Why does the site appear differently on my computer?

This site performs best on these web browsers; Firefox (version 2 or later), Internet Explorer (version 7 or later). It will probably function well on any up to date browser e.g. Safari or Opera too.

If you're using Internet Explorer version 6 or older then we strongly recommend you upgrade your browser. Not only will this help with the performance of this site but also with many other modern sites. It will also improve your internet security and protect you against phishing and other sites designed to extract information from you or your computer.

Keep your browser up to date in the same way that you keep your operating system up to date.

How do I update my profile information?

It's easy to change just one or several parts of your profile. Here's how to do it.

Log in, click on My Profile (top, left), then click on Edit Profile (middle of the page).

The first page you'll see is the General Information. You can edit this or leave it as it is. Click the Next button underneath.

The next page is the Basic Information. It's a good idea to at least add your marital status, sexuality, and date of birth. Your date of birth will not display on your profile but your age will.

When you've finished editing this page, click the Next to go to the My Character page and make your choice from the three options.

Click the Next button and make your choice on the My Tastes page and continue on to the My Physical Description page.

When you've finished editing this page, click the Next button to go to the Sailing and the Sea page. This is where you can describe your love of the water and all things nautical.

Click the Save button and you're done!

How do I change my main picture?

Log in and click on My Photos, Videos & Music Files (middle of the page, under Account Overview. You may need to scroll down to see it). Them click on either Change Display Pic on the left or the tab on the right. Click on the photo of your choice from those show in the horizontal display. This assumes you've already upload photos.

What's the best way to tell others about this site?

At the foot of every page you'll see the Tell a Friend link. Use the form under this link to send a quick email containing a link to this site with your recommendation.

On the same page you can also log into any of four we based email accounts and send the same recommendation to anyone in your contact list in those accounts.

"Why would I want to do this?"

Well, you might just like the site enough to want to tell others about it, but also because you'll the site to grow and the more people we can persuade to join the more fun it'll be for everyone.

After all, this is a dating site and a social network so the more interaction we can generate through an ever expanding and changing membership the better it will be for all members. Sites like this grow through marketing and promotion but they grow best through personal recommendation from existing members.

What is the small window that pops up when I log in?

This is a list of those members currently logged in. It's provided in case you want to contact any of them and start chatting to them right away.

How do I upload photos?

Log in and click on My Profile (top left) and then My Photos & Files. Under the Menu Options click on Create Album. Give the album a title e.g. "Solent Sailing, 2009". Select any of the other options or just leave everything as it is. Click Save and you should see the response "Album Created Successfully, Now upload some files".

On the same page select the file type you're going to upload i.e. photos. and then use the Browse buttons that appear to upload on or more photos.  You can upload several at once but the more you add, the longer the upload will take so try just two or three at first.

When you've selected the files on your computer, select No from the Display Photo menu (unless you intend to change the display photo now). Click the Save button and the files will begin to upload.

"Help! My pictures won't upload!"

Please note that the files should be jpg or png and they should not exceed 1MB each. Many digital cameras create files that are larger than 1MB so please reduce the size. Here's a quick an easy way of reducing the size of the files:

Right click on the My Computer icon on your desktop or open Windows Explorer (not Internet Explorer) by clicking Start > Computer in Vista:

1. Browse to the location on your computer where you have saved the pictures.
2. Right-click on the image file, or select two more images by holding down the Ctrl key and clicking on your choices, then right click once on the selection.
3. From the menu that loads select Send To -> Mail Recipient
4. In the next popup box, select Make all my pictures smaller. Choose 640 x 480.
5. Then, in the email window that has opened, right click on the images that have been attached and save these one by one back on to your computer.
6. Then follow the procedure above to upload these new photos.

The smaller you make the files, the more you're be able to upload to your account.

I don't want to subscribe online. Is there another way?

If you'd prefer not to use the online billing system you can also send a cheque for the subscription of your choice to:

Love Sail Payments
Redspan Solutions Ltd
PO Box 403
Fareham
Hampshire
PO16 7XQ
UK

Please remember to include your username and email address with any payments sent in this way

How do I upgrade my membership?

