list (a form to be filled in will be sent to your mailbox). Any changes in the crew composition shall be specified in the crew list. The persons not specified in the crew list may not stay onboard. The crew list may not include more passengers than allowed by the yacht certification.

Security check

After the booking, you agree to be identified, to have your and/or accompanying persons’ licenses and certificates checked, and to have the credit card used for booking and charter of the yacht verified.

The Charter Company shall be entitled to refuse to charter the yacht if you or any other person specified in the charter agreement as a rental payer failed the check. This results in determination that the yacht charter to you or another person indicated as a payer, or any other skipper is risky. The Charter Company shall be entitled not to allow the skipper to control the yacht, should he fail any check. The Charter Company shall be entitled to refuse to charter the yacht, should you or any other person making a payment is in arrears in any amount to this or any other Charter Company.

If the information provided by you proves to be false or misleading, it shall be deemed a breach of the agreement. In this case, you will have to pay any costs or damages incurred by the Charter Company and Sailing Duck.

Check in procedure

Yacht shall be accepted on Saturday after 5.00 p.m., unless a different day is agreed in advance.

The customer must provide the booking confirmation, the crew list, the original skipper license and a certificate of authorization to use the VHF radio.

The yacht should be provided by the charter company in a completely seaworthy, good condition, with full tanks of fuel and water. It must be returned in the same condition.

The customer shall inspect all the equipment of the yacht together with the Charter Company representative, make sure that all instruments and mechanisms are in good working order, that sails are intact and that the rescue equipment is available, with a current validity.

After the inspection, an inspection certificate indicating any comments revealed during the inspection must be signed.

The Charter Company may request you to confirm your qualifications and ability to control the yacht by navigation to the yacht in the presence of Charter Company representatives. The related costs shall be incurred by the Customer, and the test time should be included in the yacht charter period. Where, after inspection, the Charter Company decides that the Customer cannot be responsible for the yacht, an official skipper shall be appointed, and the Customer shall pay for its services according to the price list. Should the Customer reject the appointed skipper, it shall be prohibited from leaving the port, the agreement will be canceled, and the paid booking amount shall be retained by the Charter Company without the Customer’s right to claim damages.

Yacht security deposit

As a general rule, a non-refundable deposit is required to cover the possibility of damage to the yacht and its equipment, including the damage caused by the Customer to a third party. The amount and rules of the refundable security deposit shall be communicated to the Customer upon receipt of the yacht.

In some cases, a security deposit may be insured. This can be done through the Charter Company or through our partners.

Unacceptable behavior

The Charter Company representatives may refuse to charter the yacht to you, if you or some other person accompanying you behave inappropriately, for example, are in a state of alcohol or drug intoxication, or your behavior or the behavior of the persons accompanying you is offensive or aggressive towards the staff or customers of the Charter Company.

Check out procedure

Yacht shall be returned on Saturday before 9.00 a.m., unless a different day is agreed in advance. The yacht is expected to arrive at the port of destination specified in the booking confirmation and agreement by 4.00 p.m. on Friday, on the eve. The Customer shall be entitled to stay on board until Saturday 9.00 a.m.

The yacht should be returned in the same condition as it was during the reception, with full fuel tanks. When the tanks are not full, the Customers will be asked to pay for the bill from the fueling station.

In the same way as during the yacht acceptance, an inspection with the Charter Company representative shall be conducted.

When the yacht is not returned to the named port, the Customer shall pay all costs associated with the delivery of the yacht, as well as losses incurred by the Charter Company in this regard.

Any delay in the yacht return due to weather conditions cannot be referred to as justification, since it is the skipper’s responsibility to stay at a distance from the destination port, which will allow it to deliver the yacht without delay during the last 24 hours before the delivery. Any delay by more than 1 hour can be the reason for collection of a fine according to standard conditions of the Charter Company.

Limitation of liability

Sailing Duck and/or the Charter Company shall not be liable for losses incurred by you, unless Sailing Duck and/or the Charter Company overtly violated the booking terms and conditions, and unless such losses are the result of the Customer’s actions during the booking process or after booking. We and/or the Charter Company shall not be liable for any indirect (indirect) losses (including, but not limited to, loss of profits, lack of enjoyment of the service received, or loss of potential opportunities, actions or omissions). These limitations shall not apply to the extent prohibited by law. Nothing in these booking terms and conditions is intended to restrict your statutory rights in relation to the refund (if any).