Academy Terms
Read our RYA training and own-boat tuition terms below. Booking details and signatures are completed through our secure form.
Complete the academy booking and signing form
BH Marine Academy LLP – RYA Training and Own-Boat Tuition Terms and Conditions
Important: Please read these terms before signing. They form part of the contract between BH Marine Academy LLP (“the Academy”, “we”, “us”) and the person making the booking and each participant (“you”). The booking confirmation or invoice identifies the course or service, dates, location, vessel and fee.
1. Contract and scope
1.1 A contract is formed when we accept the booking and receive any payment due. The person making a group booking confirms that they have authority to provide booking information and will ensure that every participant receives these terms.
1.2 These terms apply to RYA courses delivered on Academy vessels and to own-boat tuition. Vessel deliveries and other commercial services require separate written terms unless expressly included in the booking confirmation.
1.3 Nothing in these terms affects rights that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.
2. Booking, fees and expenses
2.1 Fees and payment dates are stated on the invoice. A place is not secured until the required deposit or payment has cleared. We may withhold joining instructions, course materials, examination entry, certificates or other deliverables while sums are overdue, where lawful.
2.2 The booking price covers only the items expressly stated. Travel, accommodation, berthing, fuel, examination, licence, certification, postage and third-party charges are excluded unless the booking confirmation says otherwise.
2.3 Agreed expenses and third-party costs may be payable in advance. Any balance or supported additional expense is payable in accordance with the invoice.
3. Information, fitness and participation
3.1 You must provide accurate booking, contact, experience and health information and notify us promptly of any material change.
3.2 A medical condition, disability, neurodivergence or support need does not automatically prevent participation. We will consider reasonable adjustments, but may require further information or decline, postpone or modify participation where reasonably necessary for safety or where the course requirements cannot be met.
3.3 You are responsible for deciding whether to seek medical advice. You must bring required medication and tell the instructor privately about any relevant emergency treatment or safe-storage requirement.
3.4 You must not participate while impaired by alcohol, illegal drugs, medication, fatigue or illness in a manner that may affect safety.
4. Courses, instruction and certification
4.1 RYA courses are delivered in accordance with the applicable syllabus and standards. Attendance or payment does not guarantee competence, successful assessment or the issue of a certificate.
4.2 The instructor may withhold a certificate or recommend further training where the required standard has not been demonstrated. Any additional training is subject to availability and the current applicable fee.
4.3 Course content, vessel, instructor, operating area and timetable may be reasonably changed where required by safety, weather, vessel availability, operational needs or RYA requirements, provided that the essential training service is not materially reduced.
5. Safety, conduct and the instructor’s authority
5.1 The skipper or instructor has final authority concerning navigation, seamanship, weather, vessel operation and the safety and welfare of persons aboard.
5.2 You must follow safety instructions, participate in briefings, use safety equipment as directed and behave responsibly towards instructors, crew, other students, vessels and property.
5.3 We may suspend or end a participant’s involvement where conduct, impairment, health, preparation or refusal to follow reasonable instructions creates a material safety risk or seriously disrupts training. No refund is due where removal results from the participant’s serious misconduct or material breach, subject to applicable consumer law.
6. Cancellation or rearrangement by the Academy
6.1 We may cancel, postpone, curtail or rearrange training because of unsafe weather, sea state, vessel defect, instructor illness, operational necessity or another circumstance outside our reasonable control.
6.2 Where practical, we will offer reasonable alternative arrangements. If we cancel before the service begins and cannot provide a reasonable alternative, we will refund the affected course fee paid to us.
6.3 Where practical training is curtailed after it begins, we will normally offer a replacement date for the undelivered element. If a reasonable replacement cannot be provided, any refund will be limited to the proportion of the service not supplied.
6.4 We are not responsible for a participant’s travel, accommodation, subsistence, loss of earnings or other consequential arrangements. Appropriate travel and cancellation insurance is strongly recommended.
7. Cancellation or rearrangement by the client
7.1 Cancellations and requests to transfer dates must be made in writing to admin@bhmarine.co.uk and take effect when received.
7.2 More than 30 days before the start date, we may permit a transfer or refund sums paid less a reasonable administration charge of up to £200 and any non-recoverable third-party costs already incurred.
7.3 Within 30 days of the start date, you are responsible for the reasonable loss arising from the cancellation, subject to our duty to mitigate that loss. If we resell the place, any refund will take account of the sum recovered, less the administration charge and non-recoverable costs.
