winter yacht season

Please use a modern browser to view this website. Some elements might not work as expected when using Internet Explorer.

• Why Charter Homepage
• Luxury Yacht Vacation Types
• Corporate Yacht Charter
• Tailor Made Vacations
• Luxury Exploration Vacations
• ALL 3,576 Yachts For Charter
• Motor Yachts
• Sailing Yachts
• Classic Yachts
• Catamaran Yachts
• Special Offers
• by Destination
• Yacht Reviews
• Destination Guides
• Inspiration & Features
• Mediterranean Charter Yachts
• France Charter Yachts
• Italy Charter Yachts
• Croatia Charter Yachts
• Greece Charter Yachts
• Turkey Charter Yachts
• Bahamas Charter Yachts
• Caribbean Charter Yachts
• Australia Charter Yachts
• Thailand Charter Yachts
• Dubai Charter Yachts
• Destination News
• New To Fleet
• Charter Fleet Updates
• Industry News
• Yacht Shows
• Corporate Charter
• Charter Advice
• Why Use a Yacht Broker
• Charter Costs Explained
• Add my yacht
• Yacht Charter Fleet
• Luxury Yacht Charter Advice
• Yacht Charter Seasons

Whether you’re looking to escape the brisk winds of winter or the humid climates of summer, it is important to understand the charter seasons and how they may affect the planning of your private yacht charter. A charter season can refer to the weather pattern of a destination or the peak times when the demand for yacht charter is at its highest. Read on to find out more about the charter seasons and what they mean.

When referring to a charter season in terms of weather and climate, the seasons are broken into "summer" and "winter" whereas when speaking in terms of peak times, the seasons are "high" and "low" with high season being the busiest times and low referring to the slowest. It is important to understand that, although somewhat misleading, a charter “season” refers to periods of weeks as opposed to full seasons.

Ultimately, most charter yachts are built for warm climates and although some may be equipped with air conditioning, they are far less likely to have heat installed as when predominantly cruising in warm destinations such as the Caribbean or Mediterranean, there is simply no use for it. With this in mind it is important to understand that seasonal weather will affect the location of the majority of crewed yachts, which will move from one region to another, in line with the charter seasons. When choosing a charter destination ensure to establish the best cruising months as this will allow you to choose from a wider selection of yachts. For instance if you’re looking to charter in Alaska, be aware that come the winter season there will be very few marina’s open. If you have your heart set on a particular location, ensure to plan for the appropriate time of year.

The summer and winter seasons may overlap, particularly from year to the next and summer in one destination may be winter in another. When looking to charter in the summer, winter or all year round, here are some of the most popular destinations for yacht charter.

Summer Season

Typically, the summer season ranges from April/May to October. The most predominant locations to charter in the summer season include the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, the America’s and the South Pacific.

Popular Summer Season Charter Regions

French Riviera

Winter Season

The winter season typically ranges from late November to April, where many yachts tend to head over to the Caribbean, the British Virgin Islands and the Indian Ocean.

Popular Winter Season Charter Regions

Saint Martin

Virgin Islands

Some yachts stay in the region of the Bahamas and Florida all year round as the weather and climate tends to remain comfortable most of the time. With this in mind however, some months can be prone to hurricanes and gale force winds to be sure to speak to a broker if you’re chosen charter period is outside of the typical summer/winter seasons.

As stated earlier, a charter season can also refer to the busiest and slowest times for yacht charter and these periods are referred to as high season and low season. Although the term “season” can cause confusion, it is important to understand that high and low seasons can occur within summer and winter. Here is some more information to help determine one from the other;

Popular Year Round Charter Regions

High and Low Season can also refer to rates, for more information on rates view our Understanding Charter Rates page.

Getting Started

• Understanding Charter Costs
• How To Choose Your Yacht
• Finding a Yacht Broker
• Activities On-Board
• Understanding Charter Contracts

Before You Go

• On Board Etiquette
• What to take on your charter vacation
• Charter Preferences

From secret hideaways to sought-after hotspots, the Caribbean is..

From upmarket establishments to ramshackle rum shacks, the Carib..

Cocktails and superyachts go hand-in-hand, view ten top choices ..

• See All Top 10

Upcoming Events

27th Apr 2024

27th Apr - 1st May

• All Upcoming Events

Featured Luxury Yachts for Charter

This is a small selection of the global luxury yacht charter fleet, with 3576 motor yachts, sail yachts, explorer yachts and catamarans to choose from including superyachts and megayachts, the world is your oyster. Why search for your ideal yacht charter vacation anywhere else?

446ft | Lurssen

from $4,320,000 p/week ♦︎

378ft | Lurssen

from $2,808,000 p/week ♦︎

279ft | Golden Yachts

from $972,000 p/week ♦︎

289ft | Golden Yachts

from $1,188,000 p/week ♦︎

274ft | Feadship

from $1,080,000 p/week ♦︎

305ft | Feadship

from $1,512,000 p/week ♦︎

Maltese Falcon

289ft | Perini Navi

from $490,000 p/week

400ft | Lurssen

from $3,000,000 p/week

As Featured In

The YachtCharterFleet Difference

YachtCharterFleet makes it easy to find the yacht charter vacation that is right for you. We combine thousands of yacht listings with local destination information, sample itineraries and experiences to deliver the world's most comprehensive yacht charter website.

San Francisco

• Like us on Facebook
• Follow us on X
• Follow us on Instagram
• Find us on LinkedIn
• Add My Yacht
• Affiliates & Partners

Popular Destinations & Events

• St Tropez Yacht Charter
• Monaco Yacht Charter
• St Barts Yacht Charter
• Greece Yacht Charter
• Mykonos Yacht Charter
• Caribbean Yacht Charter

Featured Charter Yachts

• Maltese Falcon Yacht Charter
• Wheels Yacht Charter
• Victorious Yacht Charter
• Andrea Yacht Charter
• Titania Yacht Charter
• Ahpo Yacht Charter

Receive our latest offers, trends and stories direct to your inbox.

Please enter a valid e-mail.

Thanks for subscribing.

Search for Yachts, Destinations, Events, News... everything related to Luxury Yachts for Charter.

Yachts in your shortlist

• Inquire Now
• YACHT SEARCH
• Motor Yachts
• Sailing Yachts
• $1 – $25,000 Yachts
• $26,000 – $50,000 Yachts
• $50,000 – $100,000 Yachts
• $101,000 – $200,000 Yachts
• $200,000 – ∞ Yachts
• Turks and Caicos
• Virgin Islands
• Spain & Balearic Islands
• New England
• Tahiti & South Pacific
• More destinations
• Charter Advice

How Long Is a Yacht Charter Season?

Every charter destination has a “yacht charter season,” which refers to the months when cruising conditions are ideal and charters are most popular. For example, some destinations have a summer season like the Mediterranean, while others are winter charter season destinations (like the Caribbean).

But you might be wondering: How long is a yacht charter season?

Both summer and winter chart seasons last roughly six months. Yet, within each season there are also “high,” “low” and “shoulder” seasons. In both summer and winter, “high” or peak charter season – the time when chartering is most popular – lasts just 2-3 months.

Wondering when you might plan your next charter? We’re taking a closer look at yacht charter seasons to show you how long they are, how seasons differ by region, and when peak charter season is.

Summer Yacht Charter Season

The Mediterranean is the world’s most popular summer yacht charter destination. The region’s beautiful temperate climate offers ideal conditions during the summer months, and hotspots like Cannes and the French Riviera, Italy, and Croatia beckon charter guests from around the world.

How long is the summer charter season?

Summer charter season in the Mediterranean begins in late-April and runs through mid-September. Summer in the Mediterranean not only brings warm, sunny weather; it’s also known for its many cultural affairs, like the Cannes Film Festival, the club season in Ibiza, and food and art festivals along the Amalfi Coast in Italy.

Throughout the Mediterranean, peak charter season is just two months: July and August. Many yachts are fully booked during the peak season, and rates climb by about 10%.

Alternatively, New England in the U.S. is another popular summer destination, yet the season is a bit shorter: from mid-June through August, with the high season running from mid-July to mid-August.

Popular summer charter destinations:

If you’re looking for a summer charter destination, spots throughout the Mediterranean offer respite from the heat and humidity. Top destination for summer yacht charters include:

French Riviera Known for its cosmopolitan beach clubs and rustic charms, the French Riviera – including Cannes, Monaco and Corsica – offer ideal summer cruising conditions. The French charter season mirrors most of the Mediterranean, but generally starts a bit later, in mid-May and runs through September. The summer season coincides with many events popular with charter guests, including the Monaco Grand Prix, the Cannes Film Festival, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

Italy With numerous charter regions, including Sicily, the Amalfi Coast and the Italian Riviera, Italy might be the world’s most popular destination for summer charters. Italy offers a bit of everything: Excellent cuisine and wine, historic sites to explore, and plenty of culture and nightlife. Italy’s charter season runs May through October.

Croatia Croatia – and its numerous islands – make an ideal summer destination, thanks to cool breezes off the Adriatic and its warm sapphire waters. Throughout the season, Dubrovnik, Split and Hvar all beckon charter guests, who escape to Croatia’s sparkling beaches, and upscale, historic ports of call. Dubrovnik, the historic walled city, is a popular charter destination in the summer, and it hosts numerous festivals throughout the charter season.

Greece Sun-soaked Greece is home to nearly 10,000 miles of coastline, along with beautiful islands like Santorini. In the summer months, Greece offers plenty for charter guests to experience, including beautiful beaches, UNESCO sites, and excellent cuisine like moussaka and Restina wine. Greece’s charter season is a bit longer: from April through October.

Spain Spain’s Balearic Islands are a legendary summer season destination, thanks to the all-night clubs of Ibiza and the islands’ sun-soaked beaches. Spend a night clubbing in Ibiza, or explore neighboring Formentera, known for its natural landscapes and hiking trails. Majorca is another must-see island, known for its historic churches, swank beach clubs, and world-class dining.

New England From the coast of Maine, to Newport, R.I. and Martha’s Vineyard, the tranquil ports along the East Coast in the U.S. are perfect for summer charters. The destination offers it all: Cosmopolitan villages, classic lighthouses, excellent golf, windswept beaches, and National Parks to explore. Looking for another summer destination in the U.S.? Consider Alaska, which is known for its glaciers and natural beauty.

Winter Charter Season

The Caribbean is a winter charter season mecca, as many escape the cold weather to the soak up the sun in the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands, Turks & Caicos, and the Grenadines. The Caribbean offers ideal cruising conditions throughout the winter months, including steady breezes (a must if you fancy a sailing charter), warm weather in the 70s and 80s, and hundreds of hidden beaches to explore.

Winter charter season is about six months long, and typically beings in late October, around the unofficial season kickoff, the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, and runs through March. Thailand, Tahiti and the Seychelles, and the South Pacific are also popular destinations for winter charters (and have a similar season to the Caribbean).

In the Caribbean, peak charter season is in late December, during the holidays, through March. The shoulder season in November and mid-December are popular as well and offer fewer crowds and reduced prices.

Popular winter charter destinations:

Winter charter destinations offer warm weather, beautiful beaches, and plenty to do and explore. If you’re considering a winter yacht charter, you might choose to travel to:

The Virgin Islands Both the U.S. and British Virgin Islands are some of the most visited islands during the winter season. Known for their laid-back island vibes, incredible sailing, snorkeling and diving, the Virgin Islands are perfect for an adventurous, island-hopping winter yacht charter.

Tahiti Tahiti has fast become one of the most popular charter destinations in the South Pacific, and it offers the ultimate in privacy and natural beauty. With islands like Bora Bora and Moorea, as well as black sand beaches, French Polynesia is the perfect destination for escaping the cold to snorkel, dive, hike and enjoy the beach.

Thailand Thailand’s beautiful islands and tropical coast offer the best in winter chartering. Thailand is perfect for snorkeling and island hopping, Full Moon parties and lazy beach days. The destination’s tropical climate, making for perfect winter charter conditions.

Turks & Caicos Upscale, yet unpretentious, Turks & Caicos – which is comprised of seven main islands, and more than 40 uninhabited cays and islets – is an ideal destination or winter snorkeling. The island’s beautiful coral reefs teem with colorful fish, rays, turtles, and sharks throughout the winter months.

Year-round Charter Destinations

Some destinations offer chartering year-round. For example, Florida is one of the most popular destinations, no matter the time of year.

The Bahamas With hundreds of islands to explore, there’s a new adventure around every corner in the Bahamas. Two of the region’s most popular charter destinations, Nassau (with its excellent golf courses, numerous beaches, and family-friendly atmosphere) and the Exumas (a stretch of beautiful islands), offer chances for R&R and adventures like swimming with pigs and sharks, cliff-diving, and snorkeling.

Miami & The Florida Keys Miami and the Florida Keys offer excellent cruising conditions throughout the year. The peak season in Florida is generally mid-December through March, yet a variety of luxury crewed charters in any month.

Want to learn more about the best charter seasons around the globe? Contact your charter broker with Worldwide Boat to learn more.

Showing 1–4 of 285 results

282.2ft / 84m

278.1ft / 83m

239.6ft / 71m

Serenity 236

236.3ft / 70m

Go to Charter Advice

Set your search criteria to find the perfect yacht

• Alaska Australia Bahamas BVI Caribbean Croatia Florida France Galapagos Greece Indonesia Italy Malaysia Maldives Mexico Mediterranean New England Norway Spain Thailand Tahiti Turkey
• Motor Yacht Catamaran Sailing Boats
• 2 4 6 8 10 12 12+

Search by yacht name

• Articles and Guides

Yacht Charter Seasons: Where Can I go and When?

14th jun 2021 by rightboat team.

The world is bursting with incredible yacht charter destinations, from the ever-popular Mediterranean and Caribbean, to the South Pacific, the Indian Ocean, North America and beyond. Being presented with this dazzling array of golden beaches and picturesque coastlines makes it hard to choose where to go, but you can narrow it down by charter season. Figuring out yacht charter seasons can be a bit tricky, as they are classified not just as summer and winter, but high and low too.

Here we will take a look at the seasons and which destinations are best for a family yacht charter to help you choose your next holiday at sea. 

Yacht charter seasons defined.

