General Terms and Conditions (T&C)

These General Terms and Conditions (“T&C”) form part of the offer and of all contracts concluded on the basis of it. Individual agreements between the contracting parties take precedence. Amendments and additions require at least text form (e.g. e-mail).

§ 1 General

(1) The Contractor provides all services exclusively on the basis of these General Terms and Conditions (T&C).

(2) The Contractor provides the service in accordance with the principles of proper professional practice and good seamanship.

(3) The Contractor provides the agreed service through qualified personnel who are professionally suited to carry out the respective delivery.

§ 2 Main obligations of the parties

(1) The Contractor delivers the yacht named in the offer from the departure port to the destination port. The skipper deployed by the Contractor holds the licences and certificates of competency required for this.

(2) The Client makes the yacht available and pays the agreed remuneration for the billable period (§ 11 (1) and (2)).

(3) The Client bears the costs of maintaining the yacht (onboard cash fund – in particular fuel and lubricants, necessary spare parts and repairs, harbour fees, clearing-in and clearing-out fees).

(4) The Client bears the cost of accommodating the crew if an overnight stay on board the yacht to be delivered is not possible. If providing meals for the crew on board is not possible (e.g. no cooking facilities, missing kitchen utensils), the Contractor charges the applicable flat-rate meal allowances of the German Federal Ministry of Finance for the respective country.

§ 3 Time frame of the delivery / performance of the service

(1) The duration of a delivery cannot be predicted exactly from the length of the sea passage alone. Any time frame stated or calculated before the assignment is carried out is based on experience and is an estimate. The actual duration depends in particular on the weather, the technical condition of the yacht and official procedures.

(2) The contracting parties assume that the expected time stated in the offer will be required to perform the agreed service. If it becomes apparent during the performance of the assignment that this time cannot be met, the Contractor will inform the Client without undue delay.

(3) The service is based on the scope of services known to the contracting parties when the contract is concluded. If it turns out during the performance of the assignment that the scope of services has to be adapted to the actual circumstances, the contracting parties will reach an appropriate agreement on this.

(4) If duties of seamanlike care or the safety of the yacht and its crew require a deviation in timing, or if delays result from necessary repairs or from the conduct of third parties (e.g. harbour authorities, specialist companies, administrations, Hand-gegen-Koje crew), the duration of the delivery may be extended. The demonstrable consequential costs arising from this are borne by the Client, except to the extent that the Contractor is responsible for the cause.

§ 4 The crew

(1) The crew may be provided by the Contractor or by the Client. Crew members provided by the Client are accepted by the Contractor only if they have sufficient seamanship. The crew nominated by the Client is obliged to cooperate and to follow the instructions of the responsible skipper.

(2) The Client may also commission the Contractor to recruit Hand-gegen-Koje crew (HgK). This can reduce costs but increases the risk of possible delays or drop-outs.

(3) If the crew commissioned consists solely of a skipper or a skipper/co-skipper, this crew is entitled to free meals and a cabin of its own on board.

(4) The delivery may not be started or continued until a crew of a size appropriate to the voyage is available. The responsible skipper decides on its adequacy at due seamanlike discretion.

(5) The skipper is entitled to replace members of the crew if there is good cause. Good cause exists in particular in the case of a lack of seamanship, disregard of instructions, gross misconduct, or dangers to life and limb or to the yacht caused by the crew member.

(6) If a reason entitling the Contractor to a replacement lies in the person of the Client and the Client is personally part of the crew, this entitles the Contractor to terminate the contract, but not to replace the Client. In this case the destination port is replaced by the place of termination.

(7) If the crew was provided by the Contractor (HgK excepted), no additional personnel costs arise for the Client from a necessary replacement of crew members, unless the replacement is caused by circumstances for which the Client or the crew provided by the Client is responsible.

(8) Decisions on board are, as far as possible, taken jointly, having regard to good seamanship. However, the binding final decision always rests with the responsible skipper.

§ 5 Unavailability of a crew member

(1) In the event of illness, accident or other incapacity, the skipper designated for the delivery may be replaced by an equally qualified skipper. No additional personnel costs arise for the Client as a result.

(2) If Hand-gegen-Koje crew drop out, the Client bears the demonstrable consequential costs caused thereby, to the extent that they become necessary for carrying out the assignment.

(3) If paid crew provided by the Contractor drop out, the Contractor will – to the extent legally and practically possible – promptly provide equivalent replacement. No additional personnel costs arise for the Client as a result, unless the drop-out is due to force majeure or other circumstances for which the Contractor is not responsible.

