Back in July, I told you about Edmiston and Company's announcement that the 252-foot motoryacht Samar was dropping its weekly base rate by €100,000 to secure early bookings for the upcoming winter charter season in the Caribbean. Then, in mid-August, came word from Northrop and Johnson that the 115-foot Crescent motoryacht Kapalua was offering eight days for the price of seven during the coveted Christmas holiday period in the Virgin Islands.

Those announcements could have been just a coincidence of two well-regarded motoryachts offering price breaks. But now there is a third, which makes early-bird Caribbean season discounts a trend.

The new offer is from Churchill Yacht Partners for the 145-foot Heesen motoryacht At Last in the Bahamas. The yacht, which is under the command of longtime and well-regarded charter Capt. Herb Magney, previously had a lowest weekly base rate of $125,000 for 10 or 11 guests.

That rate is now the high-season holiday rate for At Last, while the new lowest weekly base rate is $110,000. The difference is a savings of more than 10 percent for a yacht that is in lovely condition (that's the master cabin in the photograph at right).

How many more charter yachts will offer early-bird discounts before the winter season officially begins? It's tough to say, but several well-respected charter brokers are predicting serious deals for savvy clients. The newly posted, September edition of Three Brokers Say on CharterWave quotes two brokers as saying that deals and discounts are the new normal, with one broker expecting 10- to 20-percent discounts at the start of the winter season followed by deeper discounts as charter yacht owners try to fill their calendars into March and April 2011.

Any reputable charter broker can help you read the tea leaves, or help you book a week aboard any of these yachts at the discounted rates.

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