INTERNET PRIVACY POLICY

This Policy is effective as of February 15, 2005 . We reserve the right to change this Policy at any time, and will post any changes to this Policy as soon as they go into effect. Please refer back to this Policy on a regular basis.

We are committed to protecting the online privacy of visitors to our websites. This Policy applies only to the websites and online services provided by CoastalBoating.net. This Policy does not cover any interaction you may have with us by telephone, postal mail, or other offline communications. The purpose of this Policy is to inform you about the types of information we gather about you when you visit our websites, how we may use that information, and how we disclose it to third parties.

Our websites are not designed for use by children without their parent's supervision. We ask that anyone under the age of sixteen not submit any personal information through our websites. We do not knowingly collect any personal information from children, and therefore we do not knowingly distribute such information to third parties.

Data about the activity of visitors to the CoastalBoating.net web site (the “Site”), such as what pages are accessed, is automatically provided when you sign onto the Site.  Such information is used by Knowledge Clinic, Ltd. (“Knowledge Clinic”) for internal review in an aggregate and non-personally-identifiable form.  Information which visitors volunteer, such as survey or registration information, is automatically transmitted to Knowledge Clinic upon the visitor’s submission of such information;  e-mail addresses and other personally identifying data about visitors is known to Knowledge Clinic only when it is voluntarily submitted or posted to us.  Coastal Boating .net uses personal identifying data provided by visitors to customize the content and merchandise offered, to notify users about updates to and activities on the Site, and to contact users for information verification purposes.

In addition, we sometimes use e-mail addresses and other personal identifying information to contact visitors who communicate with CoastalBoating.net, such as responding to an inquiry.  When you voluntarily submit your e-mail address to the Site, we offer you the option of indicating that you do not wish to receive regular communications from CoastalBoating.net by e-mail.  If you do not choose this option and at any point you wish to stop receiving communications from CoastalBoating.net, or if you wish to obtain a copy of previously submitted personally identifiable information or correct such information, please email us

Our websites may contain links to other websites, including websites directed to children. We have no control over the privacy practices or the content of any of our business partners, advertisers, sponsors or other websites to which we provide links from our websites. You should check the applicable privacy policy of the website sponsor when linking to other websites.

What Information We Collect

Personal Information
Although you do not have to provide us with any information to visit our websites, you may not be able to fully utilize all of the services on our websites if you choose not to provide certain information. You will always know when we are collecting personal information, because we only collect personal information when you voluntarily submit it to us through our online forms and questionnaires.  

At various locations on our websites, such as in registration forms, sweepstakes entries, message boards, online stores, surveys, and polls, we may request that you supply us with "personal information," such as your name, email address, mailing and shipping addresses, home or work telephone number, and/or credit card information. If you do choose to give us personal information through our websites, we will collect and retain that information.  

Online Stores
We collect personal information from you when you purchase products from our online stores. For example, we require you to provide your name, contact information, shipping and billing addresses and a credit card number before we process your orders. We also collect information about your transactions with us. We may use the information that you provide to communicate with you about products purchased, to provide customer support in connection with those products, and to send you information about other products and services which we believe may be of interest to you.  You may always opt out of receiving such information by notifying us when queried or sending us an email with specific instructions.

Non-Personal Information
When you use our websites, we may also collect "non-personal information," which is information that, by itself, cannot be used to identify or contact you, such as demographic information (your age, gender, income, education, profession, zip code, etc.). Non-personal information may also include technical information, such as your IP address, the type of browser you are using, the websites you visit immediately before and immediately after you visit our websites, and other anonymous data involving your use of our websites. Non-personal information may also include information that you provide us through your use of our websites, such as the terms you enter into the search functions of our websites.

Cookies
We use "cookies" to enhance your visits to our websites. A cookie is a small amount of data that is sent to your browser from a web server and stored on your computer's hard drive. Cookies can store non-personal information, such as what websites, pages, or advertisements your browser has accessed. For example, cookies allow our websites to recognize your browser as a previous visitor, and thus save and remember any preferences that may have been set while you were previously browsing our websites. Our cookies can also store your password, personalize pages, and keep track of selections, such as items you have placed in a "shopping cart." Cookies do not store personal information about you, unless you knowingly provide it.

You do have control over cookies(consult your user manual, FAQ, or "help" function of your specific browser and operating system software).  Most browsers can be set to notify you when a cookie is being placed on your computer or to refuse to accept cookies, although this may affect your Internet experience. You can also erase cookies that are already on your computer.

How We Use the Information We Collect

Our Services and Websites
We use your personal information to provide you any services that you may request or require, to communicate with you, to allow you to make purchases, and to allow you to participate in online contests, surveys and games. We use aggregated non-personal information about our users to understand our website's demographics, such as the percentage of male and female users, the geographic distribution of our users, the age ranges of our users, or a combination of these or other demographics. We use the non-personal information we collect to analyze how our websites are being used, and to improve the content of our websites, online product offerings, and marketing and promotional efforts.

