TheKITECAT — Trip Agreement & Participation Terms
Document LEG-001 · 2027 season · Version 2.1 · 22 October 2026 · Accepted electronically at booking by every guest; a signed copy with your declarations is required before the final balance. Read together with the Guest Payment & Cancellation Policy (INS-002).
1. The parties and this agreement
1.1 This agreement is between TheKITECAT Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales under number 15773913, registered office 50 North Street, Havant, Hampshire PO9 1QU, United Kingdom, info@thekitecat.com ("we", "us", "TheKITECAT"), and each person who books or takes part in a trip ("you"). TheKITECAT Ltd is the organiser of the trip and your only contracting party. No director, employee, skipper, crew member, instructor, trip collaborator, trip promoter or other individual involved in the trip is personally a party to this agreement.
1.2 Your contract is made of three documents: your booking confirmation, this agreement and the Guest Payment & Cancellation Policy (INS-002). If they conflict, the booking confirmation prevails on dates, cabin and price, INS-002 prevails on payments, cancellations, changes and refunds, and this agreement prevails on everything else. Information on our website, social media, brochures or messages from a collaborator or promoter is not part of the contract unless repeated in your booking confirmation.
1.3 You accept this agreement and INS-002 electronically before paying your deposit, by ticking the dedicated boxes in the booking process; we record the date, time, document version and device identifier of your acceptance, and that record is our evidence of your acceptance. The lead guest accepts on behalf of every guest in the booking and undertakes to give them these documents; each guest must also complete the declarations in section 18 before the final balance is due. A signature before the balance confirms the acceptance already given at booking; it does not postpone or condition the contract.
1.4 This agreement applies to every trip we operate, including weeks sold by a trip collaborator under its own name or recommended by a trip promoter. A collaborator or promoter has no authority to change these terms or to make commitments on our behalf.
2. The trip
2.1 Your trip is a small-group week on board a crewed sailing catamaran of the type described on the trip page or a similar yacht, with a skipper and crew provided by us. Your booking confirmation states the dates, destination region, cabin arrangement, trip price, the services included and any add-ons you have booked. Services not listed as included are not included (see INS-002 section 4.5). Flights, transfers and accommodation before or after the trip are not part of the trip, even if we give you suggestions; book flexible arrangements and insure them.
2.2 The route, anchorages and kite spots depend on wind, weather, sea state, regulations and the skipper's judgement. Any itinerary, spot list, programme or photo shown before the trip is an illustration, not a commitment. Wind is never guaranteed.
2.3 Joining instructions with the boarding place and times are sent before departure. On a changeover day guests usually leave the yacht by 09:00 and board from 17:00. If you arrive late or at another place, joining the yacht is at your own cost and subject to the skipper's agreement.
3. Payments, cancellations and changes
Payments, cancellation charges, transfers, changes, refunds and what happens if we change or cancel are governed by INS-002, which you accept by booking. In short: a €1,000 non-refundable deposit per guest at booking, 50 % of the trip price 90 days before embarkation, the balance 60 days before, cancellation charges that increase as the trip approaches, and compulsory travel insurance.
4. Who can join and your declarations
4.1 Every guest must be at least 18 years old on the embarkation date.
4.2 You declare that you can swim at least 50 metres unaided in open water, and that you are physically and mentally fit to live on a sailing yacht for a week in a hot climate: climbing in and out of a tender from the water, moving on a deck at sea, sharing a small space, and coping with sun, heat, motion and limited medical facilities.
4.3 You must complete our confidential medical and ability form no later than 30 days before embarkation, answer it truthfully and completely, and tell us in writing of any change before you travel, including any medical condition, medication, allergy, pregnancy, injury or reduced mobility that could affect your safety or that of others at sea. We rely on your answers. We may ask for a medical certificate.
4.4 You declare your kitesurfing, foiling and sailing level honestly at booking. Some weeks require an independent level (riding upwind, relaunching and self-rescuing unassisted); if your level does not match your declaration, the crew may limit or refuse your participation in water activities, without refund.