Summer and winter seasons last around six months each, with the summer yacht charter season stretching from April/May through to early October, and the winter season running from November through to April. The weather is the most obvious factor in determining the best sailing or boating seasons, but low and high seasons within those periods play an important role too.

High and low seasons – also referred to as peak or off-peak seasons – focus on busier and quieter times in the yachting calendar. For example, Christmas and New Year mark high season points during winter, when demand is high, availability limited and prices sometimes higher. Likewise, the hurricane season of the Caribbean is an example of low season, when boats hunker down for a few weeks and allow the storms to pass over. In the Mediterranean, July and August are bursting at the seams, and mark the high point of the summer season. 

While smaller charter boats will usually be located in one place, and you can therefore charter them out of season if you choose, you can expect larger charter yachts such as superyachts to move from one region of the world to another as they follow the better weather. So if you have your heart set on a particular yacht, ask the broker for its annual charter itinerary. 

Shoulder Seasons

Shoulder seasons are a great way to make the most of temperate climates, fewer crowds, lower prices and more availability. They refer to the period either side of the high season, so in summer would be April and October, and in winter November and March, and offer fantastic opportunities for a budget yacht charter. As mentioned, larger yachts may have moved on to new cruising destinations by this point, but smaller boats or those who are locally-based will be able to offer less stifling weather, quiet anchorages and marinas, less demand for boats and discounted prices. 

Chartering a yacht out of season

Seasons have been long-established for a reason, but that isn’t to say you can’t charter out of season. We’ve taken a look at shoulder seasons, and your best bet is to stick as close to those as possible, but you’ll find boats at any time of the year. Keep in mind however that you’re choosing a time when the weather might not be favourable – rain or cold weather can put a downer on activities for example – or you struggle to find attractions and restaurants open. In off-the-beaten-track destinations such as Alaska, ice might hinder access to and from marinas, or strong winds such as the hurricanes which pass through the Caribbean from June to November might make cruising uncomfortable or impossible. 

Summer Season Charter Destinations

The Mediterranean is the golden girl of summer yachting destinations, with tantalizing coasts, ancient cities, beautiful islands and rich culture at every turn. From the glamour of the French Riviera and Italy’s Amalfi Coast, to the beauty of the Balearic and Croatian islands, it is the yachting capital of the world. But the Mediterranean isn’t the only summer destination worth visiting, with North America, the America’s and South Pacific on the list too. 

1. Mediterranean summer yachting destinations: Greece, Italy, Croatia, Balearic, Sardinia, French Riviera and Turkey.

2. North European summer yachting destinations: Consider northern European countries during the long summer days, where the UK, Norway, Sweden and the Baltic Sea offer up spectacular natural beauty, midnight sun, vast archipelagos and wild coasts. 

3. Alaska: Alaska’s wild lands, remote bays and bountiful wildlife make it one of the most adventure-filled destinations in the world. The summer months, with their long days and milder weather conditions, make for the best time to visit the gargantuan national parks, crashing glaciers and see once-in-a-lifetime wildlife.  

Winter Season Charter Destinations

The Caribbean is the focus of the winter yachting season, with St Barts, St Martin, the Virgin Islands and Bahamas the tip of the iceberg of what this island-spattered region has to offer. Yet think further afield too, and there are some dazzling destinations waiting for you.

1. Caribbean winter yachting destinations: Whether you opt for the pink sand beaches of the Bahamas, the perfect sailing conditions of the Leeward Islands, or the glamour of St Barts, you’ll find it in the Caribbean. From Jamaica’s legendary culture to the Dutch Antilles and Grenadines, there are corners of solitude, remote islands and lively beaches to discover. 

2. The America’s winter yachting destinations: Mexico and Florida share the same Caribbean waters but offer a completely different vibe for a yacht charter. Explore the flamboyant Florida Keys or venture along the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico in search of ancient ruins and wildlife-filled rainforests. 

3. South Pacific winter yachting destinations: There are few places dreamier than the South Pacific. Emerald-topped islands, golden atolls and fish-laden turquoise seas beg exploration, whether it’s a family holiday, romantic getaway or once-in-a-lifetime adventure. Countries such as Fiji, Tonga, the Solomon Islands, New Zealand, Australia and Papua New Guinea offer virtually year-round charter opportunities the winter months are the driest and offer the most favourable conditions. Try scuba diving, climb hidden waterfalls or get to know the local communities of these far-flung islands. 

4. Indian Ocean winter yachting destinations: The Seychelles and Maldives offer some of the most sublime cruising destinations on the planet, their iridescent waters teeming with marine life and their beaches powder white. Sri Lanka has a rich history and national parks filled with wildlife, while Mauritius’ underwater world is a maze of colourful coral reefs. 

When to book a yacht charter

If you’re planning on chartering a yacht in the peak season, book early! As with anything where demand is high, the sooner you get your deposit paid the better. Out of the peak times, you may be able to secure a more last-minute charter at a discounted price (see our article on How Much Does it Cost to Charter a Boat? ). As a general rule, you’ll want to allow 10-12 months in advance during peak times, and three to six months in advance for low season charters. But be sure to get in touch with us at Rightboat.com at any time of the year as we have boats all over the world waiting to be chartered and connections with all the top boat operators. We won’t leave you high and dry. 

You May Also Like ...

1.  Must Visit Croatian Destinations

2.  Antigua Yacht Chartering

3.  Where to Charter in the UK?

4.  Yacht chartering in detail

5.  What to Expect on Your Very First Yacht Charter?

6.  How Much Does it Cost to Charter a Boat?

7.  How to Charter a Boat ?

Written By: Rightboat Team

The Rightboat team

More from: Rightboat Team

Related Articles and Guides

12th Mar 2024

What Is a Good Boat Name? Over 200 of the Best Boat Names

23rd Oct 2023

Yacht Maintenance Cost. The Real Costs of Owning a Superyacht

1st Oct 2023

Fishing in the Gulf of Mexico: Popular Fish To Catch

10th Aug 2023

Living on a Houseboat: Is It Right for Your Family?

• Explore Rightboat
• Boats for Sale
• Boating Articles
• Buyers Guide
• About RightBoat
• Sell Your Boat
• Boat Selling Advice

Enter your email to keep up to date with the latest news

Join for free

Sign up now for free and discover how easy it is to keep up to date with THE latest boats for sale. Find your right boat, and tailor your voyage to finding your next boat.

Benefits of becoming a member:

• Set up tailored alerts
• Personalise your experience
• Download full specifications and broker details
• Keep tabs on your favourite boats

Are you a broker? Join as a Broker

Rightboat - join for free.

Do you have an account already? Login

Save this search

Save your search and receive new boats in your email..

You can unsubscribe from your alerts whenever you like. By pressing the button you accept the Legal Terms and conditions

Got a Question?

Complete our short form for a prompt response and world class tax advice.

Yes please contact me regarding mortgages

By selecting this, you agree to the Privacy Policy .

Sign in to your account

How long is a yacht charter season.

If you’re planning to charter a private yacht, you may be wondering what time of year would be best to do it.

As you may be aware, there’s two main chartering seasons per year, and fees vary considerably depending on the period you choose.

What is a Yacht Charter?

When are the yacht charter seasons, how long is the summer charter season, popular summer charter locations, how long is the winter charter season, popular winter charter locations, year round charters, peak vs off-peak yacht charter prices, can you charter yachts off-season, what are shoulder seasons, how long is an individual charter, can i get a job working on a yacht charter.

Chartering a yacht is probably one of the ultimate choices in dream vacations for many.

Engaging in the beauty of the open sea in a luxurious setting and a great service is surely a thrilling and unforgettable experience.

The demand for yacht chartering has been on the rise over recent years, and yacht charter seasons are understandably busy periods.

Every charter destination will have its yacht charter season.

This refers to the months during which the cruising conditions are the most suitable, and hence, during such a time the charters will be more popular.

The charter season refers to the time of year when it’s best to rent a yacht for a vacation.

It’s also the time when most charter companies will be operating.

The two yacht charter seasons are the winter and the summer season.

These are dictated by the weather and the water conditions of the particular locations.

For instance, in the case of the Mediterranean the summer season is most popular, whereas in the case of the Caribbean the winter charter season is more in demand.

Both seasons will last around six months.

Here is a more detailed explanation of the yacht charter seasons, and related aspects.

Summer Charter Season

The Summer Season is a time for sunny weather and warm temperatures.

Several cultural affairs occur during this season too.

The Summer charter season starts off in late April, and runs through until mid-September.

The peak charter season in the Mediterranean is from July til August.

Another relatively popular summer destination is New England in the US.

Here however the summer season is considerably shorter as it runs from mid-June through August.

The high season runs between mid-July to mid-August.

The Mediterranean is definitely the world’s most popular yacht charter destination for the summer season.

Due to the temperate climate during such months, it’s an ideal time of year for the perfect vacation at sea.

The Italian Riviera and Sicily, and the Amalfi Coast are popular charter regions.

Then there’s Cannes and the French Riviera which are also very popular summer charter locations.

Other locations that are also sought after include Croatia, Greece, Monaco, Corsica, and as mentioned earlier, New England.

Famous events such as the Cannes Film Festival and the Monaco Grand Prix coincide with this season.

Winter Charter Season

The Winter Season is the ideal time for chartering a yacht if you are considering the Caribbean.

During this time of year, many get away from the cold weather to indulge in the sun of these popular locations.

The Winter charter season is also about six months long.

It kicks off in late October and runs through March.

The peak charter season in the Caribbean is from late December, during the Christmas period, and all through the month of March.

The Caribbean is considered to be the mecca for winter charters.

The Virgin Islands, the Bahamas, Turks & Caicos are popular locations where there are hundreds of beaches one can enjoy, and many beautiful locations to explore and indulge in.

The weather during this time in these locations is warm, making it ideal for yachting.

Thailand, the Seychelles, Tahiti and the South Pacific also make for very popular winter charter destinations.

Thailand, for instance, is ideal for those who like snorkeling, or if you plan to engage in island hopping.

Tahiti is also a great location for snorkeling, as well as diving and hiking as it is renowned for its natural beauty, and its intriguing black sand beaches.

It’s also worth noting that some destinations offer chartering all year round.

Florida, for instance, is a very popular destination regardless of the time of year.

The Bahamas offer hundreds of islands for exploration and adventuring.

Nassau is renowned for its numerous beaches and great golf courses, while The Exumas is popular for cliff diving and snorkelling.

Miami and the Florida Keys are popular cruising locations all year round too.

As a general rule of thumb, charters during high season can cost around 30% more than low season.

Therefore, the best time for signing up for a yacht charter is during the pre-season.

One should avoid waiting more than two weeks before the scheduled start date.

It is possible to charter off season.

However, this will mean that there’s bound to be fewer options than what you’d be able to find during the high or peak season.

During off season you might also encounter certain problems, such as managing to get crew members.

This is even more problematic if you plan to make a longer sea trip.

Moreover, the general weather conditions will not be as favourable as they are during the peak season.

The shoulder season is the term used to describe the middle point between seasons.

This means that it’s the time between the high and the low season, and between the low and high season.

The majority of yachts tend to be booked by this time.

However, it’s also a time when companies will be trying to clear out what’s left, in order to make room for new inventory for the upcoming season.

As a result, the shoulder season might be a good time to book.

Having said that, it’s important to be aware that the shoulder season does not last long, so it’s best to plan to book the ideal yacht for your preferences.

An individual charter generally lasts a week or ten days.

However, there are also those who charter for several weeks, or for a month.

The minimum days for a yacht charter are often two, three or four, depending on the company.

During yachting season, there’s ample opportunity to work aboard a yacht to potentially earn a very lucrative income.

Competition is fierce however, so you’ll need to be well prepared and learn all the best tips and tricks on how to get into the yachting industry .

More importantly, you’ll need to have certain qualifications and certificates to ensure you’re fit, able and sufficiently trained to work in such an environment, not to mention having plenty of yachting experience.

But once onboard, the perks are very attractive.

Typically, yacht crew receive around 10 - 20% tips from charter guests on top of their monthly salaries.

And if your time spent at sea extends well beyond 183 days per annum, then you could qualify for the seafarers earnings deduction , meaning all income from yachting is completely tax free!

If you’re serious about becoming a yacht crew member, then your best bet is to go dockwalking to try to pick up some daywork.

And if you intend to become a fully fledged yachtie working at sea, make sure to enrol on an STCW Basic Safety Training course.

Also, have your health checked by a professional to be issued an ENG 1 Medical certificate .

This ensures you do not suffer from any serious medical conditions that may impede you from performing duties at sea.

We hope that through this guide you have gained a better understanding of the yacht charter seasons.

Whether you’re planning the ultimate in luxury vacations or have aspirations to work onboard a superyacht, you’ll be fully aware of where and when each yachting high and low charter seasons are.

If you have questions about working during the yachting charter seasons, then drop us a line.

You can get in touch via our contact form or if you have something to say, leave your comments in the section below.

Disclaimer: Any advice in this publication is not intended or written by Marine Accounts to be used by a client or entity for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties that may be imposed on any taxpayer or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party matters herein.

Also on Marine Accounts

Seafarers Earnings Deduction - HMRC's Secret Yacht Crew Income Tax Loophole

This article takes an in depth look at the advantages of filing under the Seafarers Earnings Deduction and why yacht crew should use this.

Patrick Maflin

How to Get A Job Aboard a Superyacht

A career on a superyacht is one of the most exciting, eye-opening and lucrative experiences around. But how do you get into the yachting industry? Read on to learn more from a first hand sorry by one of our team.

How Much Do Yachties Make?

Working at sea as a yactie allows you to engage in a truly unique employment position. In this article we explore what being a yachtie means and how much income you can expect to make.

How to Get Into Yachting

Working on a superyacht has numerous appealing features, with various tax advantages associated with such a career move. But how do you get into yachting? Read our comprehensive article to find out.

Before you go...

You're about to visit a page on our legacy site. We're currently in the process of updating all our tax tools and while this page is still active please return to the main Marine Accounts site after completition.

Refer a friend and receive £50!

Upon successful completion of the referral the cash will be transferred to you.