E-mail Communications
If you send us an e-mail with questions or comments, we may use your personal information to respond to your questions or comments, and we may save your questions or comments for future reference. We may also publish your comments on our "reader's log" pages. However, aside from our reply to such an e-mail, it is not our standard practice to send you e-mail unless you request a particular service that involves e-mail communications, you otherwise consent to being contacted by e-mail or if such contact is to communicate with you about products purchased through our online stores.  We may also contact you to provide customer support in connection with those products, and with your consent to send you information about other products and services which we believe may be of interest to you.

There may be times when you will have the opportunity to actively subscribe to an e-mail list or electronic newsletter that will send information to your e-mail address. However, we will provide you with the option to change your mind. You may request at any time that we not email you in the future by clicking the "unsubscribe" link which is included at the bottom of any e-mail that you receive from us, or by contacting us directly. If you unsubscribe, we will make reasonable efforts to discontinue these email communications as soon as practical.

Online Stores
When you supply personal information to make a purchase through our online stores, we use this information to process your online order and credit card number. We also use your address and billing information to bill you and provide associated support.

We may use the information you provide to send you important announcements and updates regarding our websites or online products. You may also receive periodic mailings regarding new products and services. However, you may opt-out from receiving future mailings by contacting us directly. 

Disclosure of Information to Third Parties

Affiliates and Non-Affiliates
Except as specifically set forth in this Policy, we do not share your personal information with any non-affiliated third party without your permission. We may disclose aggregate information on the entire database, such as demographic information and our statistical analyses to third parties, including advertisers or other business partners. This aggregate information does not include your individual personal information.

Service Providers
We sometimes engage unaffiliated businesses to assist us in providing you certain services. For example, we may hire a shipping company to help us deliver our products or services to you. We may also use third parties to process online transactions and credit card payments, provide advertising, marketing and promotional assistance, provide e-mail services, or facilitate our online services (such as message boards, chat rooms, and surveys). In those instances, we may need to share your personal information with them. We require these companies to use your personal information only to provide the particular product or service and do not authorize them to use your personal information for any other reason.

We sometimes offer promotions (like sweepstakes or free subscriptions) in conjunction with a third party sponsor. If you choose to participate in one of those promotions, we may share your information with the sponsor if they need it to send you a product or other special promotion they offer.

Business Transactions
As our business develops, we may buy, sell or combine with other businesses. If so, personal and non-personal information that we or other businesses have collected will likely be transferred as part of the transaction. If we sell a business, we will attempt to ensure that requests made of us regarding email communications will be honored.

Public Forums
We may feature public forums such as chat rooms, message boards, bulletin boards, or similar activities where you and other users of our websites can communicate with one another. This Policy does not protect you when you use these public forums or provide information (including personal information) about yourself. Any information you share in a public forum such as a chat room, message board, or bulletin board is public information and may be seen or collected by anyone, including third parties that do not adhere to our Privacy Policy. We are not responsible for events arising from the distribution of any information you choose to publicly post or share through our websites.

Third Party Advertisers
We use third-party advertising companies to deliver specific advertisements to you, which appear on pages throughout our websites. These companies collect non-personal information about your visits to our websites and other websites in order to provide advertisements about products and services that may be of interest to you. These companies may also aggregate your non-personal information for use in targeted advertising, marketing research, and other similar purposes. These companies may place their own cookies on your computer. If you want to prevent a third-party advertiser from collecting and using this information, you may visit each third party advertiser's website directly and opt-out.

Other Disclosures
We may disclose personal information when we are required or requested to do so by law, court order or other government or law enforcement authority or regulatory agency; to enforce or apply our rights and agreements; or when we believe in good faith that disclosing this information is necessary or advisable, including, for example, to protect the rights, property, or safety of coastalboating.net, our users, or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organizations for fraud protection and credit risk reduction. We reserve the right to use or disclose non-personal information in any way we see fit.

Security of the Information We Collect

The security of your personal information is important to us. We maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards to secure your personal information. "Perfect security" does not exist on the Internet, however, and there is always some risk in transmitting information electronically. The personal information we collect is stored within databases that we control. As we deem appropriate, we use security measures consistent with industry standards, such as firewalls and encryption technology, to protect your information. However, since no security system is impenetrable, we cannot guarantee the security of our databases, nor can we guarantee that information you supply won't be intercepted while being transmitted to us over the Internet. Of course, any information you post to any message board, discussion group, or other public posting area on our websites is available to anyone with Internet access.

Accuracy of the Information We Collect

Any questions you may have regarding our Privacy Policy, the accuracy of your personal information or the use of your personal information, or any requests that we correct, update, or remove your information in our databases, should be directed via email or via telephone. You also can write us at the address shown on the “Contact us” page.

After receiving a request to change your information, we will make reasonable efforts to ensure that all of your personal information stored in databases we actively use to operate our website will be updated, corrected, changed or deleted, as appropriate, as soon as reasonably practicable. However, we reserve the right to retain in our archival files any information we remove from or change in our active website databases. We may retain such information to resolve disputes, troubleshoot problems and enforce our terms of use. In addition, it is not technologically possible to remove each and every record of the information you have provided to us. A copy of your personal information may exist in a non-erasable form that will be difficult or impossible for us to locate.