4.5 If information you give is inaccurate or incomplete, or if we reasonably consider that your condition or ability presents a safety risk for you or others that cannot be managed by a proportionate adjustment, we may refuse your booking, boarding or an activity. If this happens before embarkation it is treated as a cancellation by you under INS-002 section 6; if it happens during the trip, INS-002 section 6.5 applies.
4.6 Passports, visas, vaccinations, health and entry requirements for every country visited, including the state of your passport and any onward or return-ticket requirement, are your responsibility. Check official sources well before departure. If you are refused entry, boarding or clearance, or cannot join the yacht, for lack of a document, no refund is due and you bear any resulting cost. You must carry your passport on board for customs and immigration clearances.
5. Life on board
- Cabins: guests share double cabins unless a solo cabin is booked. A guest travelling alone shares only with a guest of the same gender. The crew allocates cabins and may change allocations to suit the group or the yacht.
- Luggage: one soft bag per person plus your kite bag. Space, fresh water and electricity are limited and must be used with care.
- Smoking and vaping are not allowed inside the yacht. Alcohol is permitted in moderation and never before or during water activities, swimming or tender use; the skipper may stop the service of alcohol at any time.
- Drugs: possession or use of illegal drugs on board or ashore during the trip is strictly forbidden and leads to immediate removal from the trip without refund; you alone bear any legal consequence, including for the yacht.
- Guests and third parties: no one may board or stay on the yacht without the skipper's permission.
- You respect local laws, customs, marine parks and reserves, other boats and the communities we visit.
6. Safety and the skipper's authority
6.1 The skipper is responsible for the safety of the yacht and of everyone on board. The skipper's decisions on navigation, route, anchorage, weather, departure and arrival times, water activities, kiting authorisation, tender use, equipment, alcohol and the removal of a guest are final and must be followed immediately.
6.2 You must attend the safety briefing on the first day, wear a lifejacket when instructed, follow instructions on deck, in the tender and in the water, never swim at night, never use the tender without authorisation, and never leave the yacht or swim away from it without telling the crew. You take part in sailing manoeuvres only if invited and under the crew's direction.
6.3 The crew may suspend, restrict or cancel any activity, at any time, for safety, weather, equipment or regulatory reasons; no refund or compensation is due.
7. Kitesurfing and water activities
7.1 Kitesurfing, wing foiling, kite foiling, swimming, snorkelling, paddling, and tender transfers are optional activities with real and inherent risks that cannot be eliminated even with reasonable care: serious injury or death, drowning, collision, equipment failure, lines, changing wind and currents, shallow reefs, marine life, sun and heat, and the distance from medical care. You choose to take part knowing these risks and you accept the inherent risks of these activities. This does not exclude our duty to take reasonable care.
7.2 You ride within your ability, follow the crew's instructions, launch and land only where and when the crew says, keep a safe distance from the yacht, other riders, swimmers and boats, respect local kite zones and regulations, and stop when told. You are responsible for any damage or injury you cause to other people or property while riding or using equipment.
7.3 Your own equipment must be in safe working order, with a functioning quick release and leash; the crew may refuse equipment it considers unsafe. Equipment we rent to you is checked before handover; you use it with care, return it in the same condition and pay for loss or damage beyond normal wear (INS-002 section 9).
7.4 Coaching, lessons and rentals, when booked, are delivered by instructors chosen by us, who decide each day whether conditions allow a session. A session we cancel for wind or safety is moved to another day where possible or refunded; nothing more is due. Instructors provide guidance; they do not guarantee your progress or safety.
7.5 Activities or services you buy from a third party during the trip (for example an excursion, a dive, a restaurant, a taxi or a local kite school) are a contract between you and that provider, even if the crew recommended it; we are not responsible for them.
8. Insurance
8.1 Travel insurance is compulsory for every guest, from the day of booking until the end of the trip, and is a condition of your participation. The minimum cover required is set out in INS-002 section 8: cancellation and curtailment, emergency medical treatment, medical evacuation and repatriation (including from a yacht at anchor), maritime search and rescue, personal accident, personal liability, and cover for sailing, kitesurfing, foiling, coaching, snorkelling and tender use.