7.4 A transfer is not confirmed until agreed in writing. Unless otherwise agreed, transferred or weather-affected training must be completed within six months. This does not remove any statutory right or remedy.
8. Own-boat tuition
8.1 The owner remains responsible for ensuring that the vessel is seaworthy, properly maintained, appropriately equipped, legally compliant and insured for the intended activity, instructor and operating area.
8.2 Before training, the owner must obtain any insurer, marina, lender, charterer or other consent required and provide evidence when reasonably requested.
8.3 The owner must disclose known defects, limitations and unusual operating features. The instructor may refuse to commence or may stop tuition where the vessel, equipment, documentation, weather or proposed operation is unsuitable or unsafe.
8.4 We do not warrant the vessel’s condition and are not responsible for loss caused by a pre-existing or latent defect, ordinary breakdown, inadequate maintenance or inaccurate information supplied by the owner, except to the extent caused by our negligence.
8.5 Where own-boat tuition cannot proceed, is interrupted or requires additional attendance because the vessel is unserviceable or unavailable due to a mechanical, electrical, rig, hull or equipment defect, or because of a delay attributable to the client, each additional day will be charged at £450. Agreed travel, accommodation, subsistence, berthing and other reasonable expenses are payable in addition.
8.6 Unless agreed otherwise in writing, the owner remains the vessel’s person in charge and retains responsibility for the vessel, its insurance and compliance, while allowing the instructor sufficient control to deliver instruction safely.
9. Online and third-party courses
9.1 Where an online course, examination or learning platform is supplied by a third party, the booking confirmation will identify that provider and any additional terms. Your contract for that element may be directly with the provider.
9.2 Access periods, technical requirements, examination rules and support arrangements are those notified for the relevant course. You are responsible for suitable equipment and internet access.
10. Liability
10.1 Nothing excludes or limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.
10.2 Boating involves inherent hazards. You accept the ordinary risks that remain after reasonable safety measures are taken and agree to follow the skipper’s or instructor’s directions.
10.3 Subject to clause 10.1, we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, loss of profit, business, opportunity, anticipated savings, travel or accommodation, or loss of or damage to personal property, except where such exclusion would be unlawful.
10.4 Nothing in these terms makes you responsible for loss caused by our negligence. Any further financial limit of liability will apply only if expressly stated in writing and approved under our insurance arrangements.
11. Personal property and insurance
11.1 Personal belongings are brought at the owner’s risk. You should carry suitable insurance for cancellation, travel, medical expenses and valuable equipment.
11.2 You are responsible for damage caused deliberately, recklessly or through a material failure to follow reasonable instructions.
12. Data protection
12.1 We process personal information to administer bookings, deliver training, manage safety, take payment, maintain records and, where applicable, register or verify qualifications with the RYA or an authorised provider.
12.2 Health information is special-category personal data. It will be used only where a lawful basis and applicable special-category condition exist, restricted to those who reasonably need it, and retained in accordance with our privacy and retention arrangements.
12.3 Relevant information may be shared with instructors, the RYA, authorised course providers, emergency services, insurers or professional advisers where necessary and lawful. Further information is available in the Academy’s privacy notice.
13. Marketing and images
13.1 Marketing consent and permission to use identifiable photographs or video are optional and separate from acceptance of these terms. Refusal does not affect eligibility to train.
13.2 Consent may be withdrawn for future use by contacting admin@bhmarine.co.uk. Withdrawal does not affect lawful use already made before withdrawal.
14. Participants under 18
14.1 A parent or legal guardian must complete or approve the booking and health declaration for a participant under 18 and provide accurate emergency information.
14.2 Safeguarding requirements and supervision arrangements will apply. We may require the parent or guardian to remain available or provide further written consent.
15. Complaints
15.1 Raise any immediate safety or training concern with the instructor as soon as reasonably possible. Formal complaints should be sent to admin@bhmarine.co.uk with sufficient detail for investigation.
15.2 We will acknowledge and investigate complaints fairly. These terms do not restrict any statutory right, complaint to the RYA where applicable, or other lawful remedy.
16. General
16.1 Neither party is liable for delay or failure caused by circumstances beyond reasonable control, but each will take reasonable steps to minimise the effect.
16.2 If any provision is invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in effect. A failure to enforce a right is not a waiver of that right.
16.3 No person other than the parties has a right to enforce this contract, except where legislation provides otherwise.
16.4 The contract is governed by the law of England and Wales. The courts with jurisdiction under applicable consumer law will deal with any dispute.
