I’ve just finished my first day of interviews on the docks at the Newport Charter Yacht Show, where once again I appear to be the only journalist covering the show for the general public. That’s good news for all you readers of CharterWave, as you will continue to receive exclusive information about boats, brokers, and crew that you can’t find anywhere else!

The big news story from this show, I think, is that most of the boats here are on the smaller side for crewed yachts–say 50 to 80 feet long, power and sail alike. There are a heck of a lot of good deals for anyone wanting to try charter without breaking the bank, boats that, for instance, have base rates as low as $12,000 or $15,000 a week that two or three couples can split.

I’ve not yet had a chance to get a consensus from the reputable charter brokers here on which yachts are the belles of the show (and I have a good number of yachts still to take a look at myself), but I will have that information for you tomorrow afternoon, right here on your trusted CharterWave crewed yacht blog.

Stay tuned.

If you’re reading this blog post on Wednesday morning, then I’m on my way up to the annual, industry-only charter yacht show in Newport, Rhode Island.

There are a good number of charter yachts scheduled to attend, many of them in the smaller, entry-level size range for crewed charters. Plus, I’ll be listening in on a seminar about current cruising trends in New England.

Look for my posts from the show here with all the latest news, and for my full report in the July issue of CharterWave eNews. If you’re not already signed up to receive our free eNews reports, just type your e-mail address into the form on the left-hand side of this page.

I’ll be blogging by Wednesday night with all the latest info from Newport!

The Mediterranean Yacht Brokers Association announced today that it has created the world’s first training program for new superyacht brokers.

MYBA is one of the world’s four primary yachting professional associations–one of the organizations we here at CharterWave recommend you look to when seeking out a reputable charter broker. The new training program is an effort to help set improved standards for new brokers who work with yachts well over 100 feet long.

The first seminar, to be held Sept. 24-26 in the South of France, will include 35 students. The course director will be Jonathan Beckett, chief executive of Nigel Burgess.

Topics will include maritime law, insurance, finance, taxes, customer care and ethics—areas where inexperienced charter brokers often cannot offer correct advice to clients as well as more experienced brokers can. If the course ends up being as good as it sounds, those of us who book charters should end up with a new crop of better-informed brokers to help us ensure our legal bases are covered no matter what kind of yacht we choose.

For more information about the course, click here. To see a list of reputable charter brokers who are already part of MYBA, click here.