What is an APA, and what is a MYBA charter contract?
The MYBA charter agreement is the industry-standard contract that names the yacht, the dates, the fee and each party's obligations. The APA — Advance Provisioning Allowance — is a float of 25–35% of that fee, paid before departure and spent on your behalf by the captain on running costs, with a full accounting at the end.
The contract matters because a charter is not a hotel booking: the yacht is an asset worth millions, moved across borders by a crew who answer to the owner. The MYBA form fixes what happens if the yacht is delayed by weather, if she is damaged, if she cannot sail at all — and it is the reason a reputable broker will not let you charter on an informal exchange of emails, however well you know the party on the other side.
The APA is the part people misunderstand. It is not a fee and not a deposit against damage: it is your own money, held and spent by the captain on fuel, berthing, provisioning, drinks and harbour dues. You see the receipts. If you spend less than the float, the balance comes back at the end of the charter; if you spend more — a long passage burns fuel — you top it up on board. A yacht that never leaves the bay uses a fraction of it.
Ask for the APA statement to be kept as you go rather than reconciled at the end. Every good captain will do it, and it turns an opaque number into a running ledger you can read on a Tuesday.
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