8.2 It is your responsibility to make sure that your policy covers your country of residence, the destination, the dates and the activities you intend to undertake, and to tell your insurer about them. We do not assess or approve policies, give no insurance advice and are not responsible if a policy does not pay a claim. We require your insurer's name, policy number and certificate before the final balance is due and may ask for the policy wording at any time.
8.3 Without evidence of the required cover you may be refused boarding or participation, without refund (INS-002 section 6.5). If you take part without adequate cover, you bear all resulting costs and you will reimburse us any sum we advance for you (search, rescue, medical, evacuation, repatriation, accommodation or other costs), within 14 days of our documented request.
8.4 We hold public liability insurance appropriate to our activity. Our insurance and the yacht's insurance cover our and the owner's liabilities; they do not replace your own insurance.
9. The yacht, damage and the security deposit
9.1 The yachts we use are owned by third parties and are subject to a security deposit and an insurance excess, which we hold or guarantee on behalf of the group. You are responsible for any loss, damage, fine or cost caused by your act or omission to the yacht, its tender, outboard, equipment, water toys, rental equipment, other people's property or third parties, and you will reimburse us the reasonable, documented cost of repair, replacement or settlement, up to the amount borne by us, within 14 days of our request (INS-002 section 9). We do not charge a guest for damage that guest did not cause.
9.2 You must tell the crew immediately of any damage, loss, breakage or incident, including a damaged kite or a lost item, so that it can be recorded and managed.
9.3 Your personal belongings and equipment are carried at your own risk; we do not insure them and are not responsible for loss, theft or damage except where caused by our negligence.
10. Conduct and removal from the trip
10.1 This is a small community in a small space. You behave with respect towards the crew, other guests and the people we meet. Violence, threats, harassment, discrimination, sexual misconduct, drunkenness that endangers or disturbs others, damage to the yacht, breach of the law, refusal to follow the skipper's safety instructions or any serious or repeated breach of sections 5 to 9 is a serious breach of this agreement.
10.2 In case of serious breach, or where the skipper reasonably considers that a guest presents a danger to themselves, to others or to the yacht, the skipper may confine the guest to a safe area and require the guest to leave the trip at the next safe and lawful place of disembarkation. Where practicable the guest is first warned and given the chance to stop. The reasons are recorded and we help identify onward arrangements. The removed guest bears all onward travel, accommodation and other costs, is responsible for any resulting loss to us or to others, and has no right to any refund except where the law requires it.
11. Our responsibility and its limits
11.1 We will perform the services included in your trip with reasonable care and skill, and we are responsible for their performance as organiser under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, whether they are performed by us or by our suppliers. If a service is not performed as agreed, tell the skipper without delay so that we can remedy it (section 15); if you do not, any compensation may be reduced accordingly.
11.2 Nothing in this agreement excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, or for any liability that cannot be excluded or limited by law.
11.3 We are not liable for any loss, injury, damage, delay or disappointment resulting from: your own act or omission or breach of this agreement; the act or omission of a third party unconnected with the provision of the services, which was unforeseeable or unavoidable; unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances (INS-002 section 7.3); the inherent risks of sailing and water activities that you have accepted (section 7); the absence of wind, weather or sea conditions; services you buy from third parties (section 7.5); or flights, transfers, accommodation or other arrangements that are not part of your trip.
11.4 Except in the cases in 11.2, our total liability to you for any claim arising from your trip, however arising, is limited to three times the trip price paid by you. We are not liable for loss of profit, loss of business, loss of earnings, or for any indirect or consequential loss. Where an international convention or statute limits the compensation payable by a carrier, hotelier or other supplier, our liability is limited in the same way.
11.5 Any claim arising from your trip must be brought against TheKITECAT Ltd only. Our directors, employees, skippers, crew, instructors, collaborators and promoters are not personally liable to you for anything arising from the trip, and each of them may rely on this section 11 under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999. If you have a claim against a supplier, you agree to cooperate with us and to assign to us any right of recovery for sums we have paid you.