• THE PRINCESS PASSPORT
• Email Newsletter
• Yacht Walkthroughs
• Destinations
• Electronics
• Best Marine Electronics & Technology
• Boating Safety
• Cruising and Chartering

New Options for Winter Yacht Charter

• By Yachting Staff
• December 13, 2023

With the winter yacht charter season about to kick into high gear in the Bahamas and Caribbean, several top management companies have welcomed notable motoryachts into their fleets.

Perhaps the largest yacht in this category is Samsara , a 290-foot Oceanco that recently joined the Y.CO charter fleet. Brokers are now accepting inquiries for winter charters in the Bahamas and Caribbean (and for summer 2024 bookings in Greenland and Iceland) at a lowest weekly base rate of $1.1 million.

Samsara is a 2015 build that most recently was refitted in 2023, with accommodations for 12 guests in seven staterooms. This yacht has a private owners’ deck, swimming pool, gymnasium, massage room and hair salon, along with an elevator for guest use. “Her seven-cabin layout is ideal for multigenerational groups or two families traveling together,” says David Price of Y.CO Charter Management. “It offers the flexibility to suit many kinds of charter groups.”

Meanwhile, over at Edmiston, two notable yachts have joined the charter fleet.

First is Wayfinder , 223-foot powercat that Astilleros Armon built in 2021. This yacht has an unusual layout, with 11 en suite staterooms (nine singles and two with twin berths) for 12 guests, along with quarters for 20 crew. It can be booked as either its own charter yacht or as a support vessel for more traditional charter yachts.

Wayfinder has an open aft deck with a helipad that doubles as a pickleball court. This yacht also has belowdecks storage for six tenders and four Sea-Doos. The lowest base rate to book a week in the Caribbean is $300,000, with inquiries also being accepted for the Mediterranean and other destinations in summer 2024.

Also new to the Edmiston charter fleet is the 164-foot Home , a 2017 Heesen that will be in the Bahamas this winter at a lowest weekly base rate of $245,000.

Home accommodates 12 guests in six staterooms, and charters with nine crew. Interiors are by Cristiano Gatto—Edmiston describes them as “crisp, light-filled and Ibiza-inspired.” For outdoor fun, the complement of tenders and toys includes a 34-foot Jupiter towed tender, a 21-foot Williams jet tender that can reportedly hit 35 knots, Sea-Doos, standup paddleboards, skis, inflatables, snorkeling gear and scuba equipment.

And, last but not least, IYC has added the 162-foot Christensen Remember When to the charter fleet, with bookings available this winter in the Bahamas at a lowest weekly base rate of $230,000. It’s a 2011 build that was most recently refitted in 2020, with accommodations for 12 guests in six staterooms. An elevator services all four decks, and the full-beam main-deck master has a private office.

Is it too early to call for summer 2024 yacht charter bookings? Nope. In fact, IYC also just welcomed the 90-foot Sanlorenzo SAL to the charter fleet. It’s a brand-new build for 2023 that’s currently accepting bookings for the West Mediterranean, Croatia and Montenegro in summer 2024.

Take the next step: head over to y.co , edmiston.com or iyc.com

• More: Bahamas , Caribbean , Charter , Christensen , Cruising & Chartering , Edmiston , Heesen , Heesen Yachts , IYC , Oceanco , Y.CO
• More Cruising and Chartering

Yacht Charter Your Way

The family sailboat, new to the yacht charter fleet, charter clients, start your engines, azimut yachts 50 fly for sale, lowrance unveils the eagle, for sale: 2005 grand banks 49 eastbay hx, for sale: 2006 marlow 72e long range cruiser.

• Digital Edition
• Customer Service
• Privacy Policy
• Email Newsletters
• Cruising World
• Sailing World
• Salt Water Sportsman
• Sport Fishing
• Wakeboarding

The global authority in superyachting

• NEWSLETTERS
• Yachts Home
• The Superyacht Directory
• Yacht Reports
• Brokerage News
• The largest yachts in the world
• The Register
• Yacht Advice
• Yacht Design
• 12m to 24m yachts
• Monaco Yacht Show
• Builder Directory
• Designer Directory
• Interior Design Directory
• Naval Architect Directory
• Yachts for sale home
• Motor yachts
• Sailing yachts
• Explorer yachts
• Classic yachts
• Sale Broker Directory
• Charter Home
• Yachts for Charter
• Charter Destinations
• Charter Broker Directory
• Destinations Home
• Mediterranean
• South Pacific
• Rest of the World
• Boat Life Home
• Owners' Experiences
• Interiors Suppliers
• Owners' Club
• Captains' Club
• BOAT Showcase
• Boat Presents
• Events Home
• World Superyacht Awards
• Superyacht Design Festival
• Design and Innovation Awards
• Young Designer of the Year Award
• Artistry and Craft Awards
• Explorer Yachts Summit
• Ocean Talks
• The Ocean Awards
• BOAT Connect
• Between the bays
• Golf Invitational
• Boat Pro Home
• Pricing Plan
• Superyacht Insight
• Product Features
• Premium Content
• Testimonials
• Global Order Book
• Tenders & Equipment

Top yachting destinations for winter 2021/2022

If you're gearing up to book that winter getaway, a superyacht charter is one of the safest and most luxurious options for soaking up some sun in privacy. But where to go? Charter experts give the lowdown on the top yachting destinations to visit on a superyacht charter in winter 2021/22.

Caribbean craze

The Caribbean remains favoured as the winter destination for superyacht charterers. Ocean Independence broker Hanneke Maljaars says that “the Caribbean and Bahamas are firm favourites due to their accessibility from both Europe & the US.” Lauren Littlejohn, a broker at the company’s Fort Lauderdale office, adds that “The Bahamas still stands as one of the top destinations this winter, especially with relatively easy access and COVID protocols for visitors.”

Both Alastair Callender and Lotte Barker-Hahlo, who are brokers for Hill Robinson 's Moravia Yachting and Burgess respectively, concur that St Barths is a favourite for New Year’s Eve charters thanks to the bustling nightlife scene. Barker-Hahlo adds that the US and British Virgin Islands “enjoy quite a stable influx of yachts throughout the season due to their beautiful bays and topography,” while “Antigua offers something for everyone with its great restaurants, 365 beaches and stunning waters.”

Far-Flung adventures

Competition for charterers’ attention is starting to spring up in further-flung destinations, however. “People are being forced to look in other directions due to the changing COVID restrictions,” says Burgess’ Barker-Hahlo, citing the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific as popular alternatives to the Caribbean milk run.

Moravia Yachting’s Callender has seen an uptick of enquiries for “Patagonia, The Galapagos and South East Asia,” while head of charter retail at YPI , Nickie Tannock-Vincent, has seen increased interest in “the Maldives and Indian Ocean, the Red Sea and as far afield as Raja Ampat in Indonesia.”

“I have also had a few enquiries for south and central America,” says Tannock-Vincent, specifying that Costa Rica is “more in the picture than ever before.”

Cold weather cruising

Charterers looking to go further afield in 2021 and 2022 are also considering cooler climes as unique charter destinations, brokers have acknowledged. This has been connected to an increasing interest in explorer-type vessels, according to Maljaars and Callender. “Wonderful ‘off-the-beaten-path’ locations can be best experienced via the benefits of an explorer superyacht,” says Callender, adding that “these yachts provide an incredible range and luxury in the utmost seclusion.”

Maljaars adds that Norway and Antarctica have been the most popular destinations for clients booking an explorer charter through Ocean Independence. Tannock-Vincent also acknowledged a greater interest in Antarctic adventures, with “more yachts going in that direction,” than seen before.

Advice for adventurers

Brokers have all agreed that this winter season is one of the most engaged they’ve ever seen, so they’re advising clients to book as soon as possible. “The Caribbean is seeing one of its busiest years to date, and we are struggling to find yachts for everyone who wants them,” reveals Burgess’ Barker-Hahlo, adding that “towards the end of January and onwards there is much more availability,” for those booking charters through Burgess. YPI’s Tannock-Vincent also noted that “most of our inhouse yachts are all booked up already with only a few gaps remaining.”

Callender has also “seen record levels of both charter enquiries and bookings” at Moravia Yachting, and suggests that clients avoid the peak times of Christmas and New Year if possible; “for those that have flexibility on vacation dates, the best deals can be negotiated – as it will help fill the gaps in a yacht’s existing charter schedule,” he advises.

With bookings quickly being snapped up for winter, Callender and Ocean Independence broker Maljaars have both been making bookings for spring and summer 2022 Mediterranean charters already “for those clients that want to guarantee specific dates on board the world’s finest superyachts,” Callender says.

Callender and Maljaars have also both noted that first time charterers are making up a large portion of the winter bookings this season, and are linking this to the current difficulties around travel which can be offset when on board a luxury superyacht. Winter superyacht charters allow multi-generational groups to gather over the festive period, with “the additional benefits of unprecedented privacy and level of service, coupled with the safety of travelling within your own bubble,” says Callender, adding: “a tailor-made yacht charter vacation is simply unmatched.”

More stories

Most recent, from our partners, sponsored listings.

Is your yacht winter-ready?

If you’re leaving your yacht for the winter season, it’s vital to ensure your yacht is prepared for the harsh winter weather. Otherwise, you could find that it’s severely damaged when you return in the spring. 

At Reinschiff, our team has decades of experience on superyachts, so we understand how to keep your yacht safe and secure over the winter.

Ask our experts to carry out a free winter check on your yacht, or find out how to do it yourself using the checklist below. 

Your pre-departure checklist

Here are some of the key checks you should make before you leave to ensure the safety of your yacht: 

Mooring Lines:

Are your ground and mooring lines in good condition? 

Are there any additional ground lines available?

If you’re using a spring, is it supported with a chain or line?

Are your fenders fully inflated? 

Are they hanging in the right position according to the neighbouring vessel?

Are they tied to railings and cleats with a clove hitch and a half hitch? 

In case your ground line breaks, do you have fenders on the dock or stern of your yacht?

Water damage prevention: 

Are all of your hatches, sea cocks and portholes closed?

Have you tested your bilge pumps and alarms?

Are all the deck and locker drains fully functioning?

Fire safety: 

Have you tested your smoke detectors?

Are your fire extinguishers easily accessible and in the locations stated on your safety plan?

If you have fire hydrants on board, are all the valves operational? Is there any sign of corrosion?

Are all of your fire extinguishers holding the right pressure?

Shore power and batteries: 

Is your shore power cable in good condition?

Is your battery charger working properly?

Emergency measures: 

Give a set of keys and a remote for the passerelle to the dockmaster for access in the event of an emergency.

Keep the breakers of your capstans on so they are operational should they be needed to tighten mooring lines. 

Maintenance:

Have you arranged for someone to regularly check your boat to ensure it stays safe and secure throughout the winter?

Not got time to carry out these checks yourself? We’re offering a free, no-obligation winter check for yachts in Southwest Mallorca - request yours today . 

Don't leave your yacht unattended

No matter how many checks you carry out before you leave, you must also ensure that you have provisions in place to protect your boat throughout the winter period.

With Reinschiff’s Guardianage service, you can rest assured that your yacht will be safe all winter under our team’s watchful, experienced eyes. We will:

Visit your yacht weekly or fortnightly, depending on your preferences  

Report back to you (with photos) every time we visit  

Carry out ongoing maintenance to keep your yacht running smoothly

To find out more about our Guardianage service, email us at [email protected] .

Yachting Monthly

• Digital edition

How to sail ALL winter

• Alison Wood
• January 17, 2019

25 tips for keeping your boat prepped, your crew warm, and adventures flowing over winter

There is every reason to continue cruising over winter

Winter can be a blissful time to be at sea. With the low sun sparkling off the water, deserted cruising grounds and short hops to pubs with roaring fireplaces, there’s every reason to stay afloat.

The weather windows are smaller and the challenges bigger, but with the right kit and a boat that’s prepped for the off, there are many glorious sails to be had.

But even if you have laid up for the season, there are still a host of ways to have fun on the water, from enrolling on RYA courses to crewing across the Atlantic.

1. SHORESIDE ESSENTIALS

Insurance & berthing

Many insurance companies insist that yachts on swinging moorings are brought into marinas over the winter. If that’s the case, it’s worth looking around as some winter berths can be as cheap as hard-standing. Check when the mooring was last inspected, and double-check mooring lines, cleats and fenders after strong winds.

If necessary you can lift, scrub and anti-foul in a day before getting back on the water in Spring. Some boat owners clean the hull between tides then anti-foul a few days later on a warm, dry day, preferably with a breeze.

Using an autopilot will prevent exposure on the helm for hours on end. For longer passages, a windvane steering system – which steers to a wind angle rather than a compass course – will stop you crash-gybing during a sudden wind-shift.

These steering systems are experiencing something of a renaissance amongst cruisers, as Yachting Monthly reported in October 2018 . In winter you’re more likely to encounter more mist and fog conditions, and with longer hours of darkness, radar or AIS can be a huge help.

Diesel engines will be harder to start in cold weather, so it’s worth keeping your batteries topped up – either with a solar panel or even by taking them home to trickle charge every now and then.

A cockpit tent, such as the Habitent, gives you more shelter.

Not all fuel berths are operational in the winter so keep your tanks full. This means there’s less surface area for condensation, reducing the chance of diesel bug forming.

Using an anti-diesel bug additive will help. Seawater freezes at -5°C so it’s unlikely your engine’s raw water cooling will turn to ice.

However, if you’ve found a sheltered mooring, where the water may be brackish, there is a chance of this happening. If a cold snap’s forecast, ensure the coolant is topped up with the correct mix of antifreeze.

Robust sail wardrobe

Air is colder and therefore denser in winter, and winds are stronger. The UK Met office gives an average of 8.2 knots in the summer compared to 10.8 knots in winter, with most major storms occurring in January. Of course, this is a mean average, and figures vary according to where you live.

Wind-strength in northern Scotland, for example, averages at 13.1 knots, compared to 9 knots on the South Coast. At sea, the wind will be much stronger.

Is your sail wardrobe up the job? If it’s not, now’s the time to look at fitting an extra reef or investing in a storm jib, especially if your crew are likely to go AWOL on the first frost.

Make sure you and your crew have plenty of warm drinks

Keep pillows and duvets stored in a vacuum bag. These are inexpensive and the air can be removed with a 12V vacuum cleaner or an electric dinghy pump with the setting on ‘deflate’. Some types allow you to simply roll out the air.

