Terms and conditions

Who we are

Skipper Hotline (skipperhotline.eu) is a boat booking agency with an assistance service for skippers in Croatia. It is run by PARAS, obrt za dizajn, owned by Filip Đurić.

These terms apply when you book a boat through us and when you use Skipper Hotline Assistance. They have three parts: A. Booking a boat through our agency, B. Skipper Hotline Assistance and C. General.

A. Booking a boat through our agency

1. Our role

Skipper Hotline is a booking agency. We help you choose a boat and book it with a charter company, but we don’t own or run the boats.

Your charter contract is with the charter company. Its own terms (the charter agreement) set out the boat, the payments, the security deposit, the insurance, cancellation, check-in and return. We send you these terms before you book. Please read them before you pay: for everything about the charter itself, the charter company’s terms apply, not ours.

2. Price and payment

You pay the charter company’s own price for the boat, the same as if you booked directly with them. The charter company pays our commission, so our booking advice and Skipper Hotline Assistance cost you nothing extra.

You pay the charter price by bank transfer, as set out in your booking confirmation: to the account, in the installments and by the dates it states.

Costs on top of the charter price, such as the transit log, tourist tax, fuel, marinas and the extras you choose, are set by the charter company and others, not by us. We tell you about them as well as we can, but they can change.

3. Options

If you ask, we request an option: the charter company holds the boat for you for a short time. An option doesn’t oblige you to book. If you don’t confirm in time, it ends, and other sailors can book the boat.

4. What we are responsible for

We advise you honestly and book carefully, and we pass on the details of the boat as the charter company gives them to us.

The charter company is responsible for the boat: its condition and equipment, its availability, check-in and return, the security deposit and any damage claims. If something is wrong with the boat, tell the base staff straight away, and tell us: we help you deal with the charter company.

If the charter company cancels or changes your booking, its terms apply, and we help you find another boat.

5. Price Match

If you find a lower price for the same boat and the same charter week at another booking agency, we match that price, and Skipper Hotline Assistance stays included.

The other offer must be for the same boat model, the same dates and the same base marina, with the same things included in the price (charter fee, extras and payment terms). Send it to us in writing before you book with us. It must still be valid and bookable when we check it. If anything differs, we tell you what, and the Price Match does not apply to that offer.

6. Welcome gift

Every boat booked through us comes with one pair of Skipper Hotline sailing gloves, in a size from S to XL. If the booking is cancelled, the gift lapses.

7. Discount codes

A discount code applies as stated with the code, once per booking or pass. It can’t be exchanged for cash.

8. Assistance included with your booking

When you book a boat through us, Skipper Hotline Assistance is included for your whole charter, as set out in part B.

B. Skipper Hotline Assistance

9. What it is

Skipper Hotline Assistance is advice from a local skipper, given from the shore by WhatsApp messages and calls. It includes personalized route planning before your trip, the 101 Sailing Croatia booklet, storm and wind warnings, route updates when the forecast changes, and live chat support during your charter.

It is included when you book a boat through us, for the whole charter. If your boat is already booked elsewhere, you can buy it as a 7-day pass.

Nobody from our team is on board, and we don’t control your boat.

10. Hours and replies

Live chat support is available every day of your charter from 8:00 to 22:00, Croatian time. We usually reply within about 10 minutes, but we can’t promise a reply within a set time, for example while we are helping another sailor or when the mobile network fails. Outside these hours, we may not see your messages until the morning.

11. Not an emergency service

Skipper Hotline is not an emergency or rescue service. When you, your crew or your boat are in danger, first call 195 (Croatian maritime search and rescue), 112 or VHF channel 16. Don’t wait for our reply. After that, we help with local contacts and next steps.

12. You are the skipper

The skipper is fully responsible for the boat, the crew, navigation and every decision made on board, at all times. Our advice supports the skipper’s own judgment; it does not replace it.

Our advice is based on the forecasts and the information we have at that moment, including what you tell us about your boat, your crew, your position and the conditions around you. Forecasts can be wrong, and the weather can change faster than any forecast, especially with a Nevera (a sudden summer thunderstorm). We warn you when we see a risk, but we can’t foresee every change. Always watch the conditions around you and the official marine forecast (meteo.hr), and if in doubt, stay in port or in a safe anchorage.

The skipper must hold the licences Croatian law requires for the boat. Please give us accurate information, and tell us when something changes.

13. The 7-day pass: price and payment

The pass costs €240 for each week, that is 7 days on board. Route planning before the trip is not counted in the 7 days. It is one payment, with no renewal.

You pay by bank transfer. After your request, we e-mail you the next steps and our bank details. Your pass is booked once your payment has arrived, and we confirm it by e-mail.

14. Full refund

If you are not satisfied with your pass, tell us by e-mail at any time, before your pass starts, during it or up to 14 days after it ends, and we refund the full price. This includes your legal right as a consumer to withdraw from an online purchase within 14 days, without giving a reason.

We refund within 14 days of your e-mail, by bank transfer to the account you paid from.

15. Our liability

We give our advice with care and to the best of our knowledge.

We are not liable for loss or damage caused by decisions made on board, by the boat or its equipment, by the conditions at sea, by weather that develops differently from the forecasts, or by the local services we recommend.

Where we are liable for a mistake of ours, our liability is limited to the price of the assistance: the price of your pass, or €240 per week when the assistance is included with a booking.

These limits do not apply to injury to life, body or health, or to damage we cause intentionally or through gross negligence. Nothing in these terms limits your rights as a consumer under the law.

16. Local services we recommend

We recommend marinas, buoy fields, restaurants, mechanics and other local services. They are independent of us. Their prices, opening times and service are their own, and they can change.

17. WhatsApp

The assistance runs on WhatsApp, so you need a phone with WhatsApp and a mobile connection on board. We are not responsible for gaps in mobile coverage or for WhatsApp outages. Our Privacy Policy explains how we handle your messages.

C. General

18. Complaints

Send complaints in writing to filip@skipperhotline.eu, or by post to the address above. We reply in writing within 15 days.

19. Law and disputes

These terms are governed by Croatian law. If you are a consumer living in another EU country, you also keep the protection of the mandatory consumer law of your country. If we disagree, we try to settle it directly with you first.

20. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. The version published on the day you book your boat or buy your pass applies to it. The date at the top shows when they were last updated.