Legal advice please

[Budgie1]

My daughter fund raises for Cystic Fibrosis which is a charity very close to our hearts, they have a charity auction soon locally and she has asked me if I could donate RIB cruise. In principle have no objections but not sure how I stand with all the H&S and red tape b##l##ks. No money would change hands with me the lucky winner would pay charity direct and I would totally fund the trip, I could also offer Ringo/knee boarding/wakeboarding as alternative to cruise or both :-) obviously I can check with insurance company they are happy first but does anyone know if it is legit or who to contact to clarify?

[ashbypower]

your in box is full

[m chappelow]

I would get in contact with the charitys own local fundraising manager & see what they say , i know beggars carn't be choosers but some charity's have there own risk assessments.

[Budgie1]

Inbox cleared out!

[Seaflyer02]

You are not charging anything for the RIB ride so it is not a commercial operation (no employees).
I would think as long as you are competent and your boat is fit for the planned trip, the winner is fully aware you are not a commercial operator there should be no issue.
You must inform YOUR insurance company and they may stipulate certain conditions - winner/s wear suitable clothing and life jackets, given a briefing before the trip etc.
I agree you should contact the charity and ask what help they can give, I know it may seem a little bit over the top but a little bit of planning can save a lot of trouble in the future should anything happen (civil claims).
As for risk assessments they are nothing to fear just think of what you intend doing on the trip and the passengers you will be carrying and ask yourself - what could go wrong and what would I need to do to keep everyone safe, do I have everything on board or do I need to add further items.
Remember you are familiar how your boat rides a wave, a passenger may not have a clue!
If you want more information you could contact: - Coastguard (MCA), RYA and local authority environmental health officer. Try the HSE website lots of information on there.
Hope this helps a bit.

[thomas]

Not much help but we had a similar issue at a school fundraiser last year, someone asked if I could offer a trip out on ours, I asked someone who charters and he said it was a shady area, so we decided best not too. Another parent with a RIB who wasn't so bothered about red tape ended up doing it.