Mediterranean.

The Mediterranean is the principal cruising ground of the international charter fleet, and the summer season around which the rest of the year turns. It runs west to east across several distinct grounds: the Balearics and the French Riviera in the west, Corsica and Italy in the centre, the Adriatic to the north-east, and the Greek islands and the Turkish coast in the Aegean. Many yachts spend the summer here before crossing to the Caribbean or heading further afield for the winter.

The western grounds carry the event weeks and the largest fleet. Corsica and Sardinia face each other across the Strait of Bonifacio, the Amalfi Coast lies south of Naples, and the Croatian islands and Montenegro's Bay of Kotor offer sheltered cruising in the Adriatic. The Aegean is shaped by the summer meltemi. Distances within each ground are short; moving between grounds is a longer passage, usually a separate week.

The season runs from May to early October. The event weeks fall at each end: the Cannes Film Festival in May and the Monaco Grand Prix in late May or early June, then the Cannes Yachting Festival, the Monaco Yacht Show and Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez in September. July and August are the busiest across the whole basin, and June and September the most rewarding. Berths and yachts tighten around the events and the high-summer weeks.

A Mediterranean yacht charter is matched to the ground and run end to end by one advisor: the yachts and crews that fit, the embarkation port set to the route, and a day-to-day plan set to the weather and the events. For the event weeks, which are committed a year or more ahead, early planning is the only reliable approach.