Reference

Charter Glossary

The language of yacht charter, defined plainly.

A

Advance Provisioning Allowance

A float placed with the crew before a charter, typically a quarter to a third of the charter fee, from which the captain pays for fuel, provisioning, berthing and incidentals on your behalf. Unspent funds are returned. See our note on what "plus expenses" means.

APA

The common abbreviation for the Advance Provisioning Allowance. It is not a fee but a managed float of your own money, spent by the captain against the running costs of the charter and reconciled in full at the end.

APA reconciliation

The itemised account the captain provides at the close of a charter, setting every euro drawn from the Advance Provisioning Allowance against a receipt, and returning any balance. A well-run boat treats this as a matter of course.

B

Bareboat charter

The hire of a yacht without a professional crew, where a suitably qualified charterer skippers the vessel themselves. Common on smaller sailing yachts, it demands the appropriate licences and experience and carries a different set of responsibilities from a crewed charter.

Base rate / Charter fee

The headline price of a charter, covering the yacht, her crew and her insurance for the agreed period. It does not, under standard Mediterranean terms, include fuel, food, berthing or other running costs, which are met through the APA. Compare the arithmetic in our day versus week economics.

Beam

The width of a yacht at her widest point. Beam influences interior volume, stability and the deck space available for dining and relaxing, and it bears on which berths a marina can offer.

C

Cabin charter

An arrangement in which individual cabins on a yacht are sold to separate parties rather than the whole vessel to one, so that unacquainted guests share the boat. Most common on larger sailing yachts and gulets.

Central agent

The broker appointed by an owner to represent a yacht exclusively for charter. The central agent holds the boat's calendar and terms, and other brokers arrange charters through them on the client's behalf.

Charterer

The person or party who hires the yacht and signs the charter agreement. The charterer carries the obligations set out in the contract and is the point of authority for the guest party throughout the charter.

Crewed charter

The hire of a yacht complete with her professional crew — captain, deckhands, chef, stewardesses and, on larger vessels, engineers. The standard form of charter in the Mediterranean, requiring no qualification of the guest.

Cruising area

The stretch of coastline and waters within which a charter is agreed to operate, stated in the contract. It frames where the yacht may take you and is worth matching to your wishes early. See our Balearics pages.

D

Day charter

The hire of a yacht and crew for a single day rather than a longer period, usually on inclusive terms with one visible price. A lower, easier introduction to the water, explored in our day versus week note.

Delivery

The point and time at which a charter begins and the guest embarks, as stated in the contract. The crew's preparation happens before delivery, so the charter starts at the agreed hour rather than the moment of arrival.

Delivery fee

A charge covering the repositioning of a yacht when a charter begins or ends at a port away from her usual base. It reflects the fuel, time and crew involved in moving the vessel into place.

Draft

The vertical distance from the waterline to the lowest point of the keel — how deep the yacht sits. Draft determines which anchorages, shallows and marinas a vessel can safely enter.

E

Ensuite

A private bathroom attached directly to a cabin, for the sole use of that cabin's guests. On charter yachts most guest cabins are ensuite, a point worth confirming when matching a boat to a party.

F

Flybridge

An upper deck, usually above the main saloon, carrying a second helm station and often seating, a bar or a dining area. The flybridge is prized for its views and open-air relaxation under way and at anchor.

Force majeure

A contract clause governing what happens when events beyond either party's control — severe weather, closures, wider disruption — make a charter impossible. Its presence is prudence, not omen. It appears in the charter contract explained.

G

Gratuity / Tip

A discretionary reward for the crew at the end of a charter, customary in the Mediterranean at roughly five to fifteen per cent of the charter fee, given in recognition of service. Norms are set out in our note on crew tipping.

Gross tonnage (GT)

A measure of a yacht's total enclosed internal volume, not her weight. Gross tonnage is used for regulatory purposes and gives a truer sense of a vessel's size and capacity than length alone.

Guest number / sleeping versus cruising

The distinction between how many guests a yacht can sleep overnight and how many she may legally carry under way. A yacht certified to sleep twelve may cruise more only within her licensing, so both figures matter when planning.

H

Half-board and all-inclusive terms

Pricing conventions, more common on smaller yachts and gulets and outside the standard MYBA form, in which some meals or all running costs are folded into a single rate rather than met through a separate APA.

L

LOA

Length overall — the full length of a yacht from the foremost to the aftermost point of her hull. LOA is the figure most often quoted to describe a boat's size and governs berthing charges and availability.

M

Master cabin

The principal guest cabin aboard, usually the largest and best appointed, often occupying the full beam of the yacht. It is the natural choice for the charterer or the senior members of a guest party.

MYBA

The Worldwide Yachting Association, whose standard charter agreement is the form on which most crewed Mediterranean charters are written. Its wide use lends the contract predictability and fairness. See the charter contract explained.

P

Passerelle

The gangway or boarding plank by which guests move between the yacht and the quay when moored stern-to. On larger vessels it is often a powered, retractable structure with handrails and lighting.

Preference sheet

A questionnaire completed before a charter setting out the guests' tastes — food, drink, dietary needs, activities, celebrations and the general character of week wanted. It allows the crew to provision and plan precisely to the party.

Provisioning

The purchasing and stocking of food, drink and supplies for a charter, arranged by the crew against the preference sheet and paid for from the APA. Good provisioning is a quiet mark of a well-run boat.

R

Redelivery

The return of the yacht to the agreed port at the agreed time at the end of a charter, as set out in the contract. The morning of redelivery is a working morning for the crew.

Retail broker

A broker who represents the charterer, advising on boats, negotiating terms and managing the arrangement, and who books through the yacht's central agent. A good retail broker is the guest's advocate throughout.

S

Security deposit

A sum held, sometimes as part of or separate from the APA, against damage or loss during a charter. It is returned after redelivery once the yacht has been checked, less any agreed deductions.

Split charter

A single continuous booking of a yacht divided between two or more consecutive parties, or a charter arranged to move between distinct cruising areas within one period. It calls for careful scheduling of delivery and redelivery.

Stakeholder

A neutral party, often the broker's firm, that holds charter funds — the fee and APA — in a designated account until they are due to the owner, giving both sides the assurance of an impartial hand.

T

Tender

The smaller powered boat carried by a yacht for ferrying guests ashore, exploring shallow coves and towing water toys. The size and speed of the tender materially shape the experience of a charter.

Toys / Water toys

The recreational equipment carried aboard for use in the water — paddleboards, kayaks, seabobs, jet skis, inflatables and diving gear. The inventory varies widely by yacht and is worth confirming against the party's wishes.

Turnaround / Turnaround day

The interval between one charter's redelivery and the next charter's delivery, during which the crew clean, provision and ready the yacht. It is why embarkation and disembarkation times are fixed in the contract.

V

VAT

Value added tax, which may apply to a charter depending on the flag of the yacht, the waters cruised and the embarkation country. In Spanish waters it is a real cost to anticipate, and a broker will clarify how it falls.

VIP cabin

A guest cabin second in size and appointment only to the master, often also full-beam. The VIP cabin is typically offered to the most senior guests after the charterer.

W

Western versus Eastern Mediterranean terms

A loose shorthand for the two great charter grounds — the western basin of the Balearics, Spain, France, Corsica and Sardinia, and the eastern basin of Greece, Turkey and Croatia — each with its own rhythms, pricing customs and cruising character.

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New to chartering? Start with Chartering Explained.