If you prefer a sleeping bag, opt for a 4-season or 5-season sleeping one. Mummy-shaped sleeping bags are tapered at the bottom to help keep warm air close to your body, rather than circulating and cooling down.

Decks & pontoons

The last thing you want is to sustain a nasty injury boarding the boat. Give slippery algae-covered pontoons a scrub with a deck cleaner such as Ronseal, and finish with salt water.

If your decks are icy, a bucket of seawater and a scrubbing brush will do the trick.

Cockpit tent

A cockpit tent or enclosure means you can keep a hatch open for ventilation without letting in huge amounts of cold air. It also means you can stow wet sails and clothing outside.

If a tailor-made cockpit tent seems too costly this season, consider an ‘off-the-shelf’ alternative such as the Habitent, which is a compact and adjustable cockpit enclosure that will fit most boats.

Passage planning

Look for high-pressure weather systems that will give settled conditions and sunshine. Don’t be too ambitious; halve what you consider to be a good summer passage.

A short hop to a favourite pub or anchorage is a realistic day’s sail when daylight hours are dwindling and the temperature’s dropping.

For longer passages, pre-dawn departures are much better than arriving at an unfamiliar destination in the dark.

2. ON THE WATER IN WINTER

Don’t be tempted to wear thick, bulky clothing. Even in winter, thin layers are best, as they trap more air. Invest in a good base layer – fabrics such as merino wool are wicking, thermal and breathable. Mid-layer salopettes will give more warmth than a standard fleece.

Choose brightly coloured oilskins, which will stand out better than blues and greys at dusk and in fog. If you’ve not replaced your waterproofs in the last couple of years, you’ll be surprised how technology’s moved on.

Gone are the fleece linings that soak up water and the bulky outer shells. Today’s oilskins are lighter, more waterproof and durable, with new brands causing a stir at the budget end of the market, such as Decathlon’s Tribord range.

Make sure you plan your passage so there is still plenty of light when you arrive at an unfamiliar place

Thick waterproof, thermal gloves are good for passages, but can be tricky if you’re fiddling with knots and adjusting sheets.

Dry hands are warmer than wet hands, so try to keep your lines dry. If you prefer fingerless gloves for dexterity, wear a pair of rubber gloves underneath – dinghy sailors swear by them!

When cold, numb hands need a quick fix, air-activated hand-warmers are just the job. A 40-pack of Little Hotties costs less than £20.

Up to 70% of body heat is lost through the head, so a good sailing hat is essential. Buffs are good too, and can be worn as neck-warmers or balaclavas.

Eye protection

Don’t forget your shades. When the sun’s lower in the sky, a good pair of sailing sunglasses is essential to stop you having to squint to see the channel mark.

Oversized glasses with wide-view wraparound lenses are good. Keep them fixed to your head with a floating safety strap, which costs about £10.

Keep lines dry and swap your gloves if they get wet. Credit: Graham Snook

Food and drink

Keep a flask of coffee or thermal mug within reach – it’s easier than going down below. Flasks of water can also be used for keeping hotdogs warm (but don’t get them mixed up!).

Alternatively, bring a wide ‘food flask’ for pasta or soup (Wilko does a good one for £7). Food that can be heated in the oven – such as Cornish pasties – is great for keeping up crew morale.

At least you won’t have to worry about using the fridge in winter. Turn it off to save power and use a cockpit locker instead.

Cockpit cushions

The only thing slightly worse than cold hands and feet is a cold bum! If you don’t have cockpit cushions, invest in on one.

Buoyant deck cushions have waterproof outers and polyethylene foam. Attach them to your boat through a nylon hook at the back.

They start at about £40 per pair. Some waterproofs also now come with padding in the seat and knees, which adds a surprising amount of comfort.

Tackling condensation

Condensation is inevitable on a boat in winter. Moisture in warm air settles and condenses onto cold surfaces, which can allow mould to grow.

In a non-heated boat, opening vents and windows will keep an ambient moisture level equal with the exterior. If you run a heating system, you’ll need to open windows and vents so moisture can escape.

Another option is a dehumidifier. A basic chemical desiccant will work well for a limited period. On a boat, an electric desiccant dehumidifier is the one to go for if you have power, as this will work even in a cold boat, but limit the ventilation.

The normal condenser-type will only work if the ambient temperature is reasonably high.

Choose brightly covered outwear so you stand out better against the blues and the greys at dusk and in fog

Cabin heaters

Many crews sail happily through winter without heating. However, temperatures plummet at night – especially in high pressure conditions without cloudform.

If you want to stay comfortable there are a few options worth considering. If you have shore power onboard, a fan heater will warm the cabin quickly, but it will be cold again as soon as you switch it off. An electric heater will draw heavily on your power.

Other options to explore are diesel forced air heaters , made by Webasto and Eberspacher , or gas heaters made by Propex. However, both a diesel heater and a gas heater need fans to circulate the heated air, so again consume moderate amounts of power.

Propane/butane heaters blow hot air around the boat and can hook up to the electrics when you’re in a marina. An oil-filled radiator can be left on overnight, which will keep the chill away and reduce condensation if you allow ventilation.

On the water, there’s a range of traditional stove-type heaters that run on gas, diesel and paraffin. However, the dangerous gases, especially carbon monoxide, need to be vented via a chimney.

Whatever you do, make sure you have a working CO alarm on board (it costs as little as £10). Finally, nothing beats a good old-fashioned hot water bottle for a good night’s sleep.

Final checks

Before you leave your boat, prop up the cabin cushions so they can air whilst you’re away, and either take home your bedding 
or repack it into vacuum bags.

Sails and lifejackets

Take home wet sails and air them – don’t leave them stowed below, where the interior can get damp and mouldy.

Also, if your lifejacket’s wet, open it up and dry out the innards, otherwise the cylinders may eventually start to corrode.

3. ALREADY LAID-UP

Do an RYA course

If your boat’s on the hard but you’re not ready to hang up your oilskins, now’s a great time to look at RYA courses.

Sailing schools reduce their prices in winter, and throw in deals such as free hire of wet weather gear. Shorter days mean more night hours, which are required for progressing through the RYA courses (4 for Day Skipper, 8 for Coastal Skipper and 12 for Yachtmaster Coastal).

Some courses are held on consecutive days, others are spread over weekends to suit work schedules.

If you’re thinking of chartering abroad, now’s also a good time to get the required paperwork in order.

Many European countries require the skipper to have an international certificate of competence (ICC), which you can achieve on either a 4-hour assessment, or 1-day course at an RYA centre.

Become a delivery crew

Yachts get delivered all year round, and professional agencies such as Halcyon Yachts are always keen to hear from would-be crew and skippers.

Typically deck crew must be qualified to RYA Day Skipper as a minimum and capable of solo night watches.

RYA courses run all winter and are often discounted

Sail overseas

If you’re after some winter sun the Caribbean has lots of options for bareboating, flotilla sailing or skippered charters. Some operators also offer sailing in Southeast Asia.

The Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) is a great way to escape the winter and cruise in company. New for this year is the ARC+ St Vincent, which includes a stopover in Cape Verde, and finishes in St Vincent.

The organiser, World Cruising Club (WCC), runs nine different rallies altogether throughout the year (www.worldcruising.com).

Crew overseas

Many boats will be crossing the Atlantic well into January and will have last-minute crew positions available, starting in the Canary Islands.

Sign up to crewing websites such as Ocean Crewlink (the official WCC site), Crewbay and Find a Crew, to hear of the latest opportunities and register your interest with skippers.

Boats will be looking for crew for next year’s ARC as early as January. Another tip is to offer to help deliver boats to Las Palmas in Gran Canaria.

Often skippers have greater need of delivery crew than Atlantic crew.

Choose to sail overseas, either by booking a charter or by taking part in the ARC. Credit: WCC/Claire Pengelly

Frostbite racing

Yacht clubs often run a ‘frostbite’ racing series through the winter for anything from dinghies to large cruisers.

Crew can be thin on the ground at this time of year, and skippers are grateful for last-minute crew, even if inexperienced.

Check out the noticeboards and website for your local club or email them with your details. Also, check out www.boatbuddys.co.uk to find crewing opportunities near you.

Pay-as-you-go sailing

Sailing dinghies throughout winter is a great way to polish your wind awareness and ‘pure sailing’ skills without the aid of electronics.

Many clubs offer ‘Pay-as-you-go sailing’ or discount winter memberships. For example, Hengistbury Head Adult Sailors Club in Dorset charges £12 membership per year, and you can take out a dinghy during an organised session for £10 at the weekend. On weekday evenings the club holds free RYA theory sessions.

Queen Mary Sailing club in south-east London offers monthly gym-style membership where you can sail their dinghies whenever the club’s open.

Typically, dinghy clubs require you to have a minimum of RYA Dinghy Level 2, or demonstrate you can sail competently round a course.

• Cars, Jets & Yachts

Best Caribbean Yacht Charters for the Winter Season

With many yachts favoring the fair shores of the Caribbean for the winter seasons, charterers will find plenty to choose from.

By Kim Ayling

Fools will tell you that summer is the only season for yachting, and while a cruise around the Med might practically be the definition of living  la dolce vita , winter yacht charters around the Caribbean have as much – if not more – to offer. 

Made up of over 13 island nations, the Caribbean offers a multitude of cultures and cuisines to explore, as well as some of the world’s most mesmerizing natural landscapes, with the flour-white sands and crystal-clear waters seemingly straight off the front of a postcard.

With many yachts favoring the fair shores of the Caribbean for the winter seasons, charterers will find plenty to choose from, from family-friendly vessels to party-primed ships.

[See also: Caribbean Dreaming: A Luxury Guide to Barbados

Best for: Party lovers

Sea Change: The Sunreef 88 Ultima Yacht

Four Seasons Yachts Announces its First Luxury Itineraries

Sialia Yachts Launches Advanced Electric Explorer Yacht

Recently on the charter market following a huge, wild renovation at the hands of Njord by Bergman Design House and ready for a winter of Caribbean charters,  Galaxy  fits into a class of her own. Accommodating 12 guests across six cabins, the 183.7-ft yacht is all but built for partying (her new owner is a DJ, so it makes sense) with several multifunctional social spaces that can transform depending on the charterer’s mood. 

By day, the main saloon can be a chilled place to relax; by night, turn down the lights and use it as a nightclub. There’s also a party deck, a brightly-lit upper lounge and even a private recording studio. Water toys are aplenty too.

Her interiors dutifully live up to the yacht’s name with the likes of a space-themed ceiling mural twinkling with stars in the owner’s cabin and a hypnotic wall covering by Avatar art director Dylan Cole in the main saloon.

Content from our partners

W New York – Times Square: “We Do Things Differently”

The Finest Destinations to Fly Private with Qatar Executive

A Weekend Travel Guide to Austin, Texas

yachtcharterfleet.com

[ See also: Life Onboard The World Residences at Sea ]

Best for: Group getaways

Accommodating 16 guests across 8 cabins,  AHPO  is a great choice for larger groups planning winter yacht charters in the Caribbean. Built by Lürssen and delivered in 2021, the 377-ft vessel is impressively spacious but has multiple social areas, giving guests the much-needed opportunity to enjoy some alone time.

Across her six decks,  AHPO  has a dancefloor, a beauty room, a spa, spectacular indoor and outdoor lounging and dining areas, several sun decks, an indoor pool, and a theater room. The Owner’s suite – which spreads full-beam and is over two decks – is another key draw. The abundance of room for crew (up to 36) also means that families can bring along their own nannies if they prefer.

edmiston.com

Best for: Family vacations

While yachts are great options for family getaways, it is unusual to find one with this type of vacation in mind – except  Victorious , that is. Built by Turkish shipyard AKYACHT and delivered in 2021, the award-winning vessel was designed to cater to the unique needs of younger guests and includes the likes of a dedicated children’s playroom and child-friendly water toys.

Of course, the 279-ft yacht is also a haven for grown-up guests, boasting the likes of a beauty salon, wine and cigar room, hammam, cinema room, and several bars. The owner’s suite is a sight to behold too, with its own private deck and Jacuzzi.

[See also: How Millennials are Changing the Superyacht Industry

Best for: Multi-generational holidays

Despite the slightly misleading name, Icon Yacht’s  Party Girl  makes a great choice for larger family groups spanning multiple generations (or, if you prefer, an actual party yacht). Measuring 205-ft,  Party Girl  is crammed full of impressive amenities including a gym, Jacuzzi, beach club, wine cellar and a formal dining room, along with plenty of more casual lounge space.

If chartered by two families, or an inter-generational group, the owner’s penthouse can be split into two roomy master cabins. There are some great onboard toys too, from the giant inflatable water slide to the underwater scooters. The yacht’s two drones are also a great way to capture the memories of a wonderful holiday, spent with friends or family.

Maltese Falcon

Best for: Turning heads

Few yachts are as recognizable as  Maltese Falcon ,  with her three imposing white sails turning heads no matter where in the world she sails. Now available for winter yacht charters in the Caribbean and Bahamas, the 288.6-ft yacht recently emerged from a refit which saw her interiors , exteriors and engineering updated and improved.

Inside, she is cool and welcoming with a slick interior design that extends from the main saloon through to each of the guest bedrooms. Special features are plentiful, from the outdoor cinema projected onto the ship’s sails, to the skylit atrium with a spiral staircase wrapping around the central mast. She is truly one of a kind.

burgess.com

[See also: Heesen Unveils its Biggest Ever Steel Superyacht: Sparta]

Latest in Luxury

The explorer.

Thank you for subscribing to Elite Traveler.

• Bottom Painting & Prop Speed
• Fiberglass & Paint Work
• Running Gear & Valves
• Full-Service Team
• Monthly Maintenance Programs
• Dockside Service Team
• Full-Service Boatyard
• Management Services
• Accounting & Reporting
• Relevant Management Experience
• News and Media

How Long is Yacht Charter Season in the Caribbean?

Having a firm understanding of when the regional yacht charter seasons occur and how many months they last is beneficial for yacht owners and yacht management companies alike. You will have a better chance at anticipating the demand for your charter vessel and knowing which dates you can reserve for yacht maintenance or extended yard periods. Yacht crew placement and yacht concierge services are also aided by answering the question: how long is the Caribbean yacht charter season?

