Terms of Use
PWSGUIDE.com

1. Acceptance of Terms & Age Provision

By accessing or using PWSGUIDE.com (the "Site"), you represent and warrant that you are at least 18 years of age and possess the legal authority to agree to these Terms of Use. If you do not meet these requirements or do not agree to these Terms, do not use the Site.

2. Limited Site License & Data Exclusions

PWSGUIDE grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to temporarily cache, download, and print individual pages or safety guides from this Site solely for your personal, non-commercial offline voyage planning and safety coordination.

Data Exclusions: This license applies only to the original prose, guides, and tools authored directly by PWSGUIDE. It does not apply to, and explicitly excludes, any third-party vector map tiles, map layers, satellite imagery, public NOAA meteorological/tide feeds, or demographic datasets. Those materials are subject to their respective third-party licenses, terms, and copyrights (see our Sources & Attributions page).

3. Acceptable Use, Scraping, & API Rate Limits

You agree not to use the Site in any manner that could damage, disable, overburden, or impair the platform. You are strictly prohibited from:

• Scraping, harvesting, crawling, or extracting data from the Site using automated tools, scripts, spiders, or crawlers for any purpose, including training artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, or large language models, without our express prior written consent.
• Making more than 60 requests per minute from a single IP address or client network (API rate limit). We reserve the right to block access or rate-limit any user or IP address exceeding this limit.
• Reverse-engineering, decompiling, or attempting to extract the database structure, coordinate tables, or source code of the interactive maps, waypoints, or routing systems.
• Framing, mirroring, or republishing the Site's compilations, databases, or content on any other website or service.
• Bypassing any security measures, rate-limiting systems, or access gates.

4. Independent, Unaffiliated Platform

PWSGUIDE.com is an independent, community-built research tool. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or derived from any commercial guidebook publisher, cruising guide series, or other third-party publication. All names, trademarks, and publications referenced only for informational or comparative purposes belong to their respective owners.

5. Original Expression & Trademarks

All anchorage descriptions, route summaries, safety advisories, and regional content on this Site are either original works authored independently or information used from government or third-party sources under applicable public-domain status, license terms, permission, fair use, or attribution requirements. All third-party trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

6. Not for Primary Navigation, Offline Data, & Professional Review Notice

Content on this Site is for planning and informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for current official NOAA paper or electronic charts, or the independent judgment of a qualified vessel operator.

This Site and its materials have not been reviewed, certified, or endorsed by any professional navigator, the U.S. Coast Guard, or any regulatory agency.

If you download or cache data for offline use, you acknowledge that offline databases go stale rapidly and will not receive live updates (such as tide changes, marine zone weather warnings, or tunnel schedule changes). Use of cached data is at your own sole risk and must never be relied upon as a primary aid to navigation.

7. No Professional or Emergency Advisory Relationship

Nothing on this Site constitutes professional navigation advice, licensed captain's guidance, or an emergency dispatch service. Use of the Site does not create any advisory, consulting, or emergency-response relationship between you and PWSGUIDE.

8. Disclaimer of Warranties

THE SITE AND ALL CONTENT ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF ACCURACY, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.

Live data (tides, weather, marine conditions, tunnel schedules) may be delayed, incomplete, or unavailable due to third-party source outages beyond our control.

9. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, PWSGUIDE, ITS OWNERS, OPERATORS, AND AFFILIATES SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR SPECIAL DAMAGES — INCLUDING PERSONAL INJURY, DEATH, OR PROPERTY LOSS — ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF, OR RELIANCE ON, THIS SITE OR ITS CONTENT, INCLUDING NAVIGATION, ANCHORING, OR ROUTE DECISIONS MADE USING THIS SITE.

Note: Nothing in these Terms shall limit or exclude liability for gross negligence, willful misconduct, or any other liability which cannot be lawfully limited or excluded under applicable law.

10. User Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless PWSGUIDE, its owners (Four Media Group LLC), operators, and affiliates from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or in any way connected with (i) your access to or misuse of the Site, (ii) your violation of these Terms, or (iii) any content or submissions you upload to the Site.

Exception: Your obligation to indemnify PWSGUIDE does not apply to claims, damages, or losses directly caused by PWSGUIDE's own negligence, gross negligence, fraud, or willful misconduct.

11. Assumption of Risk

Prince William Sound presents inherent hazards including but not limited to cold-water immersion, remote and delayed rescue response, glacier calving, katabatic winds, and limited or no cellular/data coverage. By using this Site to plan or inform any voyage, you acknowledge and assume these risks.

12. Editorial Methodology & Exposure Ratings

Ratings and classifications of anchorages (e.g., "Protected," "Exposed," or "Advanced") are subjective editorial assessments based on historical observations and general geography. Prince William Sound is subject to rapid, unpredictable, and severe local conditions (including glacial surge waves, extreme tides, and katabatic wind gusts). An anchorage labeled "Protected" can become highly dangerous under certain wind shifts. Ratings are not guarantees of safety, and captains must independently evaluate each anchorage prior to dropping anchor.

13. Sponsored Listings & Directory Policy

The Site may include directory listings for local commercial operators, marinas, fuel docks, and guides. If we display sponsored, promoted, or paid listings, such listings will be clearly labeled as sponsored or advertised. PWSGUIDE does not vet, endorse, or verify the safety, licensure, or quality of listed businesses, and assumes no liability for any interactions or transactions you have with them.

14. Data Correction & Dispute Policy

We strive to maintain accurate data, but local conditions, fuel dock availability, and business coordinates change. If you believe any directory listing or guide content is inaccurate, or if you are a business owner disputing your listing details, please submit a report using the forms on our Contact & Dispute page or email [email protected]. We review dispute reports in good faith and aim to rectify verifiable errors promptly, but do not guarantee immediate resolution or changes.

15. User Feedback & Contributed Information

If you submit any suggestions, corrections, coordinates, reports, or other information to PWSGUIDE (whether via our Contact & Dispute forms, email, or other means), you grant us an irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable, and non-exclusive license to use, copy, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, and distribute such feedback or information in our cruising guides, websites, maps, and other products or services, without acknowledgment or compensation to you.

16. Governing Law and Exclusive Venue

These Terms of Use are governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of Alaska, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Any legal action, suit, or proceeding arising out of or relating to these Terms or your use of the Site must be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Anchorage, Alaska. You hereby consent and submit to the exclusive personal jurisdiction and venue of such courts.

17. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full force and effect.

18. Policy Precedence & Entire Agreement

In the event of a conflict between these Terms of Use and any specific disclaimer, safety guide, float plan agreement, directory terms, or policies elsewhere on this Site, these Terms of Use shall control and take precedence.

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, Full Disclaimer, DMCA Policy, and Float Plan Tool Agreement, constitute the entire agreement between you and PWSGUIDE regarding use of the Site.

19. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms at any time. Continued use of the Site after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

20. Contracting Entity & Contact Information

This Site is owned and operated by Four Media Group LLC, an Alaska limited liability company.

All notices, disputes, feedback, or requests for data correction should be directed to:
Four Media Group LLC
101 E. 9th Ave, Suite 400
Anchorage, AK 99501
Email: [email protected]