John BoullinYacht charter broker, DMA Yachting
It depends on your contract, so we make sure the right terms are in it before you sign. For June through November bookings we add a hurricane addendum, which sets out what happens if a named storm affects your dates: typically rescheduling or credit rather than losing your fee. Do not book a summer charter without one.
Day-to-day weather is a different matter, and it is the captain’s call. If wind makes an anchorage or crossing uncomfortable, the captain will propose alternatives; the Bahamas has so many protected options that a weather day usually means a different beautiful bay, not a lost day. On safety questions the captain’s decision is final, and that is written into every charter contract for good reason.
For full protection of the fee itself, pair the contract terms with cancellation insurance. And for the full picture, including how often storms actually affect trips and how the addendum plays out in practice, see our Bahamas hurricane season charter guide.