Caribbean Winter Cruising

The Caribbean yacht charter season starts around August and September and lasts throughout the autumn and winter months. Charter guests are seeking out the warmer weather and places like the Bahamas, the British Virgin Islands, St. Barts, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and plenty of other tropical paradises that provide the perfect escape.

Peak season in the Caribbean begins during mid-December and the winter holidays all the way to March. The months from April to July are considered the Caribbean’s shoulder season – the time between peak and non-peak times.

The Caribbean Yacht Charter Season

August, September, October, November, December, January, February, March

Hurricane season, which lasts from July to early October in this region, doesn’t hinder the Caribbean yacht charter season at all. However, yacht crew must stay aware of weather forecasts and charter prices are typically lower during these months.

Summer Season in “The Med”

The spring and summer months see a decrease in charters to the Caribbean. This is when the yacht charter season begins in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe. Charter guests and the jet-set elite go across the Atlantic Ocean to this region due to its temperate summer weather. However, not everyone goes east.

Sunshine & Warm Weather Year-Round

Since the Caribbean and even its neighboring places like the Florida Keys experience warm temperatures and moderate weather for almost all the months of the year, these destinations enjoy yacht charters year-round!

When you are developing your yacht’s charter schedule, be sure to reserve some dates for regular yacht maintenance services. At Yacht Management South Florida Inc., we offer premier yacht management and maintenance services on-site or on-location at our Fort Lauderdale marina. Call (954) 941-6447 or contact us today to learn more!

For all inquiries, fill out the form below and a member of our team will respond as soon as possible

Hurricane Hole News & Information

Stay with Us

Reserve a slip at Hurricane Hole Superyacht Marina.

Best Time of the Year to Charter A Yacht in The Bahamas

November 3, 2022 | Hurricane Hole | Marina in Nassau , Yacht Charter

When Is the Best Time to Charter a Yacht in The Bahamas?

Certain times of the year offer yachtsmen and people who wish to plan a yacht charter the ultimate yachting experience in The Bahamas. Every winter during Christmas and New Year’s is the peak of the charter season as travelers plan their dream holiday onboard a yacht. The winter yachting season in The Bahamas is sure to impress in the tropical paradise with pleasant year-round weather.

The Bahamas is a magical place during the winter holiday season and the weather stays a pleasant 75 degrees to 84 degrees Fahrenheit. The warm winter getaway is best experienced by yacht so that guests can truly take in the majesty of the generally shallow water marina landscape.

Peak Yacht Charter Season

While Christmas and New Year’s are the peak of the winter yachting season in The Bahamas, July and August are usually the busiest times in the summer. However, the winter yacht charter season draws the biggest interest from travelers worldwide who wish to experience the exotic beauty of The Bahamas during a festive season. The winter peak season lasts between mid-December to mid-April, with the Christmas period being the most popular among travelers and yachtsmen.

Thanks to the pleasant year-round weather of The Bahamas, it’s protected from the normally harsher winter weather that the Northern Hemisphere experiences, making it a tropical getaway paradise. The peak season can quickly lead to limited options if you wait too long to book your charter to The Bahamas .

How Much Does It Cost to Charter a Yacht in The Bahamas?

Most yacht charters have a full crew and luxury amenities for guests to enjoy while onboard the yacht or superyacht. Not only is the vessel luxurious with all of the comforts of home, but the destinations such as Hurricane Hole Superyacht Marina are wonderfully splendid as well.

While the cost of chartering a yacht in The Bahamas varies depending on the time of year, the duration of the voyage, and the specifications of the yacht, you can expect prices to range anywhere from $25,000 to $250,000 U.S. per week during the peak season.

How to Book a Yacht Charter

Booking a yacht charter can be done in just five simple steps with some differences depending on who you are booking through. The steps are as follows:

• Find a yacht charter specialist that you feel comfortable with and that has the types of options that you are looking for.
• Choose your yacht and destination, such as a sailing or motor yacht, and ask for destination options if you’re unsure.
• Fill out the required paperwork, which is usually as easy as booking a plane ticket.
• Prepare for your voyage by giving the captain your preferences, such as food restrictions and activities, and feel free to discuss your itinerary with your captain.
• Enjoy the experience and feel free to ask the crew or captain if you have any questions. Remember that private yacht charters are fairly flexible and accommodating to your needs, within reason.

Hurricane Hole Superyacht Marina

The new Hurricane Hole Superyacht Marina at Paradise Landing on Paradise Island, located just off the coast of Nassau, is one of the best yacht charter destinations . It is loved by the guests of the world-class luxury marina and the captains and crew that visit it. Nestled within Paradise Landing — a luxury gated community with a wealth of amenities — you will have all of The Bahamas to explore from this favorable location.

Book your private yacht charter for this winter season by calling 242-603-1950 or visit the iconic Hurricane Hole Superyacht Marina to experience The Bahamas the way it was meant to be experienced.

The Mediterranean Yachting Season: A Comprehensive Guide

Whether you are a Yacht crew member, sailor or yacht owner, the Mediterranean Yachting Season is an alluring destination.

Idyllic coastlines flanked with picture-perfect beaches, delicious food, wine, and a host of cultural experiences make the Mediterranean a hotspot for the Yachting elite.

Unlike in the Caribbean and USA, yachting in the Mediterranean has a very specific time frame in which it operates, May to October. In order to increase your chances of finding a job, it is important to know where to be and when.

Here we will explore everything you need to know about the Mediterranean Yacht Season. From crew agents, marinas, accommodation, timing, transport, and key events to look out for.

When is the Mediterranean Yachting Season?

The Mediterranean Yachting Season runs from May to October. This is known as the Summer season (in the Northern Hemisphere), and these are the best months for cruising around the Mediterranean.

The Best Locations for you to Join the Mediterranean Yachting Season

There are a few locations where you can choose to position yourself if you are trying to find a job on a yacht.

Antibes (France) – The Best Location for Green Crew Entering the Yachting Industry

Antibes is one of the main yachting hubs in the Mediterranean.

Here you will find an abundance of crew housing options and an amazing network of crew agents located in the famous Port Vauban.

You also have access to the train which will take you down to Cannes or up as far as Genoa. So if any job opportunities or interviews come up, you can be there easily within hours. This is one of the main attractions of Antibes for job seekers.

It is a great idea to head out to some of the smaller marinas in Antibes as well as along the French Riviera while seeking work. Some of these marinas don’t have as strict security as you will find in Antibes.

Marinas in the French Riviera to Visit while Seeking Work for the Mediterranean Yachting Season

• Port Vauban: the main marina right off the Old Town of Antibes
• Antibes Marina
• Port Gallice (Juan-Les-Pins): walking distance from the Old Town
• Port Pierre Canto: home to the Cannes Film Festival
• Port de Cannes Marina (Cannes)
• Port Hercule (Monaco): one of the most famous marinas in the world
• Fontveille Marina (Monaco)
• Port de Cap d’Ail (Cap d’Ail): Located between Monaco and Nice, this is a popular Super Yacht location
• Marina La Ciotat (Port Vieux)
• Port de Beaulieu-sur-Mer (Beaulieu-sur-Mer)

Antibes itself is in fact a small town, however the Yachts pack up in the marinas at the start of the season so there will be a lot of other crew seeking work.

If you choose to head to Antibes before the season starts, you will need to book your accommodation far in advance!

If you are new to dock walking and feeling uncertain, check out my post on Dock Walking – 9 Tips to Increase Your Chances of Getting a Job .

Antibes Crew Houses

Crew houses are a fantastic way for Crew to network with other Crew members, as well as a cheaper option for accommodation while seeking work.

A few of your best Antibes Crew houses are:

• The Crew Grapevine
• Debbie’s Crew House
• The Crew House
• The Glamorgan
• Amma’s Crew House

For more detailed information on each of these crew houses with rates and booking information, check out my post on the 7 Best Antibes Crew Houses: Where to stay for first-timers.

Antibes Crew Agents

One of your best entries into the Mediterranean Yachting Season is through Yacht Crew Agents. These recruitment agencies are dedicated to placing crew on Yachts.

Once you have gone through the process of signing up online, it is a great idea to arrange an interview so they can meet you face-to-face.

A few of my favorite Yacht Crew Agencies in Antibes are:

• Luxury Yacht Group
• Hill Robinson Crew
• The Crew Network
• Northrop and Johnson
• Blue Water Crew

Getting around Antibes

If you are located in Old Town Antibes, you can easily walk around the port. However, you may want to get yourself a bike or e-scooter to save your energy while walking between all the marinas.

Uber is an easy way to get around however it is not cheap if you are on a budget.

If you are looking to travel around the French Riviera, the train is a fantastic and easy option.

The Gare d’Antibes Train station is only a 15-minute walk from the old town. The most common train service on this route is operated by TER (Transport Express Régional) and connects Antibes to Monaco. The journey involves one transfer at Nice so be sure to check your destination.

Prices vary but you can expect to spend €6-€20 for a ticket depending on your destination.

Gare d’Antibes can be found at: 11 Avenue Robert Soleau, 06600 Antibes, France

Events to look out for near Antibes

If a Yacht is involved in a big event, the crew will always need extra assistance. So be sure to head over to these Marinas before these events and hand out your CV!

• Cannes Film Festival: End of May
• Monaco Grand Prix: End of May
• Cannes Yacht Festival: Early September
• Monaco Yacht Show: End of September

Palma de Mallorca (Spain) – Home to the Start of the Mediterranean Yachting Season

Palma is a Spanish island in the Balearics and a very popular destination for Yachts and crew alike. In fact, it is so popular that many yacht crew choose to call it home when they leave the yachting industry.

Palma is known to have a wide range of Yachts including both motor and sailing vessels.

Marinas in Palma de Mallorca

The best locations for dock walking in Palma are the various marinas in the Bay of Palma, Puerto Portals and Port Adriano.

Marinas in the bay of Palma to name a few include:

• Club de Mar
• Marina Moll Vell – Home to the International Yacht show
• La Lonja Marina Charter
• Marina Port de Mallorca
• Puerto Palma

I must point out however that it is not easy to dock walk in Palma. The marinas are gated and security is tight. If you walk over with confidence and look the part, you may just get in.

Ideally, you want to know a Yacht or crew member in the marina. Network, network, network!

Crew Houses in Palma

If you are going to seek work in Palma, then your ideal locations to stay are Santa Catalina, La Lonja, or the Old town.

As with any popular Yachting destination, you will need to book your accommodation well in advance.

Some popular crew housing options in Palma are:

• Crew Guest House Palma
• The Boathouse Palma
• Caimari Crew Accommodation
• Hostal Apuntadores (A hostel option if the crew houses are booked)
• Monzly Rentals (A great option for short to medium-term rentals)

Palma Crew Agents

Given that dock walking in Palma can be a little tricky, you want to emphasise getting signed up to the crew agencies. Take your time and try to get a face-to-face interview if possible.

Some of you may have already signed up with these agencies. Remember to log in regularly, and change your location if you moved since your last login!

• Sovren Crew
• Van Allen Crew Agency
• Global Crew Services
• Hill Robinson
• A-Z Yachting

Getting Around Palma de Mallorca

Getting around Palma couldn’t be easier. The good old Bus. It is easy, cheap, and efficient.

You will want to use the EMT bus as there are an abundance of bus stops and they travel all through the city.

The fare for the EMT bus is €2, and they take CASH ONLY.

Please note that in the summer months, these buses get very busy, and sometimes they will pass bus stops if they are too full. If you have an interview or job lined up, be sure to head out early to allow for delays.

Palmas Big Events during the Mediterranean Yachting Season

The Palma International Boat Show is known to inaugurate the Mediterranean Yachting Season. This 4-day event hosts spectacular yachts both for sale and for charter.

The Yacht show usually happens at the end of April and marks the start of the Mediterranean Season.

You can expect to see over 250 boats on display during the show so the month leading up to this time would be an excellent opportunity for day work.

Timing for the Mediterranean

If you are looking for work in the Mediterranean, you can head over as early as February/March! There will be 2 categories of vessels to look out for:

The Yachts that Spent the Winter Season in the Yard

When the Winter season hits in the Mediterranean, it becomes bitterly cold and rainy. Some owners choose to leave their vessels in the Yard during the winter months.

Most yacht crew choose to leave these programs in the winter and these boats will run on skeleton crew.

Therefore, in February/March, these boats will start hiring crew again in order to start getting the boat operating and ready for the upcoming season.

Yachts that Head Over from the Caribbean

These vessels went to the Caribbean for the Winter and now they are crossing the Atlantic and making their way back to the Mediterranean to start a new season.

As these vessels arrive in March/April, they will need a lot of extra help getting cleaned and organized after the big ocean crossing they just did.

These vessels may also see crew changes as they head into a new season.

My advice here is to get onto Marine Traffic . Depending on where you have located yourself, you will be able to see as vessels are entering the harbor. You should make a point of being available to offer help as they arrive.

If you are interested in finding out more about the Caribbean, check out my post on The Caribbean Yachting Season: Ultimate Guide.

Visas and Passports Required for the Mediterranean Yachting Season

If you are not a European citizen, it is important to understand how you can get into Europe and how much time you can stay there. Your visa requirements will depend on your personal home country and passport.

For more detailed information on your personal requirements, go to the Schengen Visa Website.

A Schengen visa is a short-stay visa that allows a person to travel to any member of the Schengen Area, per stay for up to 90 days for tourism or business purposes (Usually 90 days within 180 days).

Schengen refers to the EU passport-free zone that covers most of the European countries.

Currently, there are three types of Schengen visas that apply to non-EU seafarers:

• Transit (Type B) Schengen visa
• Short-stay (Type C) Schengen visa
• Long-stay (Type D) Schengen visa

Seafarers are likely to be issued with the Short-stay visa. This allows you 90 days within the Schengen area, at which point you would need to leave for 90 days.

Additionally, you also need to try to get yourself a multi-entry visa . This allows you to travel between the different European countries.

DO NOT OVERSTAY YOUR VISA! Keep a close eye on your days. If you overstay, you could be banned from coming back for 3 years or more.

