FOA Terms & Conditions and Data Protection & Privacy Policy.
1. Introduction
The Fisher Owners' Association (FOA) is an unincorporated membership organisation providing
sailing and social opportunities for people who love and take great pride in owning, or who are
simply just interested in, the legendary classic Fisher Motor Sailer. The FOA's Terms & Conditions
can be found on tabs at the bottom of each website page and, along with the Constitution, under the
Membership tab. By accessing and using the website and by joining and continuing as a member,
you accept to be bound by these provisions. Should you spot an error or omission on the website or
any online behaviour you do not like, please let us know using the Contact Us tab.
2. Copyright
This website and its contents are copyright of the FOA. The FOA shall be entitled to use any text
and images submitted for newsletters or posted on the Forum, the Library or the Gallery sections of
the website for media, promotional and advertising purposes and also as other content on the
website itself. You may view, print and download website contents for personal use only but the
contents must not be used for any commercial purposes. The material on this website or any part of
it is not to be incorporated or distributed in any work or in any publication in any form without the
permission of the FOA.
One of the benefits of membership of the FOA is the sharing of information, experiences and
opinions between members often, but not exclusively, via the Forum and Library sections of the
website. This is done in good faith and is not necessarily representative of the views or advice of the
FOA or its officers. Accordingly, no warranty or representation is given that the information and
materials contained on the website, including on the Forum and in the Library, are complete or free
from errors or inaccuracies or indeed fit for purpose. You are responsible for verifying the
suitability of any information for your specific circumstances and intended uses. To the extent
permitted by law, the FOA, its officers and members accept no liability for any loss or damage or
expense of any kind.
3. Trademarks
The FOA name, the newsletter name 'FisherLite' and associated logos and insignia are trademarks of
the FOA and shall not be used by any third party without the permission of the FOA.
4. Website, Forum & Links
The FOA website and Forum are open to all registered members of the FOA. A condition of using
the Forum is that a member’s registered username and email on the Forum are the same as their
registered username and contact email on the main FOA website. Passwords may be different but
may be the same if the user wishes.
The FOA website may contain links to other websites and, since we have no control over these, we
will accept no responsibility or liability whatsoever in respect of their content. The FOA has no
objection to your linking its website to a third party website provided that the link to us does not
state or imply a relationship with us that does not exist, especially where it could be taken to be an
FOA recommendation of goods or services.
5. Data Protection & Privacy Policy
You must register to apply for FOA membership, to gain access to FOA members-only areas of the
website, to amend your membership details and to purchase items under the Merchandise tab. When
you register, any details you provide will be retained by us for use on future visits to the site.
Personal information given to us on membership application forms and in the Profile section of the
website is used to compile a register of FOA members and details of their Fishers. It is your
responsibility to keep your own details up to date via the Profile tab and the FOA and its officers
cannot be responsible for any consequences if you do not do this. You agree that such information
may be shared with other members wishing to access membership lists and Profile details and with
FOA duly appointed third party contractors in order to permit communications between members
and to facilitate FOA administration and the running of the FOA website by the FOA and its
officers. To this end, you consent to receiving emails or posts from the FOA, its officers and
members. When shopping via the Merchandise tab on the website, your personal and payment card
details will be collected by PayPal under their terms & conditions. Otherwise, except as required by
law, no disclosure of personal information is to be made to outside parties.
Our website servers are housed behind a secure firewall designed to prevent access to our databases
by unauthorised users. These servers are housed in a secure environment with appropriate levels of
physical security. Nevertheless, we cannot guarantee that your information will be secure during
transmission by you to this website.
To safeguard your privacy and security, there are a number of things you can do to protect yourself
from internet fraud, like choose a password you can remember but others will not guess, change it
regularly, and if you do write it down, keep it somewhere safe and secure. You are responsible for
keeping this password confidential. You must not share the password with anyone. When you have
finished your session on the website, make sure that you prevent your details being seen by anyone
that you do not wish to see them. So, if you have registered and logged in, remember to log off and
clear any 'cache' so there is no record of any transactions left on screen. We also recommend you
then close your browser at the same time clearing any history of the session.