If you would like to take advantage of all the features only available to subscribers then log in, click My Profile, and then click on the My Membership tab on your profile home page.

On the membership page you'll see your current membership and those upgrades available to you. Click on any of the titles to see a more detailed description. Click the package of your choice then scroll down and click the Upgrade Now button. This will take you to the secure PayPal site where your payment will be processed

Please note that you do not need a PayPal account in order to use PayPal. You can pay with most credit and debit cards

Once payment has been approved (it takes just a few seconds) then your account will be upgraded immediately.  However, you may need to log out and log back in again to use all the features.

If you'd prefer not to use the online payment method, please see elsewhere on this page for our postal address.

How do I change my password?

Log in, and click on Settings in the second row of the menu at the top of the page. The Change Password link is on that page along with several other options relating to your profile.

How do I meet other members who might be at sailing or marine events?

Click on Events at the top of this page and you'll see a section which lists sailing, marine, SCUBA and surfing events from all around the world.

Click on any of the categories to view events listed in there. Click on any event title to see full details of the event.

Now, on any event detail page there's the option to click on "Attend This Event" (on the right of the page). If you do this then you'll be listed as someone who will be attending. In this way others will be encouraged to attend as well, and before you know it you'll have a party of Love Sailors meeting up an one of these events.

Use this event detail page to email it to someone, list it in other social networking sites you might belong to, print the details, and so on.

Experiment! Try things out to see how they work.

If you change your mind you can return to the event page and remove your listing from the page.

What's the difference between the hot list and the list of friends?

Let's say lovesail sees a profile he likes (let's call it Female123) and clicks 'Add to my hot list'. Lovesail will now now see Female123 in his own hot list. Female123 will also sees lovesail listed in her hotlist where she can choose to delete the listing. This will not only remove the listing of lovesail from her own list but it will also remove her listing from lovesail's list. On the other hand she can leave it in place.

Let's say lovesail sees Female123's profile and clicks 'Add to friends list'. The recipient receives a 'New Friend Request' alert and lovesail will appear in her list of friends. She can then choose to approve the request or just delete the listing in her own list. Again, this will remove lovesail from her list and remove Female123 from lovesail's list of friends.

What's the difference between people on a hot list and those on a list of friends?

People on your hot list are those you have taken a fancy to or who you admire in some way, or those you just want to applaud. People on your list of friends might be all those things too, but it's handy to have a choice of lists so that you can separate flirtation from friendship! You can also choose to allow access to files in your albums to either of these two lists, so you can a 'friends only' private album and a 'hot list only' private album.

How can I keep a check who's listed me?

Just click on Friends in the second row of the top menu and you'll see links to both lists. You can click on either of the lists and manage your listings from there.

How do I carry out simple searches?

Click the Search link in the top menu and you'll see the Search page containing four tabs: All Members, Basic View, Gallery View, Detailed.  Experiment by clicking on each tab.  The results should be self-explanatory.

The page number is on the right near the middle of the page.  You'll see results like this: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, ...

To view the next set of pages, click on the number 7 to see the next sequence.  Click on the highest number to see more each time.

If you've clicked to look at one of the profiles in the search results, don't click the Back button in your browser to go back to the results.  Instead, use a Saved Search (see elsewhere on this page for instructions).  Then you can click Search and re-use your saved search, and then you can select another profile in two clicks.

How do I carry out advanced searches?

Click the Search link in the top menu then click on the Advanced Search link.  The text boxes should be self-explanatory and you can experiment with any of these. 

The username search box is not case sensistive and it does search on wildcards so lovesai, lovesail, LOVESAIL, LoVeSaiL all produce the same result.

For the Keyword search try names of towns, cities, boats, hobbies etc. It picks up such words in profiles.

For the Post Code search (UK) try the first half of your post code e.g. PO16

For the USA Zip Code search try the first few digits of your zip code and a wide radius.

