Terms and Conditions
Please read the following Terms and Conditions for Smithy’s Fishing Charters. If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact us. Booking and payment of deposit or gift voucher confirms you acknowledge and accept our terms and conditions below as well as on behalf of all other parties & persons going out on your booking. These Terms & Conditions may be subject to change at any time by us posting changes online to our website. Please review these Terms & Conditions regularly to ensure you are aware of any changes made.
General Terms:
- Contact must be made by phone, text, email or personal message between 4-8pm the evening before the charter to confirm weather, departure time and location.
- Please arrive five minutes before the scheduled departure time at the Kawana Waters Hotel pontoon or nominated boat ramp.
- If you are more than 15 minutes late we reserve the right to cast lines and head off as it is not fair on the other customers on mixed charters. In the case of being late you may forfeit your deposit/payment or voucher with no refund.
- Please wear enclosed footwear for safety reasons and be Sunsmart.
- GPS use is banned on the boat, either in phone apps, smart watches, geo functions on cameras or in handheld form. On longer trips, once outside of phone range devices should be placed in airplane mode to save battery power and the skipper may ask for them to be placed in a padded Faraday bag which blocks signals and they will be handed back once in phone range on the return trip.
- Passengers must be a minimum age of 6 years for offshore charters. Children 6-18 must be accompanied by an adult.
- Passengers may be filmed / photographed during the trip for our own use including advertising on website, social media sites, online & print form. Passengers acknowledge we reserve the right to reproduce such film/photos for our own purpose without notification, compensation or payment.
Weather:
- All charters are subject to suitable weather conditions (the decision is made at the discretion of the skipper) and we reserve the right to cancel any trip due to bad weather (even at short notice).
- You may nominate a full refund of deposit or transfer your deposit to an alternative date if your trip has been cancelled due to weather.
- In an instance where the weather may turn unexpectedly whilst out at sea it is at the discretion of the Skipper as to whether any, a full, or part refund is given depending on time charter went for and when and if it had to be cut short and return.
.Number of Passengers: Offshore on 7.7m mono “Capricorn”
- A sole charter on the offshore boat is based on the boat being full with 4 customers.
- 1-3 people if you want sole charter have to pay the price of 4.
- I’ll book 2-3 people in at the per person price if you are happy to share with others.
- Maximum of 6 customers.
Number of Passengers: Estuary/Freshwater on 4.5m Kuhlia
- A sole charter on the freshwater /estuary boat is based on the boat being full with 2 customers.
- 1 person has to pay the price of 2.
- Maximum of 3 customers.
Cancellations & Refunds:
- You may nominate a full refund of deposit or transfer your deposit to an alternative date if your trip has been cancelled by Smithy’s Fishing Charters.
- If you cancel 1-2 days before the intended date you will lose 100% of your deposit as it would nearly be impossible for me to get a trip up and running at such short notice, 3-4 days out I will refund you 50% of your deposit and 5 or more days I will happily refund the full amount or rebook you in as it gives me enough time to raise another crew.
- Smithy’s Fishing Charters will not be held liable for any indirect costs incurred by booking a fishing charter with us. In the event the trip is cancelled at any time by Smithy’s Fishing Charters, we will not be held liable for any travel costs, meals, accommodation or any other costs the customer may have incurred.
- In the unlikely event that Smithy’s Fishing Charters are unable to provide the charter or service due to reasons including, but not limited to, illness, accident, or injury, mechanical breakdown, etc., we reserve the right to find substitute staff and/or subcontractors, to assist. If Smithy’s Fishing Charters are still unable to provide the charter or service, we reserve the right to cancel the booking and will refund all monies to you.
- All persons on charter acknowledge they understand and agree that lack of fish caught on a charter is not a reason for any form of refund or discounted rate. The charter is based on taking passengers to fishing locations, supplying fishing tackle for use on the charter and crew for the operation of the vessel.
Bookings & Payment:
- All amounts are in Australian dollars and are inclusive of 10% GST.
- We reserves the right to change any advertised price without notice, Website is the only guaranteed up to date pricing.
- Gift vouchers are non-refundable; please refer to Gift Voucher paragraph for more information.
- The person making the booking is responsible for the total payment of the organised trip. If they have made a booking for 4 people and only 1- 3 people turn up, then they are responsible for making up the difference.
