I should be packing right now, bound for St. Petersburg, Russia, and a gorgeous, 90-foot-long, expedition-style motoryacht that I’ve spent the past six months working with to organize a charter article.

But I’m not packing. In fact, I’m not going at all–and neither is the yacht.

Russia, you see, is an example of what I call an emerging destination, a place where a yacht charter certainly has the potential to be terrific, but where the infrastructure for charter is not yet in place. Of course there are marinas in St. Petersburg, not to mention some world-class sites to see onshore, but the process of actually getting into Russia is more complicated than, say, sailing into Antigua. For instance, in the case of Russia, visas are required–and are hard to come by. So hard to come by, in fact, that both the yacht’s owner and I gave up trying to get them.

He took the yacht to Finland instead, and I put my suitcase back in the attic. I am disappointed, for sure, as I love to check out emerging destinations–places like the developing coasts of Croatia, Thailand and Costa Rica where readers like you might consider booking an exotic charter yacht vacation.

The lesson from my St. Petersburg experience is one to keep in mind if you’re considering booking a charter yacht vacation in any of the world’s emerging destinations: Be ready for the unexpected, and be prepared to be flexible.

There’s a reason these destinations are considered to be emerging. They haven’t quite fully joined the international yacht charter community yet.

I heard some rumblings at last week’s charter show in Newport about the phrase “liquidated damages.” After a bit of sleuthing, I can tell you it’s a phrase that you should definitely know–and that you should look for before signing any charter vacation contract.

When you book a charter yacht, you sign a contract with that particular yacht’s owner. There are many different kinds of charter contracts, as yachts must follow different international rules depending on where they are flagged, where they are chartering, and what kind of services they are providing.

The Newport show docks were buzzing about the contractual phrase “liquidated damages” because of a new contract being put forward by members of the American Yacht Brokers Association, one of the four worldwide professional associations that we here at CharterWave recommend for finding a reputable charter broker. It seems that after years of trying to negotiate the term “liquidated damages” into contracts on behalf of their clients who are booking charters, the AYCA’s members have decided to try to make the term a standard contract clause.

This is a good thing if you’re a person booking a charter. Liquidated damages means that if a yacht owner cancels your charter at the last minute, he not only has to refund your charter fee, but also has to pay penalties depending on how close to the actual charter date the cancellation occurs.

As an example, if your charter starts on Friday the 16th and the owner pulls his yacht out from under you on Thursday the 14th–with no time for you to find another yacht–then he will have to pay not only for your loss of his yacht, but also a penalty for the potential loss of your entire charter vacation.

Like I said, this is a good thing if you’re the person booking the charter–and it’s yet another reason I always suggest booking through a reputable charter broker. Obviously, every yacht’s owner is better served by taking “liquidated damages” out of the contract completely. Your goal should be to make sure the clause is in there, a goal you can best achieve by having a professional negotiating on your behalf.

The annual, industry-only charter show in Newport is closing today, and I have to say, it’s without a single “belle of the ball.”

Usually, there’s one yacht that stands far apart from the rest, that all the reputable charter brokers walk around the docks complimenting and saying they plan to book clients onboard. At this show, I heard praise for many charter yachts, but there was no clear standout. Of the boats I got onboard, too, I thought many were lovely, but none superior to the rest.

In the classic yacht department–which is a big department up in the New England cruising grounds–the 85-foot Enticer got the most praise. She was built in 1935 and refit in 2002, and she just oozes classic elegance. I felt like a Vanderbilt just standing on her decks. She’s part of the fleet at McMillen Yachts, which is primarily a fractional owership–not a charter–company. I’ll explain more about that when I post my exclusive review of Enticer in the CharterWave First Impressions section.

In the sailing yacht category, two boats seemed to have the most people talking.

One is the 56-foot catamaran Pride, a nicely maintained boat that’s part of the Flagship fleet. Pride stood out on the docks for three reasons, I think: She’s one of the few catamarans available for charter in New England at all, she’s owned and operated by a charming, mature couple instead of by twentysomethings, and the husband is a former single-handed sailboat racer who really knows his stuff. I nabbed an exclusive interview with him that I’ll post for your soon in the CharterWave Crew Interviews section.

The other sailing yacht that got a lot of attention was the 60-foot Extraordinary, a monohull built by the Nautor’s Swan company to sail quickly and comfortably. She’s a lovely yacht, part of the fleet at Nicholson Yachts, but I think what impressed many of the brokers (and me, too) was a seminar her captain, Ian Fagg, gave about cruising in New England. His local knowledge is just terrific and should help to create memorable charter experiences. I got an exclusive interview with him, too, and will have it for you soon in the Crew Interviews section.

Among the motoryachts at the Newport show, the 145-foot Curt C seemed to garner the most praise. Many brokers called her an extremely good value, with a base rate of $95,000 a week for 12 guests with seven crew. Capt. Ken Bracewell gave me a personal tour for the CharterWave First Impressions section, and I’ll have that review with photos posted for you soon. Curt C is part of the Bartram & Brakenhoff fleet.

Last but not least, there was an awful lot of foot traffic going on and off the 74-foot motoryacht Whale’s Way, part of the fleet at The Sacks Group Yachting Professionals. The boat was lovely, the base rate was right at $18,000 a week for six guests, and the young couple serving as crew were as energetic and eager as they come. But what really had brokers excited (and got me to stay onboard for quite a while, too), was the presence of a third crew member who goes along on charters. He’s just 5 months old, and his name is Oscar:

Yes, Whale’s Way is a dog-friendly boat, one that will let you bring your own favorite pooch on charter, as well. Yachts like that are hard to come by, just one more reason this one was among the more memorable at this year’s Newport charter show.