On Tuesday, 10 May 2022, the RYA Training Committee met to consider the future RYA Training Recognition of “Cornish Cruising”, a Falmouth based RYA training centre offering a range of RYA courses. This hearing was convened as a result of concerns over the operation of the training centre.
As a consequence of that hearing the RYA made the decision to withdraw RYA Training Recognition from Cornish Cruising with immediate effect. Courses that were currently under way could continue to run to completion with a requirement that no new courses could commence.
Despite the RYA asking it to do so, it appears that Cornish Cruising have chosen not to contact customers advising of their inability to run RYA courses. This has led to a number of people travelling to Cornwall for courses that are not being delivered.
As Cornish Cruising is an independent business the RYA does not have any visibility of their future bookings, or any influence of the way Cornish Cruising is currently conducting their business. We therefore advise any person who has a future booking for an RYA training course with Cornish Cruising to contact Cornish Cruising directly. If you find you are unable to make contact, then the following routes to recovering monies from Cornish Cruising may be of assistance.
In the first instance customers are advised to contact Cornish Cruising to request a refund or to determine whether any alternative provisions have been made for their training. In the event that contact with the centre is unsuccessful, customers are advised to explore compensation through one of the following options:
- Lodge a claim through the provider of the credit card with which you paid for the course.
- Lodge a claim through your insurance provider in the even that you had taken out appropriate insurance.
- Lodge a claim through the relevant local courts.
As the contract that customers have entered into is between themselves and Cornish Cruising, any claim would need to be made to Cornish Cruising as opposed to the RYA. However, RYA members are welcome to contact the RYA Legal team for advice. They can be reached at legal@rya.org.uk.