- Deposit of one person is required to book with balance of payment to be made on the day or before.
Gift Vouchers:
- Information must be produced for proof of vouchers at the time of booking.
- Gift Vouchers cannot be redeemed for cash or refunded in part or full. Vouchers are transferable to other individuals provided Smithy’s Fishing Charters is informed and agrees to such a transfer by the person named on the voucher. Transferred vouchers are still only valid for the original period indicated from time of first purchase with no extensions.
- Vouchers are valid only when fully paid by the purchaser.
- Once the voucher has been redeemed (i.e. the trip date has been booked) all other terms relating to Alteration and Cancellation apply, however the value remains non-refundable.
- Vouchers are strictly valid until the Expiry Date shown on Voucher (3 years from purchase due to Qld Government Legislation which came into force November 2019). You must redeem the voucher on a charter within that period.
- Please note that it may take several attempts to take your fishing trip due to weather conditions and or insufficient passenger numbers to enable the boat to go out for the day.
- It is advised that Gift Voucher holders need to book well in advance of the expiry date. Weekend fishing trips are always popular and may be booked out several weeks in advance. Please consider this when booking.
- If the customer holding the voucher misses the trip on the booked day without providing notice or is late and boat has left port, then the voucher will be forfeited.
Health & Safety:
- A safety brief will be given on board.
- Customers must declare any pre-existing medical conditions or any medication prior to booking and departure.
- Children under 12 on the 4.5m boat will be required to wear a life jacket provided for them whilst underway.
- All trips are for people of normal health and fitness. Those with neck, back, shoulder, heart, breathing, circulation, epilepsy, pregnancy and other similar medical conditions are advised offshore fishing may not be suitable for them and if they do so, it is at their own risk.
- If you have concerns about motion sickness please consults a chemist or GP prior to the charter as we are not permitted to administer drugs.
- If a person becomes unwell and requests to be returned back to shore, then no refund will be given and it is also up to the Skipper’s discretion whether or not to return to port.
Customer Behaviour:
- All customers should behave in a safe and respectful manner to all staff, other customers and our property.
- If there is loss or damage to our equipment or boats due to negligence or unruly behaviour then the customer will be liable for the cost of replacement or repair.
- The Skipper reserves the right to cancel a trip and payment forfeited with no refund if unruly or unsafe behaviour is displayed.
- BYO alcohol is allowed aboard the vessel (preferred in cans). We stress the importance of responsible & minimal consumption which must be adhered to. Your consumption can have a negative impact on your ability to adapt to the conditions present at sea.
- Drugs are not tolerated in any form. If a customer attempts to smoke or consume an illegal substance the skipper will immediately report this to the Marine Police and the trip will be immediately cancelled. No refund will be paid and the matter will be handed to the police.
- Please appreciate the dangers involved once aboard the vessel. Customers must assume and accept all these risks.
- The Skipper reserves the right to refuse alcohol to any passenger at any time during the charter. If any passenger arrives under the influence of alcohol or drug, we have the right to refuse boarding to such a passenger. Any abusive or inappropriate behaviour on board, while under the influence of alcohol, or indeed at any time, will give us the right to organize the removal of such a passenger from charter, or indeed terminate the charter completely. Refund of charter cost is not applicable in any way in these instances.
Disclaimer
Booking and payment for a fishing charter or voucher with Smithy’s Fishing Charters is deemed acknowledgement and acceptance of the following disclaimer. Smithy’s Fishing Charters shall not be liable for any death, personal injury, or loss or damage to property and it is a condition of booking with Smithy’s Fishing Charters that you hereby release to the full extent permitted by law, Smithy’s Fishing Charters, its employees and sub-contractors from all actual or contingent liability in respect of such personal injury, death, loss or damage. All passengers shall comply with any direction given for the safety of the vessel and comfort of passengers and agree that wilful non-compliance with such directions may result in an immediate return to the nearest port or the embarkation point without refund. It is a condition of booking and undertaking a charter that any passenger indemnify Smithy’s Fishing Charters for all wilful damage caused by any such non-compliant passenger. All passengers of Smithy’s Fishing Charters shall be liable for any cost associated with repairs and/or replacement of the vessel and/or equipment which occurs as a result of wilful damage.