I’m hearing an awful lot of chatter about yachts and Dubai these days. There’s a big boat show coming up this year, and for the first time, many charter companies plan to exhibit there.

I also learned this week that Dockwise Transport, a company whose ships carry yachts across large stretches of ocean, has completed its first transit to Dubai. The ship started out in Florida, stopped off in Italy, and then delivered a good number of yachts to the Middle East destination.

All of this tells me that the international yachting community is beginning to embrace Dubai as a place where yachts can be safely kept and used–and that typically means that not too far off in the distance, some of those yachts will be offered for charter.

Is Dubai going to be the next big charter destination? Will people from the States and Europe want to go on charter vacations in the Middle East? Only time will tell.

But to my eye, the pieces are falling into place rather quickly.

Those of you who have read my book about yacht charter, called Dream Cruises, know that the first charter I ever did was onboard a 65-foot sailing catamaran called Angel Glow. The cruise, which took place in the Virgin Islands, was a fantastic introduction to the world of chartering. It made me want to go back for more.

All of which makes it exciting for me to follow up on what broker Gail Hartman from V.I. Sailing mentioned this week on her CharterWave blog: that Angel Glow–a popular boat that fills up fast–has some openings available. Typically, Angel Glow is full of repeat clients from years past, so these are exciting opportunities, indeed.

The crew have changed since I was onboard, but Gail–a Virgin Islands expert, as brokers go–knows the new team and recommends them highly. The last time I saw the yacht itself was a year or so ago in Antigua, and I can attest that her owner was keeping up with maintenance. She appeared to be in very good condition.

For more information, including a photo of the yacht, check out Gail’s blog post.

I was chatting this week with J.D. Ducanes, the captain onboard the 164-foot Trinity motoryacht Mine Games. He had some exciting news: His training onboard the yacht’s Triton 1000/2 personal submarine is nearly complete, and Mine Games is still on track to become the first charter yacht in the world to offer a sub as a water toy for guests.

Ducanes told me he’s already been to 1,000 feet below sea level as part of his training, and that the two-person sub is built to withstand depths of 4,000 feet. Charter guests won’t go that deep–300 to 500 feet will be the norm–primarily because it takes a long time to get to 1,000 feet and, as Ducanes said, “It’s pretty dark down there.” He told me that a 300- to 500-foot submarine dive will take about four hours round-trip from the yacht, after which the sub needs to be recharged at the surface anyway.

The yacht’s owner has not yet decided whether to include use of the submarine in Mine Games‘ weekly base rate of $220,000 for 12 guests, or whether to charge extra, as some yacht owners do for the costlier water toys like fishing boats and scuba diving.

Either way, Ducanes says there are a good number of charters already on the books for this summer in the Mediterranean, so if you want to get in line to be one of the first in the world to enjoy a submarine ride while on charter, the time to book is now.

Mine Games is part of the International Yacht Collection fleet. Contact any reputable charter broker to learn more.