Privacy policy

Last updated: 2 September 2026

Rob Swain Sailing School BVI Ltd., trading as Swain Sailing School & Yacht Charters (“Swain Sailing”, “we”, “us”, or “our”), respects your privacy and is committed to protecting the personal information you provide to us.

This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, when we may share it, how long we keep it, and the rights you may have in relation to your personal information.

This policy applies to personal information collected through our website, enquiries, bookings, courses, yacht charters, marketing communications, and related business activities.

1. Who we are

Rob Swain Sailing School BVI Ltd. provides sail training, powerboat training, yacht charters, and related services in the British Virgin Islands.

Our contact details are:

Rob Swain Sailing School BVI Ltd.
Trading as Swain Sailing School & Yacht Charters
Condo 1, Village Cay
Road Town, VG1110
British Virgin Islands

Email: sail@swainsailing.com
Telephone: +1 (284) 547-6211

2. Information we may collect

Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect information including:

your name
email address
telephone number
postal address
country of residence
sailing or boating experience
certifications and qualifications
preferred course, charter, vessel, location, and travel dates
booking and payment information
billing information
passenger or crew information
emergency contact information
travel and arrival details
information provided through enquiry, booking, student, crew, travel, provisioning, waiver, or other forms
provisioning or preference information where relevant to a charter
correspondence with us by email, telephone, messaging service, or contact form
newsletter and marketing preferences
website usage information such as pages visited, device type, browser, approximate location, referral source, and interactions with our website

For operational or safety reasons, we may occasionally need additional information from students, charterers, or crew members.

Where necessary, this may include health or medical information relevant to safe participation in a course, charter, or activity.

We aim to collect only information that is relevant to the service being provided.

3. How we collect your information

We may collect personal information when you:

submit an enquiry, booking, student, crew, travel, provisioning, waiver, or other form
contact us by email, telephone, or another communication channel
enquire about or book a course, charter, or other service
subscribe to our mailing list
communicate with an instructor, captain, or member of staff
interact with our website
provide information through a third-party form, payment, booking, or marketing service used by us

We may also receive information from another person making a booking on your behalf, such as a family member, group organiser, or lead charterer.

4. How we use your information

We may use personal information to:

respond to enquiries
provide information about our courses, charters, vessels, and services
process and administer bookings
communicate with students, charterers, and guests before, during, and after a booking
organise instructors, captains, vessels, accommodation, transfers, provisioning, and other operational requirements
assess whether a customer meets course or charter prerequisites
process payments and maintain financial records
provide customer support
manage safety and emergency information
meet legal, regulatory, insurance, or operational requirements
improve our website and services
analyse website use and customer interest
send newsletters, offers, course dates, charter availability, and other marketing communications where permitted
prevent fraud, misuse, or security incidents
establish, exercise, or defend legal claims

We will not use personal information for purposes that are incompatible with the reason it was originally collected unless permitted by law.

5. Basis for using your information

We process personal information where you have given your consent or where processing is otherwise permitted by applicable law.

This may include where processing is necessary to:

respond to your request before entering into a booking or other agreement
perform a contract or booking with you
comply with a legal or regulatory obligation
protect the safety or vital interests of an individual
manage other legitimate and lawful operational requirements

Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time, subject to any legal or contractual requirements that may still apply.

6. Marketing communications

If you subscribe to our newsletter or otherwise agree to receive marketing communications, we may send you information about:

upcoming sailing and powerboat courses
charter availability
special events and sailing experiences
offers and promotions
company news
related sailing information

You can unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time by using the unsubscribe link included in the email or by contacting us.

Unsubscribing from marketing will not prevent us from sending communications that are necessary to administer an existing enquiry, course, charter, or booking.

7. Sharing your information

We do not sell personal information.

We may share personal information where reasonably necessary with service providers and business partners involved in delivering our services.

These may include providers of:

website hosting
online forms
booking and customer-management systems
payment processing
email marketing
analytics
customer communications
accounting
IT and security services

We may also share relevant information with:

instructors and captains
yacht owners or fleet partners where necessary
accommodation, transfer, provisioning, or travel providers where relevant
insurers
professional advisers
government, regulatory, law-enforcement, customs, immigration, maritime, or other authorities where required by law

We aim to provide third parties only with the information reasonably necessary for them to perform the relevant service.

Third-party providers may process personal information on our behalf or, in some cases, independently depending on the service being provided.

8. International transfers

Swain Sailing operates internationally and uses service providers whose systems may be located outside the British Virgin Islands.

As a result, personal information may be transferred to or processed in other countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, or other jurisdictions where our technology or business partners operate.

Where personal information is transferred outside the British Virgin Islands, we take reasonable steps to ensure that the transfer is made in accordance with applicable law and that appropriate safeguards are in place.

9. Payment information

Payments may be processed using third-party payment service providers.

Where a payment provider processes your card details directly, Swain Sailing may not receive or store your complete payment-card information.

Payment providers process information in accordance with their own privacy and security policies.

10. Cookies and website analytics

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies.

Cookies are small files placed on your device that can help websites function properly and provide information about how visitors use the site.

We may use cookies for purposes including:

essential website functionality
security
remembering user preferences
website analytics
measuring advertising or marketing performance
improving website usability

Where required, non-essential cookies will only be used after you have provided consent.

You can manage your cookie preferences through the cookie settings available on our website.

11. Website services and third-party platforms

We use third-party services to support the operation of our website and business.

These may include services for:

website hosting
online forms
email marketing
analytics
payment processing
customer communication
booking administration
IT and security

These providers may process personal information on our behalf or, in some cases, independently depending on the service provided.

Their own privacy policies may also apply when you interact directly with their services.

12. How long we keep your information

We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected.

Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information.

For example, we may retain:

enquiry records for a reasonable period in case you contact us again
booking and financial records for the period required for accounting, tax, legal, or insurance purposes
operational course or charter records where necessary for certification, safety, legal, or business purposes
marketing information until you unsubscribe or we determine that it is no longer appropriate to retain it

When personal information is no longer required, we take reasonable steps to securely delete or destroy it, subject to any legal, regulatory, accounting, insurance, or record-keeping requirements.

13. Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against:

loss
unauthorised access
misuse
alteration
disclosure
destruction

Access to personal information is limited to staff, instructors, contractors, and service providers who reasonably require access for their role.

However, no internet-based system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

14. Your rights

Depending on the circumstances and applicable law, you may have rights concerning your personal information, including the right to:

request access to personal information we hold about you
request correction of inaccurate, incomplete, or outdated information
withdraw consent where processing is based on consent
object to the use of your information for direct marketing
request deletion of information where appropriate and permitted by law

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details provided in this policy.

We may need to verify your identity before responding to certain requests.

15. Information about other people

If you provide personal information about another person, such as another student, charter guest, crew member, emergency contact, or family member, you should ensure that you have permission to provide that information where appropriate.

You should also make them aware that their information may be processed in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

16. Children

Our website and general marketing services are not specifically directed at children.

Where a minor participates in a course or other activity, information may be provided by or with the involvement of a parent or legal guardian as appropriate.

17. External websites

Our website may contain links to third-party websites.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices, content, or security of external websites.

You should review the privacy policy of any third-party website before providing personal information.

18. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in:

our services
our technology
applicable laws
our business practices

The latest version will be published on our website and will show the date it was last updated.

19. Contact us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, how we use personal information, or wish to exercise a privacy right, please contact: