Though the number of orders withdrawn by buyers increased dramatically during the last quarter of 2008, the number of new listings and sold yachts increased as well.

You might scoff at the idea that 2008 was at all good for the large-yacht brokerage and charter industries, but according to the newly released (Super)Yachting Index from Camper & Nicholsons International, that is indeed the case.

This year’s Index is the second installment in what is fast becoming the most comprehensive annual analysis of the global market for yachts 80 feet and larger. And according to the data, the massive economic downturn that struck in September 2008 was not enough to override some of the gains that were seen right until the end of the summer Mediterranean season. In the charter market, rates for the largest yachts were up a staggering 40 percent in 2008 over 2007. In the brokerage arena, more yachts larger than 80 feet were sold in 2008 than the year before, even taking into account the fact that business collapsed at the end of the year.

Of course, given the global economy’s nosedive at the end of 2008, all the data in the new Index are not so sunny. While large-yacht sales were up in 2008 over 2007, for instance, the value of those sales was down—by a solid 20 percent.

The study’s author, Camper & Nicholsons Marketing Director Laurent Perignon, told me it’s too soon to tell what the 2008 data mean in the context of the world’s current economic woes.  However, he did say that business picked up over the late 2008 numbers beginning this past March, and that Camper’s team hopes the end of this year will be exactly the opposite of the end of last year.

“We’re quite positive about the potential outlook,” he says, “but it’s not going to change overnight. Things will come back, at some stage, to the level of activity there has been in the past couple of years. Wealth does increase, after all, at the end of the day. But the progression will be slower on average. It’s probably going to take five to ten years to get back to the numbers we had in the past two years.”

Kim Kavin is an award-winning writer, editor and photographer who specializes in marine travel. She is the author of six books including Dream Cruises: The Insider’s Guide to Private Yacht Vacations, is editor of the online yacht vacation magazine www.CharterWave.com, and writes the daily blog at www.BrokerageBoss.com.

It is an absolute tragedy that the San Juan Islands are so often overlooked as a great cruising destination. More than half the world’s crewed charters take place in the Mediterranean each year, with summer locales such as the Bahamas and New England combined comprising barely one-fifth of that European region’s volume. In pie charts that track such things, the Pacific Northwest, which includes the San Juans, typically falls into a nearly invisible sliver labeled “other.” If you didn’t know to ask about them, then it’s possible you would never even know the San Juans were a charter vacation option.

Roche Harbor, San Juan Islands

These islands between Seattle, Washington, and Vancouver, Canada, are uniquely beautiful. Every time I’ve visited by boat between the months of May and September, I have found terrific eateries ashore, hiking trails galore, fishing practically by the fistful, and memorable views of black bears, humpback whales, and snow-capped peaks. There is a peacefulness to the place, too, that I have never experienced in more popular cruising grounds. Precious few charter yachts call the San Juans home, which often means blissful solitude in the anchorages.

I was reminded of the San Juans’ beauty recently by two unusual announcements from local charter companies. First, in late May, CEO Expeditions stated that it is offering “expenses-only” charters this summer aboard its motoryachts, the 120-foot Kayana and the 100-foot Katania. With normal base rates as high as $105,000 per week, these yachts’ temporary rates of less than $30,000 have created quite a stir.

Not one week later, in early June, Infinity Yacht Charters announced that its 114-foot motoryacht Pacific Yellowfin and 120-foot motoryacht Spirit of 2010 will be available for almost unheard-of winter charter dates in the area, to coincide with the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. What a fantastic opportunity to avoid traffic jams onshore by heading over to the bobsled venue in your yacht’s tender.

Charter broker Beverly Parsons of Interpac Yachts says the 88-foot motorsailer Sea Angel is offering free fuel and provisions as part of the $24,000 weekly rate for six guests in the Pacific Northwest, for the rest of this summer.

Yes, it will be cold-weather as opposed to cool-weather cruising in February and March, but the sheltered waters that the San Juans and the rest of the Pacific Northwest offer should make for a fantastic experience, just as they do at this time of year.

Editor’s Note: Kim Kavin is an award-winning writer, editor and photographer who specializes in marine travel. She is the author of six books including Dream Cruises: The Insider’s Guide to Private Yacht Vacations, and is editor of the online yacht vacation magazine www.CharterWave.com. You can follow her daily blog updates there, or her feed at www.Twitter.com/CharterWave.