§ 6 Travel of the crew to and from the yacht

(1) The Client bears the necessary travel costs of the Contractor and of the crew provided by the Contractor and scheduled for carrying out the assignment to the port of departure, as well as the costs of the fastest possible and reasonable return journey from the destination port. The Client is required to pay in advance in this respect.

(2) After completion of the assignment, the crew's original place of departure is in principle the destination of the return journey. Hand-gegen-Koje crew in principle bear their own costs, unless otherwise agreed.

(3) If the Contractor travels directly from the destination port of one delivery to the departure port of a further delivery, the Contractor charges the Client the hypothetical travel costs to the original place of departure. The decisive amount is the average cost that this journey would have incurred on the date of departure.

§ 7 Safety of the yacht

(1) The Client assures that the yacht named in the contract is in a condition appropriate for the planned voyage. This concerns in particular the technical condition for seagoing, the navigation and safety equipment, and the necessary life-saving equipment on board.

(2) The Client is obliged to hand over the yacht in a seaworthy condition. This also includes the secure stowage of movable objects on board.

§ 8 Route planning

(1) The design, planning and timing of the route from the starting point to the agreed destination are the sole responsibility of the responsible skipper. The skipper decides having regard to good seamanship and the current weather, safety and local conditions in the waters concerned.

§ 9 Interruption, delay or discontinuation of the delivery

(1) In the event of a necessary interruption or delay of the delivery for good cause (§ 3 (4), § 5, § 7), the Client will be informed as soon as possible.

(2) In the event of interruptions or delays attributable solely to the drop-out of the Contractor's paid crew, no additional personnel costs arise for the Client.

(3) In the event of interruptions, delays or discontinuation due to deficiencies of the yacht (§ 7), necessary repairs, discontinuation by the Client, default in payment (§ 15 (2)) or drop-outs under § 5 (2) and § 6, the Client bears the demonstrable consequential costs arising as a result.

(4) In the event of a necessary discontinuation or interruption of the delivery, the Client bears the consequential costs of the entire crew to the extent that this results in a place of departure different from the one originally agreed.

(5) Untrue statements by the Client about items on board that are subject to mandatory declaration or are unlawful (in particular weapons, drugs or prohibited goods on which customs duty has not been paid) entitle the Contractor to discontinue the delivery immediately. The Client bears the costs arising as a result.

(6) Interruptions or delays that exceed 20% of the calculated duration of the delivery may lead to discontinuation of the delivery or to a crew change. The additional necessary travel costs arising as a result are borne by the Client, unless the Contractor is responsible for the reason. In the event of discontinuation, the place of discontinuation replaces the original destination.

(7) A discount on the crew fee (daily flat rate) granted in the offer relates to the calculated duration of the delivery. If this is exceeded for a comprehensible reason (§ 3 (4), § 5 (2), § 7), the Contractor may charge the daily flat rate for additional delivery days without the discount granted.

§ 10 Liability

(1) The Contractor assures that the paid crew deployed by the Contractor – Hand-gegen-Koje crew excepted – has the knowledge and experience required to sail the yacht safely under sail and under power.

(2) The Contractor is not liable for damage or loss caused by unavoidable external events, in particular storm, lightning strike, collisions caused by third parties, war, piracy, official measures or comparable circumstances, to the extent that the Contractor is not responsible for them.

(3) The Contractor is further not liable for damage resulting from a non-seaworthy condition of the yacht already existing at handover or from failures of the propulsion system, instruments, electrical system or hull, to the extent that the Contractor did not cause these defects.

(4) For damage arising from the participation of Hand-gegen-Koje crew, the Contractor is liable only in accordance with paragraphs (5) and (6).

(5) The exclusion of liability and the limitations of liability in these T&C do not apply in cases of intent or gross negligence on the part of the Contractor or its vicarious agents, nor to damage resulting from injury to life, body or health.

(6) In the case of simple negligence, the Contractor is liable only for breach of essential contractual obligations and limited to the foreseeable damage typical of the contract. Essential contractual obligations are obligations whose fulfilment makes the proper performance of the contract possible in the first place and on whose observance the Client may regularly rely.

§ 11 Contractor's fee

(1) The Contractor's fee is calculated on the basis of the actual time spent, in days. The expected amount of the fee is set out in the Contractor's offer.

(2) The billable period begins with the crew's departure for the departure port (location of the yacht) and ends when the crew reaches its home location or the agreed return location from the destination port (destination).

(3) The fee remunerates the time spent by the crew. Hand-gegen-Koje crew are in principle free of charge, unless otherwise agreed in text form.