Whilst your personal information is accessible to you via the website, under GDPR (the General
Data Protection Regulation) you may request our written confirmation of the details we hold about
you. Individuals, whether members or not, who use the “Contact Us” tab of the website for making
general enquiries, accept that such personal and enquiry data submitted on the form will be held on
the website in accordance with GDPR.
If you do not renew your membership within 6 months of the 1st January renewal date your
membership data will be erased, with the exception of your forum posts which will be retained
to maintain the post threads’ integrity, unless you explicitly request otherwise in writing to the
Secretary.
6. Cookies
For information about cookies, please refer to the separate tab on the website entitled Cookies
Policy
.
7. Code of Good Conduct
Users of the FOA website must abide by the code of good conduct. The Forum is provided as a
service to members to facilitate the exchange of constructive boating information, experiences and
opinions of a non-commercial nature. It is your Forum, so please post and encourage others to post
according to this code of conduct. By this we ask users to act responsibly and not to use the website
in any way which is detrimental or damaging to the good standing of the FOA or its members; not
to impair the use or availability of the website to users; not to carry out any systematic data
collection for use outside the FOA; not to act in an unlawful, improper or fraudulent manner; not to
post material which is malicious, indecent, obscene, threatening, derogatory, harmful or harassing;
and, except for advertisements approved by the FOA, not to engage in online selling, trading or
marketing for personal gain. The website manager in his/her absolute discretion may suspend a
member's website account for breach of this code and he/she may remove any offending material
from the website. In addition, the management committee of the FOA may use its powers under the
Constitution to suspend or rescind a person's membership for breach of this code.
8. Rallies, Rendezvous, Sail in Company, Gatherings Afloat
a. Official FOA rallies and other events are either organised by the Committee, the Vice
Commodore or Rear Commodores and details are posted on the Rallies & Socials tab of the FOA
website.
b. Unofficial, informal events may be organised by FOA members themselves, such as rendezvous,
sailing in company or other gatherings afloat. Such unofficial events are undertaken at the members’
own risk and, to the extent permitted by law, the FOA and its officers can accept no liability
whatsoever for any loss or damage or expense of any kind arising therefrom.
c. All skippers take full responsibility for the seaworthiness of their vessel; for ensuring their vessel
has at least £2 million third party liability insurance, or, for members outside the United Kingdom,
at least the equivalent in local currency; for adhering to relevant national and local regulations and
bye-laws; and for the safety and behaviour of his/her crew/guests. In addition, skippers assume the
responsibility for briefing his/her crew/guests on the potential risks associated with sailing,
whatever the nature of the event, and the appropriate safety precautions to be taken.
9. Advertising
The Classifieds tab on the website provides a notice board for Fisher owners to advertise Fishers for
sale. In providing this facility, the FOA is not acting as agent or broker for sellers and gives no
warranties or representations and accepts no liability whatsoever for any aspect of the advertised
details or any communications flowing therefrom. That is solely the seller's responsibility. This
disclaimer shall apply equally to any other advertising by third parties on the FOA website.
We recommend that any boat to be purchased is surveyed by a professional yacht surveyor
independent of the seller prior to sale. Buyers buy at their own risk and, to the extent permitted by
law, FOA members sharing any information, experiences or opinions about Fishers accept no
liability whatsoever for any loss or damage or expense of any kind.
10. Discounts from Marine Suppliers
One of the membership benefits of the FOA is the ability to purchase goods and services at a
discount from marine suppliers listed in the Library section of the website. Although the FOA has
negotiated these discounts with the named suppliers, it gives no warranty or representation and
accepts no liability whatsoever for the terms of supply or the quality of goods or services purchased
from these suppliers. The purchasing relationship is solely between the member and supplier in
question.
11. Complaints
If you have cause to complain about anything contained on the FOA website or about the behaviour
of website users, you should use the Contact Us tab on the website to give full written details of
your complaint. The complaint will be investigated by the Secretary who will provide a written
response. If you are not satisfied with the response, you may ask that the matter be reviewed by the
FOA's management committee.
12. Governing Law
These Terms & Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English law and
you consent to the jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales in the event of any dispute
arising in connection with this website, the FOA Constitution or these Terms and Conditions.
6th amendment 13th July 2023