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Med summer charter bookings down

More than 70 yachts are displayed at the Genoa Yacht Charter meeting

LONDON, England -- Charter boat bookings in the Mediterranean are down overall, but July and August remain heavily booked, agents say.

Brokers attending the Genoa Yacht Charter meeting confirmed that American clients, who form the largest sector of the market, have cut back on their charter holidays since the terror attacks of September 11.

This particularly affected the 2001/2 winter season in the Caribbean.

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''US interest is certainly sluggish and there has a been slower start this spring,'' said Sarah Balls of Camper & Nicholsons International, ''but activity is now increasing.''

Balls confirmed that the peak months of July and August are already very busy.

''Most of the top yachts are now fully booked and there is limited availability for these months."

The five-day meeting, organised by the Mediterranean Yacht Brokers Association (MYBA), is a trade show to allow charter agents from around the world to inspect the some of the boats in the Mediterranean charter fleet.

This year there were over 70 boats on the Marina Molo Vecchio quayside from 24 to 61 metres (80 to 200 feet), predominantly motoryachts, but with a good selection of sailing yachts.

Inspection is important for an agent when recommending a particular boat to a client. Even if they know the boat from the previous season, captains, crew and chefs can change and they need to ensure that the owner has kept the boat well maintained.

There are also new boats to the charter market to view for the first time.

Top of the motoryacht list this year was the new Amels Dutch-built 53.8 metre (176ft) Kermit which charters at a rate of $200,000 per week for 12 guests. On top of this you can expect to pay for fuel costs and up to a 25 percent in tips to the crew.

Already proving a favourite is the new 57.3m (188ft) Excellence III built by Abeking & Rasmussen of Germany. Excellence III has an interior designed by Don Starkey which won the Showboats 2002 award for best motoryacht interior.

Managed by Camper & Nicholsons, Excellence III takes 12 guests and charters at $285,000 per week.

The sailing sector of the market tends to attract the more enthusiastic yachting clients says Mike Everton Jones of Yachting Partners.

'Conditions for sailing are not ideal in the Western Mediterranean in the summer, it is either a flat calm or blowing a mistral' says Everton Jones.

Everton Jones said there are some great new sailing yachts this season for charter including the classic 1930's JClass Shamrock ($65,000 per week), the new 46.3m (152ft) schooner Windrose ($65,000 per week) and the 53m (174ft) ketch Salperton recently launched by Alloy Yachts ($175,000 per week).