Most people want to see all profiles of one gender, so for example to search for all men with photos sorted by age:

Click on the General Information link in the middle of the Advanced Search page.  Three drop-down menus will appear.

Select Male from the first drop-down menu

Tick the 'with photo' box underneath

Select Age from the 'Sort by' menu underneath and click the Search button.

Accurate results depend upon accurate and complete profiles.  Is your profile accurate and complete?  How will people find you if it isn't?

How do I save a search?

Assuming you've just conducted a search using the criteria that you want to save (see elsewhere on this page) then on the results page of that search click the Save Search link (just below the tabs) and give the search a suitable name. 

Your Saved Search will be saved to a list that'll appear in the left column of the Search page and will be there every time you log in and click the Search link in the top menu.  In this way you can repeat the search at any time without re-entering all the criteria.

What's the difference between the various membership types?

To compare membership types; log in and click the My Membership tab in about the middle of the page (between Account Overview and Who's Viewed My Profile). 

Click on any of the package titles and the details will appear in the box on the right.

For Example, Cast Off is a one-off seven day membership which allows you to use most of the features on the site.  This will give you a taster, but if you'd prefer to enjoy all the features and get cracking with a regular subscription then the Regular Cruise would be best.

Alternatively, choose Short Voyage or Long Passage for extended memberships which give you a discount on the Regular Cruise price, or treat yourself to an Unlimited membership which is another one-off payment and is valid for the lifetime of the site.

How do I delete some of my pictures?

My Profile >> My Photos & Files >> View My Albums >>

Click Delete to delete the whole album or click on the album picture and delete images one by one.

How do I change my profile's main picture

Any images that you upload go into a queue to await approval.  Once approved they will be visible to other members.

To change your profile’s main picture:

My Profile >> My Photos & Files >> Change Display Pic 

Click on your choice of picture from those you've uploaded.

What's the significance of the yellow border around images?

If you see a yellow border or background around an image in the search results this denotes that the member is a featured member.

Featured members are chosen for the content of their profiles, their image collection and their activity on the site.  The number of featured members often changes, so if your profile is not listed as a featured member then fill out your profile, give it a unique stamp, and add more pictures.

AAAAGGGGHH! Why doesn't it work??!!

We know how frustrating it can be when a website doesn't do what you want it to do or what it should, and we do what we can to ensure that the site is as up to date, secure and stable.

If you try to do something and it doesn't work then please do the following:

1.  Check this FAQ page.  New questions and answers are added from time to time.

2.  Log out, reboot your computer, then log in and try the procedure again. 

3.  If you have access to another computer try the procedure from there.  Do you see the same results?

4.  Check your browser.  Your browser is the window in which you view all websites.  It'll be Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari etc.  You can check the version by clicking Help in the very top menu bar (on the browser itself, not the website) and then clicking on About.  You should use the most recent version of your chosen browser at all times as it will contain important security updates.

If all else fails please contact us using the Contact link below and provide a summary of the problem and those things you've tried so far and your browser details.

Where is everyone?

These snapshots show where some of our members have been when they logged in.

I can't log in! Why doesn't it work?

You need to log in using your username and password, both of which are case sensitive.


If you have forgotten your password then try logging in leaving the password field blank.  Doing so will reveal a password reminder link.  Click that link and fill in the brief form and you'll be sent a new password.


Once you've logged in with this new password you can change it to something more memorable if you prefer, but do NOT use weak passwords that are easily guessed.  Keep your personal login details secure especially when using shared computers.


If you have forgotten your username then please use the Contact form and we'll send it to you.


You cannot log in using your email address or the numeric member ID from the old site.

Are the subscriptions recurring payments?

All the subscription types are one-off payments apart from Regular Cruise which is a monthly recurring payment.


So if you take out subscription your account will not be automatically debited again unless you've chosen the Regular Cruise subscription.


The Regular Cruise subscription can be cancelled at any time from within your PayPal account or be using the Contact form to request that we do so for you.

I'm struggling to use this site. What can I do?