(4) If delays occur due to non-appearance, incompetence, disputes or lack of cooperation of the crew arranged by the Client or already on board, due to unsafe weather conditions, official measures or necessary repairs to the yacht, the duration of the delivery may be extended at a charge or a discontinuation may become necessary. In this case the Contractor is entitled to assert an additional claim on the basis of the changed expected duration of the delivery. In the event of a necessary discontinuation, the Client bears the consequential costs.

§ 12 Expenses and flat rates

Expenses that become necessary at the Client's request or to maintain or restore the seaworthiness of the yacht are charged as follows:

(1) Telephone calls: free of charge within Germany, free of charge within Europe, outside Europe a flat rate of EUR 2.25 per minute. The time spent on this is not charged separately.

(2) Car mileage allowance: EUR 0.82 per kilometre driven, in particular for personal meetings with the Client, viewing of the yacht or crew, and travel to the airport in one's own car.

(3) Rental car: the costs actually incurred, in particular the rental fee and fuel, e.g. for organising spare parts, life-saving equipment or repairs.

(4) Travel costs: The travel costs actually incurred are charged. Travel costs calculated in the offer are based on experience and are non-binding.

§ 13 Offer, receipts, invoicing and due date

(1) Before the delivery begins, the Contractor prepares an offer or a provisional invoice. Discounts contained therein apply to the calculated or expected duration of the delivery. All items are calculated figures based on experience. The skipper carrying out the delivery determines the number of crew necessary for the delivery.

(2) Provisional invoices fall due as follows: 35% of the calculated costs as a deposit upon acceptance of the offer; the remainder of the offer total by 14 days before the agreed sailing date.

(3) The Contractor is obliged to provide evidence (receipts) of the travel costs and onboard cash fund costs charged. This evidence forms part of the final invoice. The Contractor makes it available to the Client after the end of the assignment and full payment. Inspection while the assignment is being carried out is not owed for organisational reasons.

(4) After the destination port has been reached, the Client receives a statement based on the actual expenditure of the delivery. Amounts overpaid are refunded to the Client.

(5) Claims are due when asserted, unless expressly agreed otherwise.

§ 14 Onboard cash fund

(1) The Contractor or a crew member designated by the Contractor manages an onboard cash fund for the ongoing maintenance of the crew and the yacht. The size of the onboard cash fund depends on the size of the yacht, the duration of the delivery and the cruising area. The Client is required to pay in advance in this respect.

(2) The following services in particular are paid from the onboard cash fund: harbour dues and usage fees; clearing-in and clearing-out costs; fuel and lubricants; repairs and maintenance work; board and lodging of the crew, to the extent that this is not possible on board.

(3) Before the delivery begins, the Client pays into the onboard cash fund an amount that is expected to cover the costs named in § 14 (2). This is not necessary as long as the Client is personally part of the crew and manages the onboard cash fund independently.

(4) The onboard cash fund may be set off against any outstanding additional claims of the Contractor.

(5) The Client is obliged to keep topping up the onboard cash fund so that the expected costs named by the Contractor within the meaning of § 14 (2) can be paid from it.

§ 15 Consequences of overdue claims during or after the delivery

(1) The skipper and the crew do not, in principle, advance amounts owed by the Client. If they exceptionally do so, § 670 of the German Civil Code (BGB) applies.

(2) If payments are not made or are not made on time, the Contractor may interrupt the delivery, with the Client bearing the costs. Beforehand, the Contractor requests the Client in text form to pay. For the duration of the interruption the yacht is moored in a safe harbour. In the event of continued default in payment, the Contractor may discontinue the delivery. In the event of discontinuation, § 9 (3) applies.

(3) If the delivery is discontinued due to default in payment, the place of discontinuation replaces the destination port. The consequential costs arising as a result, in particular board and lodging and changed return travel costs of the crew, are borne by the Client.

(4) The Contractor's statutory security rights remain unaffected.

§ 16 Force majeure

(1) Events of force majeure, in particular natural disasters, severe weather, pandemics, accidents, war, terrorism, embargoes, official closures or comparable safety-relevant circumstances, may lead to interruption, a change of route or destination, or discontinuation of the delivery if dangers to the crew or the yacht can thereby be mitigated or averted.

(2) In cases of force majeure there is no claim to damages or performance, to the extent that the Contractor is not responsible for the respective obstacle to performance.

§ 17 Final accounting

(1) The onboard cash fund and travel costs are settled on the basis of the receipts available. The Client receives a final statement of account of the time spent and the documented costs incurred.

(2) The crew's time spent is settled to the exact day. Surpluses are refunded to the Client within three banking days after the final statement of account has been prepared.

§ 18 Cancellation / termination at will by the Client before the start of travel

(1) The Client may cancel or freely terminate the assignment at any time before the start of travel, in text form.