My Favourite Hangouts during the Mediterranean Yachting Season

Over the course of my 10 years in the industry, there are a few spots in the Mediterranean that have really stood out for me. The options are endless but below is a list of a few of my favorite places to check out:

• Drive the winding roads of Sa Colabra
• Take a dip at Illetes Beach
• Take the old train to Soller
• Eat delicious local tapas at Ca n Toni in the Old Town

This hilltop village offers breathtaking views of the Mediterranean Sea and boasts beautiful gardens like the Jardin Exotique d’Eze.

Villefranche-sur-Mer

This town on the coast is truly charming, with a beautiful harbor and an Old Town rich in history.

The Amalfi Coast

Rent a Scooter and drive along the coastline anywhere from Naples through Positano and into Amalfi. Stroll through the bougainvillea-lined streets and have lunch down near the port.

Hi, my name is Lisa, a Chief Stewardess in the yachting industry with 10 years of experience, as well as 8 years of hospitality experience prior to that. Being in the yachting industry has been a whirlwind of adventure, growth, challenges and some of the best experiences of my life, and I am excited to share my knowledge and experiences with all of you.

TOP Fort Lauderdale Crew Agencies

The caribbean yachting season: ultimate guide.

Essential Guides

Ocean Mapping

New to Yachting

• Aug 17, 2022

What is winter season in yachting?

The Med season runs from April to October. The Winter season refers to the period between October/November and March/April. Yachts are either single season, which means they spend winter in the pretty ports of Europe, or dual season , which means they head off further afield for the Winter season.

One of the questions I am asked most often at this time of year is “When is the best time to start looking for a dual season yacht to join?”. The short answer is September/October. If you would like to know why this is, when the Winter season actually starts, and whether a B1 is really essential, as well as my top advice for green crew looking to break into the industry as this time of year, please read on!

When does the winter season start?

As a rule of thumb, most yachts end their Med season between early and late October. Some dual season yachts may cross the ocean earlier, for example in late September to attend the Fort Lauderdale Boats Show (or FLIBS) in October. Most dual season yachts crossing to other places tend to go in late October or November. Many of these may be heading for the Antigua Yacht Show in early December, or to other locations I will mention shortly.

Don’t panic — there is no need to leave a position a month before the Med season ends, as you won’t be missing out. In fact, you could potentially damage what was a great summer season and reference by walking away weeks before the end.

Do I need a B1 visa to find a job for the winter yachting season?

Whether or not you need a B1 (a visa for non-US workers allowing them to be in US waters) depends on your destination. Only those dual season yachts heading to US waters will require a B1 visa for the Winter season. There are also many dual season yachts that head straight to the Caribbean Islands, such as Antigua, which don’t require the visa.

No B1 is required for travel to the UAE, where yachts can be based out of Dubai and the other emirates. There are also many that cross to the Indian Ocean, for example the Maldives and Seychelles, or even further afield like Thailand and even Antarctica!

Not having a B1 is definitely not a dealbreaker for the Winter season.

When should I start to look for a job?

Recruitment for the two yachting seasons is very different. At the start of the Med season, many single season yachts are coming out of either shipyard or 'skeleton crew' periods and so there is more time to focus on recruitment before the season starts.

At the start of the Winter season however, the yacht itself will be busy up until late September/early October time. At this point, the crew onboard will start to give their notice and the Chief Stew will become aware of who is leaving and what positions they need to fill.

Beforehand they will have no idea who is planning to leave. Even if a Stew did hand in their notice in July for the end of the season, a Chief Stew would simply not have the time to look at replacements as they will be too busy with guests. It is also difficult to recruit in the middle of the Med season because the yachts are all out and have guests on.

The best time for crew to start looking for jobs is when positions become available. The best time for a yacht to start looking for crew is when candidates become available. For both, this is therefore late September to early October.

Tips for junior crew

It is possible for green candidates to be offered positions on single or dual season yachts at this time. However, with a surplus of experienced crew who have just finished their first season, it can be more difficult for junior crew to get a position for the winter season on a yacht that is travelling.

Single season yachts go down to skeleton crew and tend to retain the senior staff, so there aren’t as many positions opening as there would be for the start of the Med season. Dual season yachts will always prefer to take candidates who have some yachting experience, as it reduces the amount of training they have to do onboard. It is less of a gamble in other ways too, for example potential sea sickness during the longer crossing, or new staff deciding the industry isn’t for them.

It may be more productive for greener crew to look for positions on yachts that are staying in Europe. This gets you a solid winter season and a good reference, and you can do some networking. It is just one season and it is not forever — it is a great starting point for next year!

Europe is beautiful during the winter with many ports offering proximity to great day trips, such as skiing. You can explore Europe in your down time both by train and plane at this time of year as there are plenty of cheap flights, and of course you can visit the beautiful Christmas markets!

Friendly crew communities develop and socialise around the ports too. Another great option if you aren’t successful this season is to gain a land-based position in a relevant industry, such as in housekeeping or service. You could also take some interest courses such as floristry or cocktails. You will then return for the Med season with even more experience and money in your pocket to see you through until you land your first job.

Most read articles

Tips & Tricks

How many crew members are needed on a yacht?

How to Find A Caribbean Yacht Job

Yacht Job Offers

Open yacht crew jobs in March 2023

How to Become A Yacht Purser: Interview with Purser Trainer Angela Wallace

YACHT CREW GUIDES

IS YACHTING THE RIGHT CHOICE FOR ME?

Essential yacht guides

Mandatory certificates

What you need to know about B1/B2 visa

How to prepare for a yacht interview?

Read more latest news

YPI CREW Will be Attending the Superyacht Technology Network Conference in Barcelona

Is a career in the yachting industry a good fit for me?

Webinar Friday, 15th March: How to Start Your Yachting Career as a Superyacht Stew?

When is the best time to start looking for a winter season yacht job?

TIPS & TRICKS

HOW TO WRITE A MEMORABLE YACHTING CV

YACHT CREW SALARY GUIDE

Error 404 — page not found, we’re sorry, we couldn’t find what you were looking for.

Please return to the YPI CREW homepage

Let’s get started. Call us on +33 (0)4 92 90 46 10 or email us.

Our mission, vision and values, mlc 2006 compliance, essential guides, yacht crew positions.

Chief Officer

Second Officer

Third Officer

Chief Engineer

Interior Crew

Head of Service

Head of Housekeeping

Specialist Positions

Spa Manager

Spa Therapist

Personal Trainer & Yoga Instructor

Hairdresser

Mandatory Certificates

B1/b2 visa information, how to write a memorable cv, how to prepare for an interview, yachting seasons, yacht crew salary guide, is yachting the right choice for me, cv templates, ocean mapping, new to yachting.

+33 (0)4 92 90 46 10

[email protected]

Four Seasons Unveils First Yacht Itineraries and Suite Interiors

By Jessica Puckett

All products featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Four Seasons loyalists have a lot to be excited about, with the launch of the brand’s first yacht nearing in 2026.

The 14-deck luxury vessel, which is partly being modeled off of Aristotle Onassis’ iconic yacht Christina O , will offer some of the most opulent amenities at sea. Initial renderings released in October 2023 show a 66-foot saltwater pool, a marina deck built for swimming and watersports, sophisticated dining concepts, and 95 guest suites. Now, the Four Seasons has released the first renderings showcasing the spacious suites on board—and we got a first look.

The ship's sleek design seeks to translate “the Four Seasons guest experience in terms of comfort level and the luxury standards" to life at sea, Fredrik Johannson, partner and executive director of Tillberg Design of Sweden and the lead designer on the Four Seasons Yacht, tells Condé Nast Traveler. Even the hotel group’s beloved mattresses will be offered in every room.

The first renderings of the Four Season Yacht's suites were released Tuesday, showcasing spacious guest rooms with ocean views.

Also just revealed: the first destinations the yacht will call upon throughout its inaugural year. Passengers can expect to visit a wide variety of exclusive and jet-setting locales, as the yacht is slated to visit more than 130 destinations across 30 countries in its first year alone. And of course, guests will have the option to book pre-and-post cruise extensions at iconic Four Seasons resorts along the way.

“We’re incredibly proud to announce the first itineraries aboard Four Seasons Yachts, and know that these experiences will exceed our guest expectations when we set sail in 2026,” says Alejandro Reynal, Four Seasons President and CEO.

Each voyage calls upon small ports that are typically considered “yacht playgrounds," Thatcher Brown, the Chief Commercial Officer at Marc-Henry Cruise Holdings LTD and co-owner of Four Seasons Yachts, tells Traveler. Passengers can expect to sail between Caribbean and Mediterranean coastal havens almost exclusively visited by private vessels .

When the yacht launches in January 2026, it will first head to the Caribbean, where it will complete seven-night, island-hopping itineraries between St. Barths, Nevis, the Grenadines, St Lucia, Barbados, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Curaçao, and Aruba.

Then in March 2026, the ship will cross the Atlantic and begin sailing its Grand Mediterranean voyages , which include visits to alluring towns in Croatia, Gibraltar, Montenegro, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Turkey. Travelers can also expect to access “under-the-radar” Greek islands , like Ios and Milos, as well as more popular Grecian destinations like Athens and Santorini, according to a Four Seasons release.

Guests will have the option to adjoin suites to accommodate families or other groups traveling together.

Sure the destinations sound glamorous—but it might be difficult for passengers to depart the ship and leave behind the luxe accommodations on board. Specifically the guest suites—which will offer 50% more living space per guest than any other competitor currently at sea, according to the company’s release.

Each space will offer floor-to-ceiling windows framing views of the sea, bathrooms with double vanities, and large closets. “Almost every single bed on this whole yacht is facing the sea,” Johannson says. “All the rooms there have this clarity to them. They are very exclusive, but they have a beautiful simplicity.”

Every suite will also offer private outdoor terraces. What’s more: guests will have the option to adjoin suites to accommodate families or other groups traveling together. There are more than 100 different adjoining configurations, including the option to reserve the entire side of a deck—an opportunity that would afford a group of travel companions more than 13,000 square feet of living space.

The Four Seasons Yacht will be divided between Funnel and Loft Suites, each with private outdoor terraces.

But the true showstopper on board is sure to be the Funnel Suite. Located on the very top deck where the funnel or smokestack would traditionally be, the Funnel Suite is essentially the ship’s penthouse, spanning four floors and 9,975 square feet. The massive space will feature three bedrooms and a terrace with outdoor dining space, splash pool, and outdoor showers. But the suite’s best amenity will be its views. The four-story, floor-to-ceiling windows have been fitted with the largest piece of contiguous curved glass at sea, offering sweeping 280-degree views of the ocean as the yacht sails from port to port.

Voyages on board the Four Seasons yacht haven’t yet opened for general booking, but interested travelers can join the yacht’s waitlist in hopes of securing one of the elegant suites on the 2026 itineraries.

More From Forbes

First look inside the new four seasons yacht.

• Share to Facebook
• Share to Twitter
• Share to Linkedin

The new Four Seasons yacht will set sail in 2026.

Four Seasons has long set the gold standard for luxury accommodations on land and is renowned for its exquisite hotels that offer unparalleled comfort and service. Now, this legacy of luxury is extending its reach to the seas. In a groundbreaking move, Four Seasons Yachts , in collaboration with Marc-Henry Cruise Holdings Ltd and the esteemed Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri, is introducing an ambitious venture into luxury sea travel. Scheduled to set sail in 2026, this initiative promises an experience that transcends traditional cruising, offering voyages across the mesmerizing waters of the Caribbean and the historic coasts of the Mediterranean.

Alejandro Reynal, President and CEO of Four Seasons, expressed enthusiasm about bringing the brand's hallmark of guest-centered luxury to the high seas. According to Reynal, this expansion into yachting is a natural extension of Four Seasons' commitment to providing personalized, elegant, and comfortable experiences. The aim is clear: to redefine luxury hospitality, but this time, against the backdrop of the world's most stunning seascapes.

The suites are breathtaking.

The inaugural season of Four Seasons Yachts is poised to offer something truly special. With ten unique voyages planned, travelers will have the opportunity to explore over 130 distinct destinations across more than 30 countries and territories. Each itinerary has been meticulously crafted, allowing guests the flexibility to design their own sea adventure. From the lively atmospheres of Caribbean islands like Saint Barthélemy and Martinique to the cultural richness of Mediterranean gems, including the Greek Isles and Croatia, these voyages promise a blend of well-loved destinations and hidden treasures.

The spacious cabins have incredible views.

Best High-Yield Savings Accounts Of 2024

Best 5% interest savings accounts of 2024.

Accommodations aboard the yacht are set to be a marvel in themselves. Ninety-five suites, conceived by the creative minds of Fredrik Johannson at Tillberg Design of Sweden and Creative Director Prosper Assouline, are designed to be sanctuaries of tranquility at sea. Each suite, envisioned with elegant interiors, expansive views, and a residential feel, aims to provide guests with a sense of being at home away from home. Among these, the Funnel and Loft Suites stand out for their sheer luxury and space. They offer unique features such as splash pools, outdoor showers, and breathtaking panoramic views, setting a new benchmark for luxury accommodations on water.

The pool deck features a bar and lounge chairs.

Beyond the exquisite suites, the yacht will feature various amenities designed to cater to every guest's needs. With eleven dining options, a comprehensive spa and wellness center, a state-of-the-art marina, and an innovative pool area capable of hosting events, the yacht ensures a variety of experiences that enrich the journey.

“We’re building a stunning seafaring venture that will be enjoyed as a yacht experience rather than a cruise experience," says Thatcher Brown, chief commercial officer and head of joint operations at luxury shipping specialist Marc-Henry Cruise Holdings, the joint owner/operator of the Four Seasons Yachts brand. "The intrinsic value of Four Seasons brand leadership in luxury hospitality combined with the passionate pioneering spirit and expertise of the project team is manifested in the creation of truly special Four Seasons Yachts experiences."

• Editorial Standards
• Reprints & Permissions

Environment | Sierra Nevada snowpack ‘unusually normal’ and…

Share this:.

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to print (Opens in new window)
• Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)

Today's e-Edition

• Latest News

Environment

• Transportation

Environment | Sierra Nevada snowpack ‘unusually normal’ and reservoirs are brimming as winter season winds down

California water supplies are in good shape, experts say, as more snow heads for the sierra this weekend.

