Our website address is: www.elitesailing.co.uk
We will update our website from time to time with new functions, features and information which may mean we will update our privacy policy to support these amendments and let you know accordingly, so we recommend that if you want to know what changes may affect you, please do take a look at our Privacy Policy on a regular basis.
We take our responsibility of keeping all data safe and protected very seriously and any changes implemented will be to improve our website viewing experience, to help us improve our business, better market our products and services to reach our potential customers but not to compromise the security of data gathered.
In simple terms this is what happens when you engage and book on-line and some terms you may want to better understand.
What is a Cookie?
Cookies are usually small text files, given ID tags that are stored on your computer’s browser directory or program data subfolders. Cookies are created when you use your browser to visit a website that uses cookies to keep track of your movements within the site, it can help you resume where you left off, remember your registered login, theme selection, preferences, and other customization functions. The website stores a corresponding file (with same ID tag) to the one they set in your browser and in this file, they can track and keep information on your movements within the site and any information you may have voluntarily given while visiting the website, such as email address.
Cookies usually don’t contain much information except for the URL (website address) of the website that created the cookie, the duration of the cookie’s abilities and effects, and a random number. Due to the little amount of information a cookie contains, it usually cannot be used to reveal your identity or personally identifying information.
There are two types of cookies: session cookies and persistent cookies. Session cookies are created temporarily in your browser’s subfolder while you are visiting a website. Once you leave the site, the session cookie is deleted. On the other hand, persistent cookie files remain in your browser’s subfolder and are activated again once you visit the website that created that particular cookie. A persistent cookie remains in the browser’s subfolder for the duration period set within the cookie’s file.
What is an IP address?
An IP address provides an identity to a networked device. Similar to a home or business address supplying that specific physical location with an identifiable address, devices on a network are differentiated from one another through IP addresses. This is how you are identified when you visit a website.
What personal data do we collect?
On-line booking
We use a well-supported database for our on-line booking system which has been designed specifically for Elite Sailing. This allows our clients to add their personal details on-line when they have registered their interest for one of our courses. Afterwards you will receive updates and relevant information about sailing and your email details will be added to our mailing list. All our newsletters offer an unsubscribe button, enabling you to opt-out of receiving newsletters at any time.
If at any time you do not wish Elite Sailing to hold any personal details about you, let us know and we will remove these from our data system. Any medical information requested is for the safety of yourself and other crew whilst you are on-board our yachts or participating on one of training courses.
We do not share your details with anyone. The details requested are only to support our booking system and to enable us to update our records about the course or event you are attending.
All payments for any courses or events are hosted and managed by an external authorised payment portal.
Media
Social media engagement with us will mean you are sharing information about yourself, to include; your comments, any images you post, location and you may be tracked as part of our website or social media traffic analytics. We sometimes use pixels (pieces of coding) to further track traffic from our social media sites, this is especially relevant when we are running a campaign and want to understand who it appealed to and who engaged with us. This may provide information that is of interest to us in a generic way, for example; did you view on a mobile or desktop and how did you engage with us.
On-line contact from
When people email us using the website email form or our email address, this in turn allows us to communicate directly with you. The email form will ask for your email address, telephone number and full name for purposes of processing the communication. All these details will remain on our computer as part of our dialogue with you.
If at any time you wish us to remove your details from our email server, please let us know and we will remove it immediately. We never share email addresses.
Shared links
From time to time we may share links to our website and social media accounts, these links will be tracked by us and from the original source, and you need to be aware that if you open a link you are being monitored. Everyone loves to know what interests people, that’s all!
Analytics
Success of websites is closely monitored and determined by the volume of traffic, the clicks and the calls to action. We use Google analytics and tracking pixels.
Data sharing for RYA online courses
To enable access to your online course we need to share some of your personal data with the RYA via your
user profile in www.ryainteractive.org. This learning management website is hosted and maintained by a
third party called Learning Pool, who will not use your personal information for any reason other than
enabling your course.
Your name and email address will be entered on www.ryainteractive.org in order to create your user
account. On your first access to the site, you will be asked to enter your address and date of birth. You will
have access to the site for one year in order to complete your online course. During this period, your
personal information will be held on the website by Learning Pool and be available to this training centre and
the RYA for the purpose of managing your course.
Instructional support will be provided by this training centre for a period of one year from the date of your course booking.
On completion of your course, your name, email, date of birth and address will be transferred to the RYA’s
central database for the purpose of recording details of the course and any certification you gain as a result
of it. This information allows the RYA to record your certification, to update any records they may already
hold about you or your qualifications and to verify your certificate if required.
After one year from the date of your enrolment on a course, your user account will be removed from
www.ryainteractive.org.
Full details of how the RYA will deal with your personal information will be displayed when you first access
www.ryainteractive.org.
For the duration of your access to the site, your data will be held in accordance with the RYA Interactive
Data Policy, Terms and Conditions.
If you receive a digital certificate downloaded from the RYA Interactive site on completion of your course,
your name, address, date of birth and certificate details will be transferred to the RYA database and held in
accordance with the RYA’s Privacy Policy.
What this means is most websites including ours, now host some coding that helps us monitor website traffic and the information gathered can report what pages on the website were most visited and for how long. This therefore means when you are on a website your browsing history may be tracked. It doesn’t mean we know anything personal about you, but your visit does become part of website traffic history and fundamentally helps build a picture of website habits, viewing trends which ultimately can help us improve our marketing, make us review the information we host and potentially helps us to improve our stats.
Today’s world is all about gathering data to improve experiences and learn about what people like, enjoy and how best to market to them. In doing so information is constantly being gathered all the time.
What you need to know is we never share this data; the data is for our use and to help us be even better and improve our services.