(2) The decisive point in time for calculating the cancellation costs is the receipt of the cancellation notice by the Contractor.

(3) If the cancellation takes place within 20 calendar days after acceptance of the assignment, the Client owes cancellation compensation of 25% of the crew costs calculated in the offer. The flat-rate cancellation fee (preparatory work, advice, scheduling) is EUR 300.00.

(4) In addition to the cancellation compensation, the Client must reimburse all travel and third-party expenses relating to the assignment that have actually been incurred up to the receipt of the cancellation and can no longer be cancelled or refunded free of charge. These include in particular travel costs of the skipper and of the necessary crew scheduled or booked by the Contractor, as well as flights, train journeys, ferry passages, hotels, transfers, rental cars, and visa or comparable preparation costs already booked.

(5) To the extent that the assignment can, by its nature and scope, only be carried out with a certain minimum crew or with a crew scheduled by the Contractor, the travel costs already triggered for this crew that can no longer be cancelled free of charge are also deemed assignment-related costs within the meaning of this contract.

(6) If the cancellation takes place later than 60 calendar days before the crew's planned start of travel, or if the booked crew is already on board the yacht, at the place of departure or on the way there, the Contractor may, instead of the flat rate, charge the specific damage incurred, including travel, scheduling, accommodation, repatriation and preparation costs already triggered and no longer avoidable. Expenses already saved as well as other opportunities to earn income are taken into account in this respect.

(7) If the Contractor can carry out an economically equivalent replacement assignment for the booked period, saved expenses and replaced revenue are credited against the cancellation costs.

(8) The Client remains entitled to prove that the Contractor has suffered no damage or substantially less damage.

(9) Unused onboard cash and payments already made for services not yet rendered are refunded after deduction of the amounts owed under this § 18.

(10) A statutory right of withdrawal of consumers remains unaffected by the provisions of this § 18.

§ 18a Lapse of individual services after the start of travel

(1) This section applies from the start of travel (departure of the crew for the departure port, § 11 (2)) to ordered services that have not yet begun, for example a return transfer or a further leg. § 18 applies to the period before the start of travel.

(2) If the Client cancels such a service or decides on a different means of transport, the service lapses. This also applies if the weather, delays or the Client's own deadlines are the reason for the Client's decision. The same applies where the service cannot be carried out because of the condition of the yacht (§ 7).

(3) If the cancellation reaches the Contractor later than 30 calendar days before the planned start of the service, the crew can as a rule no longer be deployed elsewhere for that period. The parties then bear the loss of earnings in equal halves: the Client pays a loss-of-earnings contribution of 50% of the crew fee calculated in the offer for this service, and the Contractor bears the other half. Further loss of earnings is not charged.

(4) If the cancellation is received earlier, no loss-of-earnings contribution is incurred.

(5) In both cases the Client reimburses the travel and third-party costs already incurred for the service that has lapsed and that can no longer be cancelled free of charge. § 18 (4) and (5) apply accordingly.

(6) If the Contractor can deploy the crew elsewhere for payment during the intended period, the proceeds are credited against the loss of earnings; the loss-of-earnings contribution is then 50% of the remaining loss. The Client remains entitled to prove that the Contractor has suffered no loss or a substantially smaller loss.

(7) If the service lapses for reasons for which the Contractor is responsible or which originate in the Contractor's sphere (in particular drop-out of the paid crew provided by the Contractor without replacement), the Client owes nothing for this service. The Client's statutory claims remain unaffected.

(8) If the service becomes impossible solely due to force majeure (§ 16), the Client owes neither crew fee nor loss-of-earnings contribution for it. Paragraph (5) applies accordingly.

(9) If the Client discontinues a service that has already begun, the time spent up to that point is settled in accordance with § 11. Paragraph (2) applies accordingly. For the days of the calculated duration not yet sailed, the Client pays the loss-of-earnings contribution under paragraph (3); paragraphs (5) to (8) apply accordingly. If the service is discontinued for other reasons, § 9 remains applicable.

§ 19 Severability clause

Should individual provisions of this contract be or become wholly or partially invalid or unenforceable, the validity of the remaining provisions remains unaffected. The statutory provision replaces the invalid or unenforceable provision. The same applies in the event of a gap in the provisions.

§ 20 Choice of law and place of jurisdiction

(1) The law of the Republic of Portugal applies, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG).

(2) In relation to consumers, this choice of law applies only to the extent that it does not restrict mandatory statutory provisions of the state in which the consumer has his or her habitual residence.

(3) If the Client is a merchant, a legal entity under public law or a special fund under public law, the exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from or in connection with this contract is Portimão, Portugal.

(4) In relation to consumers, the statutory places of jurisdiction apply.