As winter conditions wind down, the beginning of April is always the most important time for California’s water managers to take stock of how much snow has fallen in the Sierra Nevada.

And more is on the way. The National Weather Service on Friday declared a winter storm warning for the Sierra, predicting 1 to 2 feet of new snow through Sunday. Chain controls went into effect on Interstate 80 Friday afternoon.

For a state where 11 of the past 17 years have been in severe drought, where massive, punishing storms last year brought the biggest snowpack since 1983 and waves of destruction along the coast, and storms in 2017 caused $100 million in flood damage to downtown San Jose and nearly collapsed Oroville Dam, an ordinary winter is a godsend, experts said Friday.

“It’s about as normal as you can get,” said Jeffrey Wood, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sacramento. “It’s what we hoped for. In recent years we’ve had extremes. This year is definitely an outlier, but in a good way. Enjoy the normal.”

The last time California had a winter this close to the historical average was more than a decade ago, in 2010, when the Sierra snowpack on April 1 was at 104%. By comparison, last year on April 1 it was 232%. The year before, just 35%.

Two years of ample snow and rain have wiped away drought conditions. Most of California’s big reservoirs are brimming.

They were already full from last year’s bounty and have been topped with storms this year. The largest reservoirs in California on Friday were a combined 116% of their average capacity for the end of March, with the two largest, Shasta, near Redding, and Oroville, in Butte County, at 91% and 87% full.

The conditions mean that cities will not impose water restrictions this summer.

“This is a usefully boring year,” said Jay Lund, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at UC Davis. “It will be useful if people use the lack of urgency to work on long-term preparations for both floods and droughts. That would be time well spent.”

Precipitation will continue to spread across the area today through Saturday, with the heaviest expected this afternoon into early Saturday. Here's a look at the latest forecast rainfall & snowfall totals. Expect mountain travel delays & chain controls. #cawx pic.twitter.com/1h0IVxPxQT — NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) March 29, 2024

The snowy February and March, along with healthy rain levels across the state, mean that California’s fire season this year could end up being another mild one.

“We might expect something similar to last year,” said Craig Clements, director of the San Jose State University Fire Weather Research Lab. “Below normal in terms of acres burned. More snow. More moisture. Higher soil moisture. And higher fuel moisture levels. Things can change if we get a big heat wave in August. But for now all the rain and snow have helped a lot.”

Last year, following the wet winter, 324,917 acres burned statewide, according to Cal Fire, well below the state average for the previous five years of 1.7 million acres and more than 90% less than the horrific fire year of 2020 when 4.2 million acres burned statewide.

The shifting risk levels don’t mean that climate change isn’t happening, experts say. The Earth continues to warm, which makes droughts more severe. And that warming can cause winter storms to carry higher levels of moisture because more water evaporates from the ocean into them during hotter conditions.

But this year and last serve as a reminder that every year isn’t a wildfire Armageddon, Clements said.

“You are going to have some normal seasons,” he said. “You are going to have wet seasons.”

Few barometers of the state’s changing water fortunes are as dramatic as the weekly reports from the U.S. Drought Monitor, put out by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

At the end of March 2022, 100% of California was in a drought, according to the monitor. Water shortages were prevalent around the state. A year later, just 28% of California was in a drought — mostly near the Oregon state line and in the southeastern corner of the state. This week? None of the state is in drought.

Early on it wasn’t clear what this winter would bring. On Jan. 1, the statewide Sierra snowpack was just 21% of normal. But steady storms through February, and particularly in the first week of March, brought the turnaround as the Sierra was blasted with 8 to 10 feet of new snow in blizzards that closed ski resorts and blocked I-80 and Highway 50.

Lund, the UC Davis professor, who described this winter as “unusually normal, said California still has significant water challenges, particularly in agriculture. State officials and farmers need to do a better job capturing water from storms and diverting it to recharge groundwater, he said.

In other areas, such as the Tulare Basin in the San Joaquin Valley, groundwater has been so heavily over pumped for decades that some acres will need to be taken out of production, he said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has pushed hard for construction of the largest new reservoir in California in 50 years, Sites Reservoir, a $4.5 billion off-stream project proposed for Colusa County that would divert water from the Sacramento River in wet years for use in dry years. This month, the project received $205 million from the Biden administration and now has more than 90% of its funding. Whether it can break ground depends largely on if it can secure water rights later this year from the State Water Resources Control Board and overcome lawsuits from several environmental groups that say the water diversions could harm fish species in the Delta.

On Tuesday, state officials are expected to take a manual snow survey near Sierra-at-Tahoe ski resort. Friday’s statewide totals are expected to increase from this weekend’s storms.

“Winter is not over,” said Wood, the meteorologist. “It’s not abnormal to have an early spring system like this, and it’s definitely not the end of potential wet weather for the area. We will get some significant snowfall out of this one.”

• Report an error
• Policies and Standards

More in Environment

World News | Study: Climate change has made heat waves longer, hotter

California Politics | Proposal would change how California power bills are calculated, aiming to relieve summer spikes

Restaurants, Food and Drink | Dungeness crab season in Bay Area, Central Coast will come to an early end

Environment | A ‘potentially explosive’ hurricane season is coming, predicts AccuWeather

• Share full article

Opinion Guest Essay

An Idyll on the Shores of a Toxic Lake

Supported by

Text by Jaime Lowe

Photographs by Nicholas Albrecht

Ms. Lowe is the author of, most recently, “Breathing Fire: Female Inmate Firefighters on the Front Lines of California’s Wildfires.” Mr. Albrecht is a photographer based in Oakland, Calif.

• March 29, 2024

There are two ways to experience the town of Bombay Beach, Calif., as a visitor: gawk at the spectacle or fall into the vortex. Thousands of tourists cruise through each year, often without getting out of their cars to see decaying art installations left over from an annual mid-March gathering of artists, photographers and documentarians known jokingly as the Bombay Beach Biennale. When I went to the town for the first time in 2021, I was looking for salvation in this weird desert town on the Salton Sea south of Palm Springs and Joshua Tree National Park. I dropped in, felt vibes and left with stories. I stared at the eccentric large-scale art, posted photos on Instagram of ruin porn and a hot pink sign on the beach that said, “If you’re stuck, call Kim.” I posed in front of a mountain of painted televisions, swung on a swing over the edge of the lake’s retreating shoreline and explored the half-buried, rusted-out cars that make up an abandoned ersatz drive-in movie theater. On that trip, it felt as if I were inside a “Mad Max” simulation, but I was only scratching the surface of the town.

I returned in December to try to understand why Bombay Beach remains so compelling, especially as extreme weather — heat, hurricanes and drought — and pollution wreak ever more intense havoc on it. Summer temperatures can reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit, tremors from the San Andreas Fault strike regularly, bomb testing from nearby military facilities can be heard and felt, and the air is so toxic from pesticide use, exhaust fumes, factory emissions and dust rising from the retreating Salton Sea that one study showed asthma rates among children in the region are three times the national average. By the end of the decade, the Salton Sea, California’s largest inland body of water, at about 325 square miles, may lose three-quarters of its volume; in the past 20 years, the sea’s surface area has shrunk about 38 square miles .

But people who live in Bombay Beach stay because the town offers a tight-knit community in the midst of catastrophe. Though its residents contend with environmental adversity on a daily basis, they’re also demonstrating how to navigate the uncertain future we all face — neglect, the fight for scarce resources, destruction of home, the feeling of having no place to go. They are an example of how people can survive wild climate frontiers together.

The 250 or so town residents live in the low desert on the east shore of the Salton Sea, which formed in 1905 when the then-flush Colorado River spilled into a depression, creating a freshwater lake that became increasingly saline. There used to be fish — mullet and carp, then tilapia. In the 1950s and ’60s, the area was marketed as a tourist destination and was advertised as Palm Springs by the Sea. More tourists visited Bombay Beach than Yosemite. There were yacht clubs, boat races and water skiing. It became a celebrity magnet: Frank Sinatra hung out there; so did the Beach Boys and Sonny and Cher.

Eventually, as agricultural runoff kept accumulating in a body of water with no drainage, it became toxic and created a lake with salinity that is now 50 percent greater than that of the ocean. In the 1980s, dead fish washed up on the sand, car ruins rusted in the sun, tires rotted on the shore. Tourism vanished. But some in the community hung on. One way to define Bombay Beach is through environmental disaster, but another way is as an example of how to live through disaster and how to live in general.

Candace Youngberg, a town council member and a bartender at the Ski Inn, remembers a very different Bombay Beach. When she was growing up in the 1980s, she’d ride bikes with neighborhood children and run from yard to yard in a pack because there were no fences. But over time, the town changed. With each passing year, she watched necessities disappear. Now there’s no gas station, no laundromat, no hardware store. Fresh produce is hard to come by. A trailer that was devoted to medical care shut down. In 2021, 60.9 percent of Bombay Beach residents lived below the poverty line, compared with the national average of 12.6 percent.

As painful as it was to witness the town of her youth disappear and as deep as the problems there go, Ms. Youngberg admits that adversity bonded those who stayed. She wanted to return Bombay Beach to the version of the town she remembered, to recreate a beautiful place to live year-round, not just in winter, not just during the art season, not just for the tourists posing in front of wreckage. She wanted people to see the homes, the town, the community that once thrived thrive again. With the art came attention and the potential for more resources. She got on the Bombay Beach Community Services District, a town council, and started to work toward improvements like fixing the roads and planting trees to improve air quality.

It might just be that Bombay Beach is a small town, but when I visited last winter, there was something that felt more collaborative, as though everybody’s lives and business and projects overlapped. I’m not sure the community that’s there now started out as intentional, but when fragmented groups of people come together as custodians of an enigmatic space, responsible for protecting it and one another, community is inevitable. Plus, there’s only one place to socialize, one place to gossip, one place to dance out anxiety and only about two-thirds of a square mile to wander. Whether you like it or not, your neighbors are your people — a town in its purest form.

When I was there, I walked the streets with Denia Nealy, an artist who goes by Czar, and my friend Brenda Ann Kenneally, a photographer and writer, who would shout names, and people would instantly emerge. A stranger offered a handful of Tater Tots to Czar and me in a gesture that felt emblematic: Of course a complete stranger on an electric unicycle would cruise by and share nourishment. I was given a butterfly on a stick, which I carried around like a magic wand because that seemed appropriate and necessary. I was told that if I saw a screaming woman walking down the street with a shiv in her hand, not to worry and not to make eye contact and she’d leave me alone; it was just Stabby. There was talk of the Alcoholics Anonymous meeting on the beach, the weekly church sermon led by Jack the preacher (who is also a plumber), a potluck lasagna gathering.

Last year Ms. Kenneally created a trash fashion show/photo series for the Biennale in which she created couture designs out of trash collected from the beach, enlisted regulars in town to model the outfits, then photographed them. (She exhibited a similar series at this year’s festival as well.) The work was a way to showcase the people and the place. Jonathan Hart, a fireworks specialist who slept on the beach, posed like a gladiator; a woman who normally rode through town with a stuffed Kermit the Frog toy strapped to her bike was wrapped in a clear tarp and crown, looking like royalty emerging from the Salton Sea. The environment was harsh, the poses striking. Each frame straddled the line between glamour and destruction but also showcased a community’s pride in survival. Residents were undaunted by the armor of refuse; in fact, it made them stronger. The detritus, what outsiders might think of as garbage, became gorgeous. The landscape that is often described as apocalyptic became ethereal and magical. And that’s because it is.

On my second day, we went down to the docks at noon, and I found myself sitting on a floral mustard couch watching half a dozen or so people taking turns riding Jet Skis into the sun. The sun was hot, even though it was the cool season. Time felt elastic. Mr. Hart told me that he and some friends had fixed up the water scooters to give everyone in town the chance to blow off some steam, to smile a little. It had been a rough couple of months in the region. In preparation for Hurricane Hilary, which hit Mexico and the southwestern United States last August, 26 volunteers made 200 sandbags and delivered them door to door. Neighbors helped secure as many structures as possible.

Most media outlets reported that the hurricane was downgraded to a tropical storm because that’s the weather system that hit Los Angeles, but it was close to a hurricane in Bombay Beach, with winds hitting 60 miles per hour, and most properties were surrounded by water. Roofs collapsed or blew away entirely. “When faced with something like that, they were like, ‘Boom, we’re on it,’” Ms. Youngberg told me. They were together in disaster and in celebrating survival.

It reminded me of the writer Rebecca Solnit’s book “A Paradise Built in Hell,” which considers the upside to catastrophe. She finds that people rise to the occasion and oftentimes do it with joy because disaster and survival leave a wake of purposefulness, consequential work and community. Disasters require radical acts of imagination and interaction. It seemed that because Bombay Beach lived hard, surviving climate catastrophes like extreme weather on top of everyday extremes, it celebrated even harder. It seemed that in Bombay Beach there’s enough to celebrate if you just get through the day, gaze at the night sky and do it all again in the morning.

A lot of the residents who live there now arrived with trauma. Living there is its own trauma. But somehow the combination creates a place of care and physical and emotional presence. People experience life intensely, as one. It’s a town that is isolated, but in spite of a loneliness epidemic, it doesn’t seem so lonely to be there. I felt unexpected joy in what, from everything I’d read from afar, was a place that might as well have been sinking into the earth. I felt so safe and so happy that if we had sunk into the earth together, it wouldn’t have felt like such a bad way to go.

On my last night in Bombay Beach, I went to the Ski Inn, a bar that serves as the center of all social activity. I’d been in town for only two days, and yet it felt as if I’d been to the Ski Inn a million times, as if I already knew everyone and they knew me. A band was playing, we danced and drank, and I forgot about the 8 p.m. kitchen cutoff. The chef apologized, but he’d been working since 11:45 a.m. and had already cleaned the grill and fryer. He’d saved one mac and cheese for the bartender, and when she heard I hadn’t eaten, she offered to split it with me, not wanting me to go hungry or leave without having tried the mac and cheese.

Bombay Beach is a weird place. And this was an especially weird feeling. I had been instantly welcomed into the fold of community and cared for, even though I was a stranger in a very strange land.

I realized I didn’t want to leave. There were lessons there — how to live with joy and purpose in the face of certain catastrophe, how to exist in the present without the ever presence of doom. Next time, I thought, I’d stay longer, maybe forever, and actually ride a Jet Ski.

