How we handle your information

Your personal information

We are required by law under the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) to inform you about what personal data we hold about you, why we hold it, where we hold it, what we do with it, and how you can view it.

What information?

We primarily hold your full name, address, phone number(s) and email address. In addition we hold any details of your boat that you provide to us (boat type, name, hull number, MMSI and SSR). If you have changed your boat while a member, we also hold the details of your previous boat. Finally, we keep information about your membership status, including your membership expiry date and method of payment. Every member also has a membership number plus a login name and password.

Where is it stored?

Your data is stored in the database that supports our web site, this is hosted in the UK, by a UK company. We make daily backups of the data which are stored off-site, this data is encrypted so cannot be read by anyone who might have access to the backup server. The encryption key is stored in a private location on our own web server, and can only be accessed by our web site administrator.

Why do we need this?

We need your name, address, phone number(s) and email address in order to be able to contact you in relation to association business. We also make these details available to other members so that members of the Association can easily get in touch with each other. We keep details of your boat primarily for the interest of other members, for example if a member would like to discuss a problem with their 26M with another local member, then the list of member details can help them do so.

We need to keep your membership details in order to know whether you have paid your subscription and are still a paid-up member.

Your login name and password are required to enable you to login securely to the web site. Your password is stored in encrypted form using a non-reversible cipher, and cannot be deciphered even by a web site administrator.

What do we do with your information?

Your information is used as follows:

  • To manage your membership, so we know who our members are, and if annual subscriptions have been paid.
  • To make contact with you on Association business, and to send you copies of our regular printed newsletter.
  • To enable members to make contact with each other for social and sailing purposes.

We do not pass any of your data to anyone outside the Association. Your information can be viewed by other members if they login to the web site, but is not visible to visitors to the site who are not logged in. Only current members of the Association are able to login.

How long do we hold your information?

As well as holding information on current members, we retain the names, contact details, and boat names of past members for the purposes of maintaining a history of the association. This information is also useful when lapsed members re-join, a not infrequent occurrence. Information on past members can only be accessed by members of the current committee.

Can you request removal of your information?

While the GDPR includes your right to have non-essential information erased, we clearly need to store administrative information about our members. However, we recognise that members may have good reason to keep their address and phone number confidential. If you do not wish these details to be visible to other members, please contact one of the committee who can arrange for them to be removed from the web site and membership list.

How can you see it?

All the data we hold about you is visible to you in your account pages on the web site. To see it, login to the site, and click on My account at the right-hand side of the screen. All the information is shown on this page.

You are free to update and change any of this information, except for the Membership section which is important for our administration. Click the Edit tab, then click on any of the four sub-sections to update the relevant details.

If you are unable to access our web site, and would like a copy of the information we hold about you, please contact a member of the committee (contact details are published in every Newsletter).