If you have to cancel for any reason, we require 7 days’ notice to avoid losing your deposit, in the case of a Private Charter, or being charged a cancellation fee, if booked on a Jump Aboard.
Private Charter:
Deposits are ⅓ of the total trip rate. If you are paying by invoice, a separate deposit is not required, but you will be charged if you cancel with less than 7 days’ notice.
Jump Aboard:
If you cancel with less than 7 days’ notice, for any reason, 50% of the total trip rate will be retained as a cancellation fee. If we can fill your spots, and all efforts will be made to, we will waive your cancellation fee.
Other than our harbour trips, we fish in open seas and many days are not ‘lake-like’ conditions, but they are perfectly safe; otherwise, we would have postponed. So when booking your trip, please keep this in mind as we do not refund when a passenger deems a day to be too rough and wants to ‘wait for a better day’, unless 7 days’ notice has been given.
All trips are weather-dependent. We use 4 weather apps when making a call to postpone or not. Swell height and speed, chop and wind strength are all considered.
We have a maximum wind speed of 15 to 20 knots, depending on wind direction, that we operate in.
Your safety is our absolute priority. If the forecast proves to be wrong on the day and conditions are deemed to be unsafe at any point throughout a trip, the boat will return to the dock, and passengers will be partially refunded based on the time spent out there.
All commercial vessels are required to develop a safe operating procedures plan specific to their operation. These plans are assessed and regularly audited by Maritime New Zealand. Each commercial operation is given an overall safety rating for its operation, with the lower the better. Our latest rating, as of July 2023, is 18%, so you really are in safe hands.
Alcohol is permitted on all our trip options except for the Harbour – Take a Kid Fishing trips.
No alcohol is to be consumed before 10am, as it is a long day, and intoxication can become a safety issue.
If a passenger is deemed to have become unstable on their feet, they will be given the option to wear a life jacket or sit inside. Refusal to comply will result in the boat being taken back to the dock.
If the skipper deems a passenger’s behaviour to be unsafe, the passenger will be spoken to and if the behaviour continues the boat may be turned around and taken back to dock.
If this occurs, no refund of the time difference will be given.
Social media (Facebook, Instagram) is our predominant form of advertising, and any photos or videos taken by the crew during a trip will be posted on the page at the end of the day and may be used again at a later date on our promotional material. Please let crew members know if you need to be kept out of any photos taken at the beginning of the trip.