Jaime Lowe is a Knight-Wallace journalism fellow at the University of Michigan and the author of, most recently, “Breathing Fire: Female Inmate Firefighters on the Front Lines of California’s Wildfires.” Nicholas Albrecht is a photographer based in Oakland, Calif. His first monograph, “One, No One and One Hundred Thousand,” was the culmination of a multiyear project made while living on the shores of the Salton Sea.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

Follow the New York Times Opinion section on Facebook , Instagram , TikTok , WhatsApp , X and Threads .

Advertisement

• CBSSports.com
• Fanatics Sportsbook
• CBS Sports Home
• NCAA Tournament
• W. Tournament
• Champions League
• Motor Sports
• High School
• Horse Racing 

Men's Brackets

Women's Brackets

Fantasy Baseball

Fantasy football, football pick'em, college pick'em, fantasy basketball, fantasy hockey, franchise games, 24/7 sports news network.

• CBS Sports Golazo Network
• March Madness Live
• PGA Tour on CBS
• UEFA Champions League
• UEFA Europa League
• Italian Serie A
• Watch CBS Sports Network
• TV Shows & Listings

The Early Edge

A Daily SportsLine Betting Podcast

With the First Pick

NFL Draft is coming up!

• Podcasts Home
• Eye On College Basketball
• The First Cut Golf
• NFL Pick Six
• Cover 3 College Football
• Fantasy Football Today
• Morning Kombat
• My Teams Organize / See All Teams Help Account Settings Log Out

UFL 2024 schedule, scores: Times, dates for entire regular season and playoffs of new United Football League

Here's a look at the full 2024 ufl season schedule.

The United Football League has announced the 2024 schedule for its inaugural season. The UFL -- the result of a merger between the USFL (which lasted two seasons) and the XFL (which had three different variations) -- took four teams from each of those leagues for its first season. 

The four teams in the USFL division are the Birmingham Stallions, Michigan Panthers, Memphis Showboats, and Houston Roughnecks (three were USFL teams, while the Houston team is a combination of the USFL and XFL teams in Houston). The four teams in the XFL division are the D.C. Defenders, San Antonio Brahmas, Arlington Renegades, and St. Louis Battlehawks.

The league will have four teams qualify for the playoffs, with the top two teams in each division qualifying for the conference championship games. The UFL Championship will wrap up the season on Sunday, June 16. Each team will play in six in conference games and four inter-conference matchups. 

We'll keep you updated with results from each game as the season rolls along. The first game kicks off on Saturday, March 30 (all times are Eastern).

*Regional coverage

Playoff semifinals

Saturday, June 8 -- 3 p.m. (ABC) Sunday, June 9 -- TBA (Fox)

Championship

Sunday, June 16 -- TBA (Fox)

Our Latest NFL Stories

LOOK: Former NFL punter throws TD pass

Jeff kerr • 1 min read.

Elliot, Cowboys have mutual interest in reunion

Shanna mccarriston • 1 min read.

Rice suspect in six vehicle crash

LOOK: UFL kicker smashes 64-yard field goal

John breech • 2 min read.

Mock Draft: Ex-NFL GM and Super Bowl champ pick Round 1

Kyle stackpole • 1 min read.

Clowney discusses last season, plans for this season

Shanna mccarriston • 3 min read, share video.

UFL schedule: Dates, times, TV for 2024 season

Mock: Ex-NFL GM and SB champ pick Round 1

Five notable players who could be dealt

Ranking challengers to Chiefs three-peat

Prisco mock: QBs fly off the board

Ranking QBs from 2020-24 draft classes

Report: Rashee Rice suspect in six vehicle crash

Jayden Daniels addresses concerns about elbow

Eagles taking a major gamble dealing Reddick

Rumors: McCarthy over Maye in some NFL teams' rankings

Fox Weather

Late-season winter storm to dump heavy snow across interior Northeast this week

Posted: March 31, 2024 | Last updated: March 31, 2024

As the storm system responsible for a severe weather threat in the central U.S. moves east, it could develop into a significant late-season winter storm by midweek for parts of the interior Northeast, where it could dump heavy snow across parts of upstate New York and New England.

More for You

The Secret Ingredient For Ridiculously Creamy Scrambled Eggs

What Smells Do Mosquitoes Hate? 10 Scents You Need to Use This Summer

8 Used Cars That Have Been Recalled To Stay Away From

17 Items People Can’t Afford But Buy Anyway – Don’t Be One of Them

Lost cities hidden for thousands of years discovered under forest

Patriots special teams ace announces retirement

Can You Eat Potatoes with Sprouts?

Russia's 'Mobile Fire Groups' Hint at Deeper Problem: ISW

5 Things You Didn't Know About The Outer Casing Of Aircraft Engines

Louis Gossett Jr, first black man to win a best supporting actor Oscar – obituary

6 Cars That Seem Expensive but Rarely Need Repairs

The 30 best dog breeds for first-time owners

Remove A Tree Stump With One Common Household Ingredient

I'm a Swede who used to work with Americans. These are the main differences I saw in our working cultures.

Jim Parsons On Reprising ‘The Big Bang Theory' Role On ‘Young Sheldon': "Very Weird" & "Very Beautiful"

Best Buy's 24-hour sale is now live — here's the 11 deals I personally recommend

The 9 Most Comfortable Flats to Wear Instead of Sneakers

Watch Out for These 10 Car Brands With Poor Engine Ratings

Are There Any B-36 Bombers Still Flying?

Here's Why You Shouldn't Put Broken Up Eggshells Directly In Your Soil

The Winds of Winter: Everything We Know About the Next Game of Thrones Book

Winter is (eventually... hopefully) coming..

The Winds of Winter, the long, long-awaited sixth book in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, is among the most-anticipated works of fiction. The next entry in the fantasy saga on which HBO’s Game of Thrones was based has been in the works since Book 5, A Dance with Dragons, which was released back in 2011. In the 13 years since, HBO aired Seasons 2-8 of Game of Thrones and Season 1 ( and soon 2 ) of its first GoT spinoff series, House of the Dragon.

While Martin continues work on the next A Song of Ice and Fire novel, we’ve compiled an overview of everything we know about The Winds of Winter, from Martin’s comments on the book’s length and publishing timeline to the story’s characters and differences from the show.

• When will it come out?
• How long will it be?
• Story details
• Book vs. TV series

Winds of Winter Release Date

There is no release date or window for The Winds of Winter.

Martin and his publishers initially hoped to have the manuscript completed by the end of October 2015 in order to release Winds the following March ahead of Game of Thrones: Season 6, according to Martin . That soft deadline then turned to the end of 2015, which also came and went without a completed manuscript. In January 2017 , he expressed optimism that it’d be out before that year’s end. In 2020, the author aimed to finish the project's initial work by 2021 , though that timeline didn’t pan out. This seems to be the last time Martin made a public estimation for when Winds will be published.

In October 2022, Martin said he was about 75% done with the manuscript. Little progress was seemingly made over the next year, as Martin announced in November 2023 that 1,100 pages had been completed — the same amount he mentioned in a December 2022 appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert . Martin last mentioned Winds in a December 2023 blog post , in which he stated he’d been working on the book in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he resides.

Do you think George R.R. Martin will finish A Song of Ice and Fire?

Winds of winter length.

The Winds of Winter will be around 1,500 pages. Martin said, as of November 2023, he had written roughly 1,100 pages and had “ hundreds more pages to go ." The author has said the final two A Song of Ice and Fire books will collectively come in at over 3,000 pages.

Should The Winds of Winter come in at 1,500 pages, it’d be the longest A Song of Ice and Fire book so far. The current longest is the fifth book, A Dance with Dragons, which was just over 1,000 pages in its original hardcover release.

Winds of Winter Story

There are no spoilers in this section, save for the names of characters who will appear in The Winds of Winter.

The Winds of Winter will continue the events of the fourth and fifth books: A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons. (Books 4 and 5 followed different characters but narratively ran parallel to each other.) Martin, speaking with Smarter Travel in 2012, said Winds will start with a bang:

“There were a of cliffhangers at the end of A Dance with Dragons. Those will be resolved very early. I’m going to open with the two big battles that I was building up to, the battle in the ice [between the forces of Stannis Baratheon and Roose Bolton in and around Winterfell] and the battle at Meereen — the battle of Slaver’s Bay [between the forces of Daenerys Targaryen and the slavers of Yunkai across the Narrow Sea].”

The 25 Best Game of Thrones Episodes

Daenerys Targaryen’s and Tyrion Lannister’s paths will finally cross “in a way,” Martin told EW in 2014, “but for much of the book they’re still apart. They both have quite large roles to play here. Tyrion has decided that he actually would like to live, for one thing, which he wasn’t entirely sure of during the last book, and he’s now working toward that end — if he can survive the battle that’s breaking out all around him. And Dany has embraced her heritage as a Targaryen and embraced the Targaryen words. So they’re both coming home.”

In that same interview, Martin confirmed the Dothraki will return “in a big way” and, as the end of Book 5 suggests, “a lot of stuff is happening at The Wall.” On a more direct yet less consequential note, Martin has said Winds will introduce his “interesting take on unicorns,” according to Winter Is Coming .

Overall, Martin has said to expect things to “get worse before they get better.” “There are a lot of dark chapters right now in the book that I’m writing,” Martin said at the Guadalajara International Book Fair in 2016 (via EW ). “It is called The Winds of Winter, and I’ve been telling you for 20 years that winter was coming. Winter is the time when things die, and cold and ice and darkness fill the world, so this is not going to be the happy feel-good that people may be hoping for. Some of the characters [are] in very dark places.”

Winds of Winter Characters

As of 2016 , Martin was not planning to include any new point-of-view characters in Winds. Here’s a quick list of all the characters confirmed to have chapters told from their perspective, per Martin’s hitherto released preview chapters, blog posts, and public readings:

• Tyrion Lannister
• Cersei Lannister
• Jaime Lannister and/or Brienne of Tarth
• Sansa Stark
• Theon Greyjoy
• Asha Greyjoy
• Victarion Greyjoy
• Aeron Greyjoy/Damphair
• Barristan Selmy
• Arianne Martell
• Jon Connington

While unconfirmed, it’s all but certain Daenerys Targaryen will again be a point-of-view character. Other potential POV characters include Davos Seaworth, Samwell Tarly, and Melisandre. We also know Robb Stark’s wife Jeyne Westerling (replaced in the TV series by a character named Talisa Maegyr) will appear in the prologue, according to Hypable , though Martin didn’t say the section would be written from her perspective.

House of the Dragon Season 2 First Look Images

Winds of Winter: Book vs. TV Show

Given the larger cast and overall scope of the book series, Winds of Winter will differ from what viewers experienced in Game of Thrones . Martin has said characters who died in the series won’t die in the books, and characters who survived in Game of Thrones won’t survive in the books. New characters will be introduced; characters who never appeared on-screen will have important roles to play in the story to come.

Martin wrote about the topic in length in a 2022 blog post :

What I have noticed more and more of late, however, is my gardening is taking me further and further away from the television series. Yes, some of the things you saw on HBO in Game of Thrones you will also see in The Winds of Winter (though maybe not in quite the same ways)… but much of the rest will be quite different.

And really, when you think about it, this was inevitable. The novels are much bigger and much much more complex than the series. Certain things that happened on HBO will not happen in the books. And vice versa. I have viewpoint characters in the books never seen on the show: Victarion Greyjoy, Arianne Martell, Areo Hotah, Jon Connington, Aeron Damphair. They will all have chapters, and the things they do and say will impact the story and the major characters who were on the show. I have legions of secondary characters, not POVs but nonetheless important to the plot, who also figure in the story: Lady Stoneheart, Young Griff, the Tattered Prince, Penny, Brown Ben Plumm, the Shavepate, Marwyn the Mage, Darkstar, Jeyne Westerling. Some characters you saw in the show are quite different than the versions in the novels. Yarra Greyjoy is not Asha Greyjoy, and HBO’s Euron Greyjoy is way, way, way, way different from mine. Quaithe still has a part to play. So does Rickon Stark. And poor Jeyne Poole. And… well, the list is long. (And all this is part of why Winds is taking so long. This is hard, guys).

Oh, and there will be new characters as well. No new viewpoints, I promise you that, but with all these journeys and battles and scheming to come, inevitably our major players will be encountering new people in lands far and near.

One thing I can say, in general enough terms that I will not be spoiling anything: not all of the characters who survived until the end of Game of Thrones will survive until the end of A Song of Ice & Fire, and not all of the characters who died on Game of Thrones will die in A Song of Ice & Fire. (Some will, sure. Of course. Maybe most. But definitely not all.) ((Of course, I could change my mind again next week, with the next chapter I write. That’s gardening)).

And the ending? You will need to wait until I get there. Some things will be the same. A lot will not.

Martin’s comments should be good news for the many fans who felt the quickened pace of Game of Thrones’ final season diluted the character arcs and overarching narratives that came before it.

One last tease: Martin told IGN in 2016 that The Winds of Winter will feature a major twist that couldn’t be done in the show. “It’s something that involves a couple characters,” said Martin, “one of whom is dead in the show [by the end of Season 5] but not dead in the books.”

A Dream of Spring and Other Future Works

A Dream of Spring is the seventh and final book Martin has planned for A Song of Ice and Fire. It, too, is expected to be 1,500 pages or more, according to Martin. As for the story, Martin offered this during the Guadalajara International Book Fair in 2016: “I’m not going to tell you how I’m going to end my book, but I suspect the overall flavor is going to be as much bittersweet as it is happy.” There is no timetable for its release.

In addition to finishing Winds and preparing for A Dream of Spring, Martin is authoring a second volume of his Targaryen history, potentially titled Blood & Fire, and additional stories in his Tales of Dunk and Egg series of novellas, which serves as the basis for HBO’s upcoming Game of Thrones spinoff, Knight of the Seven Kingdoms . Martin continues to serve as an editor of Wild Cards, a shared-universe sci-fi book series he created in 1987. He’s also a producer for two active TV series: House of the Dragon and AMC’s Dark Winds.

Jordan covers games, shows, and movies as a freelance writer for IGN.

In This Article

IGN Recommends