The Love Sail site has many features and it is unrealistic to expect each new member to become fluent with each feature within the first few minutes of joining.


Take your time and try each section one by one.  Make good use of this FAQ page as it's likely that whatever questions you may want to put to us have been asked before.


It can be frustrating when things don't work as expected but try to use a little patience 

If you're certain that something doesn't work then by all means let us know but please remember to include details of what you were doing at the time and what your computer details are e.g. operating system and browser type and version.

What tips can you offer for account ensuring security?

• Use a strong password made up of a combination of letters, numbers and symbols e.g. $H3dnsy&F2Y


• Don't use family or pet names for passwords, nor any real word that could be guessed.


• Keep your login information securely where no one else can find it.  Memorising is best but if you must store it somewhere then do so where it can't be found by anyone else.


• Be especially vigilant when using computers that are shared e.g. at work, at the public library, or in internet cafes


• Change your password every few months.


• Do not leave yourself logged in to your account while away from the computer.


• Protect your email account with the same amount of vigilance.  Anyone who has access to your emails could find out what your login details are for this and many other accounts.

The advice given above could apply to any online account e.g. online bank accounts. 

We store your passwords in such a way that they are encrypted so they cannot be viewed by us or anyone else.  We take all possible steps to ensure that the site is secure. 


However, protection of  login details, email accounts, and access to PayPal accounts are the responsibility of each member and we accept no liability for loss or damage caused by unauthorised access to any of such accounts.

What is the difference between the various membership types?

This site has a tiered membership system in which guests are able to carry out a few basic functions on the site like searching and browsing profiles, while registered members are able to do several more things such as building a profile, adding photos etc. For a small monthly fee subscribers who have upgraded their memberships are able to use all the functions on the site. The revenue generated by subscriptions is reinvested in the site in the form of promotion and marketing. In this way the we attract new members and keep the site alive with fresh content.

If you find yourself on the upgrade page, click on any upgrade package and you'll see the privileges that the upgrade entitles you to in the box on the right, or just click the comparison chart link to see an overview of the various types.

Are profiles censored? Is there any limit to what I can put in my profile?

Yes, all profiles are checked before becoming visible. It contravenes our terms and conditions of use to add personal contact information anywhere in the profile where it is visible to other members. This includes cryptic descriptions of email addresses. Our profiles are checked by humans not computers, and they've seen every trick in the book! We also prohibit the use of any images that are pornographic, violent, in breach of copyright, or advertising material.

How do I recognize scammers?

Scammers are usually men pretending to be women who have seemingly fallen head over heels in love with you, or they have some terrible story of woe and they prey on your sympathy in order to persuade you to send them some money. Under no circumstances should you ever send money to someone you've met on a dating site or social network.

For more information on dating site scams please visit the Consumer Direct website which contains an article describing these frauds in full.

How do I send a message to another member?

View the person's profile and click on the Send a message or Send a card link in the profile or in the member listing. Type in your message or choose a card to send and when you're ready click the Send button. It's that simple!

What is the Block List feature?

For various reasons there may come a time when you no longer wish to receive any communication from another member and to do so would spoil your enjoyment of the site. This is why we have introduced the Block List.

When you view another profile or when you're reading messages in our inbox there is an option to add the person or sender to your Block List. Having added that member to your Block List you will not receive any more messages or cards from him/her. Should you choose to do so you can remove people from your Block List and resume contact with them.

Are members on this site screened?

Yes. Each profile is checked before being approved and any changes to profiles are also checked before being activated again. Similarly, all other content that members upload or create including classified adverts is checked.

Each member who registers must provide a valid email address and profiles that do not provide one are deleted. We take the privacy and security of all our members very seriously and as a member you should also do what you can to protect your personal contact details.

Although we do all we can to ensure that profiles on this site are genuine we are unable to carry out thorough background checks on anyone who joins so please bear this in mind when viewing profiles and contacting others. Trust your instincts, keep your personal contact details private, and only reveal them when you feel it's safe to do so. Exercise a little caution and you should find online dating to be a safe and enjoyable experience.