Yacht Crew Seasons Explained: Med vs Caribbean.

Why yachting has two seasons

Ask most green crew why yachting splits into a Mediterranean season and a Caribbean season and you will get "the weather", and that is true as far as it goes. The Med is warm and busy through the European summer. The Caribbean has a mild, dry season through the northern winter, with the Christmas and New Year charter period the biggest earner of the whole year for most boats. Guests want good weather, so the fleet follows it.

The part that trips crew up is the other reason, the one that actually sets the calendar: hurricane season. The Atlantic hurricane season officially runs from 1 June to 30 November, according to the National Hurricane Center. Very few owners or insurers want a yacht sitting in the Caribbean hurricane belt through that window, which is exactly when the Mediterranean season is in full swing anyway. So the fleet does not drift between regions on a loose timetable, it relocates in the same direction at roughly the same time, twice a year, and that is what creates the two hiring rushes crew learn to plan a career around.

The Mediterranean season

The Med season runs roughly May to September, sometimes stretching into October depending on the boat's programme. Yachts base themselves around Antibes, Cannes and Monaco on the French Riviera, Palma and the wider Balearics, and further east along the Italian coast, Greece and Croatia. It is the busiest charter and private-guest window of the European year, and the one most green crew picture when they think of "yachting".

Two events bookend it. The Palma Superyacht Show in late April or early May is the traditional signal that the fleet is crewing up for the season ahead, covered in our dockwalking guide. The Monaco Yacht Show, running 23 to 26 September 2026, sits near the other end, when the biggest boats in the Med are still on show even as the season starts winding down.

Hiring for the Med season is busiest from February to June, with March to May the prime window for a green crew member's first season, the same window covered in detail in our dockwalking guide. Some captains start recruiting as early as February; by July, most positions for that season are already filled.

The Caribbean season

The Caribbean season runs roughly late November to April, sometimes running into May depending on the boat. The Antigua Charter Yacht Show in early December is the traditional marker of the season's start, and most yachts aim to arrive in the first few weeks of December, in time for the Christmas and New Year charter period, the single most valuable stretch of the year for a lot of charter boats.

Antigua and St Maarten are the main charter hubs, with the Bahamas also busy, and Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach in Florida as the principal US base for yachts, crew and the wider industry that supports them. The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, running 28 October to 1 November 2026, is one of the last big hiring moments before boats head south.

Here is the part that catches green crew out: most Caribbean season hiring happens in the Mediterranean, not the Caribbean. Captains generally crew up before leaving the Med rather than after arriving, so the peak hiring window is September and October, while boats are still on the European side of the Atlantic. Turn up in Antigua in December looking for a first job and most positions are already filled.

The crossing: what happens in between

Not every yacht crosses the Atlantic every year. Some stay in one region for a refit, a shipyard period or an owner's programme that does not follow the season, running with a smaller maintenance crew instead of the full seasonal complement. For the ones that do cross, the passage happens either under the yacht's own power, sometimes with an experienced hand added to the crew specifically for the leg, or by loading the yacht onto a dedicated transport ship for the crossing rather than sailing it.

The crossing itself is not generally a green crew entry point. It rewards experience, and a number of insurers now ask for at least one crew member with a prior ocean crossing before they will cover the passage. If you are new to the industry, the quieter weeks either side of a crossing are better spent on daywork, or on the training and certificates you will need for the next hiring push, than on chasing a berth on the passage itself.

Whether a role carries you across both seasons without a break, or ends when one programme finishes, comes down to whether it is a rotational or single-season position, covered in full in our types of yacht crew jobs guide.

Best time to look for work, season by season

Frequently asked questions

Related guides: Dockwalking in Antibes and Palma → · How to get a superyacht job with no experience → · Types of yacht crew jobs explained → · How to register with yacht crew agencies →