JANUARY 2026 · 6 MIN · MARKET INTELLIGENCE · MIAMI
Miami's yacht season runs November through April. The public calendar — Boat Show in February, Art Basel in December, Ultra in March — creates demand spikes that compress availability and inflate rate cards. Principals who understand this use the calendar as a signal, not a schedule.
The objective is not to be at the Boat Show. The objective is to have already transacted before the Boat Show makes pricing irrational.
The Pre-Market Window
October and November are the acquisition window. Owners who intend to sell before the season do so quietly in fall — before the Boat Show inflates comps, before the charter market firms up, and before the broker circuit creates noise. A principal positioned in November accesses inventory that will not exist by February.
The same vessel that trades at $2.8M in October is at $3.4M in February if it makes the Boat Show floor.
The Charter Season Calculus
December through March is peak occupancy for Miami-based vessels. APA rates run 20–30% higher than Caribbean or Mediterranean comparables on a per-day basis, because the logistics are simpler and the clientele is concentrated.
A 90ft vessel that earns $35,000/week in the BVI earns $45,000–$52,000/week on the Miami-to-Keys circuit during Art Basel fortnight. This math drives vessel positioning decisions for a reason.
What Elegasea Tracks
We maintain a running inventory of Miami-area vessels whose owners are in motion — considering sale, repositioning, or charter-market entry. This list is not published. It is briefed to principals who have submitted an acquisition or charter brief.
The Boat Show is a distraction. The pre-market is where the season is actually built.
Miami's real season happens before the season opens.
