If you’re a regular reader of CharterWave, or if you have read my how-to-charter book Dream Cruises, then you know that all the annual charter yacht shows held around the world from Antigua to Italy are open only to “industry types” such as charter brokers and media. If you, as a member of the general public, want to get onboard charter yachts for a look around, then you have to find them catch-as-catch-can at regular boat shows, where charter yachts typically comprise a small portion of the boats at the docks (they’re vastly outnumbered by yachts for sale).

Thus, it’s noteworthy when there are a good number of charter yachts expected to be on display at a public boat show. And that’s just the case at YachtFest San Diego, which will be held September 11-14 in the Southern California city.

Charter broker Liz Howard, who works in the San Diego office of Fraser Yachts Worldwide, tells me that her company alone will have five charter yachts on display at YachtFest. Four of them will be motoryachts: the 156-foot Piano Bar, the 140-foot Leight Star, the 127-foot Bellissima, and the 118-foot Isabella. Fraser’s sailing yacht in the show will be the 90-foot Die Swaene.

What a great chance for members of the public to see a good representation of reputable charter yachts of different sizes and styles. If you plan to be on the West Coast of the United States around the middle of next month, put a pin in your calendar for the YachtFest San Diego dates. A rare West Coast opportunity, indeed.

I just found this cute little blog post from an American who appears to be vacationing in Croatia, and who chartered a yacht by walking down a dock and picking one from the pack. That’s obviously not the smartest way in the world to ensure that you’ll get the charter vacation you pay for, and boy do I wish he’d known enough to book through a reputable charter broker. He might have avoided the following scenario that he recounts:

“From there, things went slightly downhill, primarily due to [Captain] Damir’s abject laziness and to some rather uncooperative weather. Seemingly deaf to our repeated requests to please use the sails (first of all, because we were on a sailboat and wanted to experience it in its full glory and, second, because gas is even more expensive in Europe than it is at home) and to drop anchor at some of the delightful-looking coves that we were whizzing past, he motored from one port to another without so much as a moment’s pause.”

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been onboard sailing yachts at industry-only charter shows and had brokers tell me, “This is a good crew. They actually like to sail.” Apparently, there are a whole lot of Capt. Damirs out there in the world who are happy to take your money and then motor around, lest they have to crank a winch or unfurl a roller to actually take you sailing on your chartered sailing yacht.

Good brokers watch out for these kinds of folks and never book their yachts. That way, you don’t end up like the nice man who wrote the blog post, sitting on a sailing yacht with a captain who is unwilling to take you sailing.

The blogger also mentions the captain “whizzing past” a bunch of scenic coves where he wanted to drop anchor. Again, this is the kind of skipper that good charter brokers know to avoid. Barring safety concerns–say, if a cove is too shallow for the boat to get in without crashing into a reef–the best charter yacht captains will do anything you want. It is, after all, your vacation and your yacht for the week. If you want to go swimming in a pretty little cove, so be it.

I’m sure glad this blogger tried charter for the first time, but I hope that the next time he goes, he will book through a reputable charter broker. He says his overall experience was good, but he, just like you, deserves to experience the true ultimate vacation that private yacht charter with a professional captain and crew can be.