Privacy Policy & GDPR

At Academy Sailing, we take your privacy seriously. This policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use it, and how we keep it safe — whether you’re joining us as a student, guest, or instructor.

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The Type Of Personal Information We Collect

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We currently collect and process the following information from students, customers, instructors and other contractors:

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• Personal identifiers, contacts and characteristics (for example, name, date of birth, contact details, and photographs);

• Sailing qualifications, experience, and professional references;

• Next-of-kin contact details;

• Medical and health information;

• Sailing aspirations and areas of instructional interest;

• Vessel information (where applicable);

• Bank and/or payment information;

• Emergency contact and insurance details (for instructors and contractors);

• Copies of professional certification and documentation (for example RYA qualifications, medical and first aid certificates, instructor agreements and right-to-work information).

How We Get Personal Information And Why We Have It
 

Most of the personal information we process is provided to us directly by you for one of the following reasons:-

 

For students and customers:

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• To respond to your training or sailing enquiries;

• To document your training and sailing qualifications;

• To discharge our duty of care should you be injured or fall ill whilst with us;

• To offer you further sailing or training opportunities;

• To facilitate delivery of your vessel or training aboard it;

• To take payments and to process refunds;

• To investigate complaints on your behalf.

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For instructors and contractors:

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• To confirm your qualifications, competence, and compliance with RYA and Academy Sailing standards;

• To plan course delivery, scheduling, and logistics;

• To fulfil our duty of care and safety obligations whilst you are working with us;

• To process payments and maintain tax, employment, and insurance records;

• To ensure regulatory compliance and quality assurance (including audits by the Royal Yachting Association);

• To investigate complaints or incidents involving you in the course of your work.

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We use the information that you have given us in order to respond, document, verify and contact you appropriately.

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We may share your information with the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) to document sailing qualifications or verify instructor credentials. The RYA may also contact you for quality-assurance purposes or to assist in the investigation of complaints.

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We may also share your information with insurers, regulatory bodies, or anyone you have asked us to (for example to put you in contact with sailing opportunities or vessel owners). We will not share your information with anyone without your permission unless legally required to do so.

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Lawful Basis for Processing

 

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the lawful purposes we rely on for processing this information are:-
 

• Your consent (you can withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us at gdpr@academysailing.co.uk);

• Contractual obligation (for the delivery of training, or for freelance instructor agreements);

• Legal obligation (to comply with tax, safety, and RYA accreditation requirements);

• Vital interests (to protect your health and safety);

• Legitimate interest (for day-to-day operational management, quality assurance, and record keeping).

 

How We Store Your Personal Information
 

Your information is securely stored in electronic format. It may also be held in paper form during courses or training events to ensure immediate access to key details (for example, medical information or next-of-kin contacts).

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We keep contact details, dates of birth, qualifications, and training or employment records for up to ten years. We will then dispose of your information by securely shredding paper records and permanently deleting all electronic and backup copies.

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Instructor and contractor records (including copies of qualifications and payment records) are retained for as long as necessary to meet insurance and audit requirements, typically up to seven years following your last engagement with us.

 

Your Data Protection Rights

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Under data protection law, you have rights including:-

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• Your right of access – You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information.

• Your right to rectification – You have the right to ask us to correct personal information you think is inaccurate or incomplete.

• Your right to erasure – You have the right to ask us to erase your personal information in certain circumstances.

• Your right to restriction of processing – You can ask us to restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.

• Your right to object to processing – You can object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.

• Your right to data portability – You can ask that we transfer the personal information you gave us to another organisation, or to you, in certain circumstances.

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You are not required to pay any charge for exercising your rights. If you make a request, by law we have one month to respond to you.

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Please contact us by emailing office@academysailing.co.uk, or by ringing 01268 944017 if you wish to make a request.

 

How To Complain

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If you’re worried about how your information is being used, please contact us at complaint@academysailing.co.uk. If you’re still unhappy, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO):

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The ICO’s address is; Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. The ICO Helpline number: 0303 123 1113. The ICO's website can be found at https://www.ico.org.uk.