The Charter Yacht Show's venue at Antigua Yacht Club boasted a variety of charter yachts.

For the first time in memory, the most talked-about charter yacht in the show was a catamaran. Hemisphere, on display with Burgess Yachts, is the largest sailing catamaran in the world at 145 feet. Her sheer volume lured crowds to check her out, but her décor is what left them agog. Hemisphere boasts exotic woods, textured fabrics, and flat surfaces made of materials as unique as crushed egg shells.

A number of megayachts also had attendees excited. Among the new launches, the favorite was Numptia, a 229-foot Rossi Navi that also was on display through Burgess Yachts. Her stylish interior décor—as well as her jazz lounge, dedicated spa deck, and hot tub with waterfall-style jets—made her a difficult act to follow.

Among the sailing yachts, there was a great deal of chatter about the 180-foot Vitters Marie, which was presented by Fraser Yachts Worldwide. Not only is Marie an absolute stunner, but the crew fired imaginations by announcing a trio of one-month charters in the South Pacific to three separate island groups, all for a single family.

But the yacht that had the most people talking was the brand-new, 265-foot Feadship Air, on display with International Yacht Register. She is ultra-modern inside, nearly pure white with art installations that include scoops of Basmati rice surrounding a slab of marble. Her Dutch pedigree was of course impressive, as were towering canvases by renowned artists including Mark Rothko, but her highly personalized décor left many brokers wondering whether she would be appealing to more than a few potential charter clients.

In general, captains were optimistic about the upcoming Caribbean season—which means in this post-recession age they are happy to have two or three charters already on the books. Many yachts still had wide availability, including for Christmas and New Year’s, and captains were quick to mention a willingness to negotiate rates or provide guests with extra days onboard.

All in all, the show left an impression of wide availability among high-quality charter yachts—a great combination for clients seeking last-minute bookings and deals.

Large charter boats are struggling in the current climate.

That’s not to say the industry is challenge-free. On the contrary, the most constant description I heard about business is that “it’s better, but different.”

I think charter broker Mary Crowley of Ocean Voyages summed it up most eloquently during a luncheon that I attended this afternoon aboard the 130-foot Christensen motoryacht Sweet Escape: “Business is coming back, but it’s mostly high-end clients looking for deals,” she said. “Everybody has learned to be sure that the broker negotiates the best possible deal.”

The heads of other top charter brokers at the lunch table all nodded in agreement. Several added that the negotiation challenge seems to be greatest at the top end of the market. Boats larger than about 150 feet, say in the $200,000-a-week and higher price range, are struggling the most in the current climate. The owners of such substantial yachts aren’t used to having to negotiate anything in life, let alone the charter rate of their yachts, while the clients in that price range are savvy enough to know the owners have no other choice because they’re currently staring at completely open calendars. There seems to be something of a stalemate going on at that top end of the market. Not with every megayacht, but with enough of them that the scenario is now seen as common.

Who will blink first–megayacht owners or clients–is impossible to say. But right now, the staredown seems to be leaving countless large yachts with far fewer charter bookings than they otherwise might have for this winter’s Caribbean season.

On the other hand, a good number of brokers told me that their phones are ringing with clients for both the current Caribbean season as well as the 2011 summer season in the Mediterranean. Many clients want smaller yachts than in years past, but they are calling, which the brokers see as a sign that the industry may finally be starting to ease into recovery mode. Price negotiations are likely to be a continuing element for years to come, they say, but owners and clients in the small- and mid-range charter market are not nearly as far apart on deal-making as owners and clients at the top end of the market.

There was also a new crew member: Tracey Bamforth, who came aboard December 5 to serve as chef. She made quite an entrance at the show, taking first place in the entire field of yachts (including the big megayachts) in the competition for “best use of coffee.”

Bamforth told me that she previously worked as the sole stewardess aboard a 125-foot Perini Navi sailing yacht that was not offered for charter. She has been friends with Dulcinea‘s captain for quite some time, and thus was thrilled with the idea of filling the opening he had this winter. “I wanted a more hands-on role on a smaller boat,” she told me.

As to her cooking skills, Bamforth told me that she’s not a trained chef in high cuisine—but that she has long learned from those who are. “I lived with the sous chef of the 269-foot Oceanco motoryacht Alfa Nero for two years,” she said, “and before that, in London, I lived with a chef for two years who was Italian trained. For me, cooking is a passion.”

She calls her style fusion, which she defines as finding the freshest ingredients and combining them creatively. Some of her favorite dishes to serve include fish tartare, fresh scallops, mussel soup, low-fat salads, and fresh fillets.

“We did bacon paella today,” she told me, “and the only fat was from the bacon itself. There’s just no need to add any more.”

Dulcinea is available this winter in the Caribbean through management company Nicholson Yachts (which is one of my sponsors). Any reputable charter broker can tell you more about the crew or help you book a week onboard.