11.6 Where we or our insurers provide assistance, advance costs or make a goodwill gesture, this is not an admission of liability.
12. Your responsibilities and indemnity
You will comply with this agreement, with the law and with the crew's instructions. You will reimburse us, and hold us harmless against, any loss, damage, claim, fine, penalty, cost or expense (including reasonable legal costs) that we, the yacht owner, the crew or other guests suffer as a result of your breach of this agreement, your negligence or wilful misconduct, or any inaccurate declaration you have made, except to the extent caused by our own negligence.
13. Photos and video
We may photograph or film on board for safety, operational and record-keeping purposes. By accepting this agreement, you agree that TheKITECAT may use photos or videos taken during the trip on which you may appear to illustrate its trips and communication (website, social media and brochures). Please respect the privacy of other guests when you share your own images.
14. Your personal data
We process your booking, contact, travel-document, emergency-contact and safety information, including the health information you give us in the medical form, to organise and deliver your trip safely, to comply with legal obligations (including customs and immigration formalities) and to manage any incident or claim, as described in our privacy notice available on thekitecat.com. Health information is accessed only by the people who need it for your safety and care, and is kept no longer than necessary. We may share your details with the crew, the yacht owner or manager, port and immigration authorities, our insurers and, where you were introduced by one, the trip collaborator, to the extent necessary for the trip.
15. Problems and complaints
If something is not right during the trip, tell the skipper immediately so that it can be put right on board; most issues can be resolved there. If the matter is not resolved, write to info@thekitecat.com within 28 days of the end of the trip with the details, so that we can investigate while the facts are fresh. Failure to report a problem during the trip, or within that period, may reduce or extinguish any compensation to the extent that it prevented us from remedying the problem or investigating it.
16. General
16.1 This agreement, INS-002 and your booking confirmation form the entire agreement between you and us about the trip and replace any earlier discussion, message or representation. Any change must be confirmed by us in writing; no crew member, collaborator or promoter may vary these terms.
16.2 If any provision is held to be unenforceable, it applies to the maximum extent permitted and the rest of the agreement remains in force.
16.3 If we do not insist on strict performance of a term, we do not waive our right to do so later.
16.4 You may not transfer your rights under this agreement except as provided in INS-002 section 6.3. We may transfer our rights and obligations to a successor organiser who assumes them; your rights are not affected.
16.5 Except as stated in section 11.5, no person other than you and us has any right to enforce this agreement.
16.6 Notices to us are sent to info@thekitecat.com; notices to you are sent to the email address given at booking and are deemed received on the next working day.
16.7 These documents are written in English; any translation is provided for convenience only and the English version prevails.
17. Governing law and jurisdiction
This agreement is governed by the laws of England and Wales. Your trip is a package under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, and nothing in this agreement limits the rights those Regulations, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 or the mandatory consumer law of your country of residence give you. The courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction, without prejudice to your right as a consumer to bring proceedings in the courts of your country of residence where the law gives you that right.
18. Acceptance and declarations
At booking, the lead guest ticks: "I have read and accept the Trip Agreement & Participation Terms (LEG-001) and the Guest Payment & Cancellation Policy (INS-002), for myself and for every guest in my booking." Before the final balance is due, each guest completes and signs the declarations below (electronically through their booking account or on this page).
I confirm that I had access to LEG-001 and INS-002 before booking, that I have read them and accept them, that I am at least 18, that I can swim at least 50 metres unaided, that my medical and ability declarations are true and complete, that I have declared my kitesurfing and sailing level honestly, that I understand and accept the inherent risks of sailing and water activities described in section 7, that I hold or will hold the insurance required by section 8 and INS-002 section 8 for the whole trip, and that I will follow the skipper's instructions at all times.
Guest name: ______________________________
Trip and week: ______________________________
Insurer and policy number: ______________________________
Emergency contact (name, relationship, phone): ______________________________
Signature: ______________________________ Date: ______________
For TheKITECAT Ltd: ______________________________ Date: ______________