The Cannes Yachting Festival runs from 8 to 13 September 2026, across the Vieux Port and Port Canto. It is the first of the autumn shows, and the one where the coming season's new models are seen in the water rather than in a rendering.
Panos Moraitis attends on behalf of the house. The purpose is straightforward: inspect yachts in person, meet the captains and management companies behind them, and open the conversations that turn into charter and sales placements for the following Mediterranean season.
What we are looking at
Cannes splits usefully into two halves. The Vieux Port carries the motor-yacht premieres, which is where the year's design and engineering direction becomes visible: how builders are handling range, beach-club volume, and the shift in what owners expect from a main deck. Port Canto carries the sailing fleet and the brokerage and charter yachts, which is the half that matters most directly to our clients. These are yachts that can be chartered or bought now, not in two years.
What we are looking for is the gap between a specification sheet and the yacht itself. Two yachts of the same length, year, and builder can present entirely differently once you are aboard: the quality of the finish, how the deck spaces actually work underway, whether the crew have made her their own. None of that survives a brochure. It is the reason we go, and it is why a September walk-through is worth more than an exchange of emails in January.
Why the timing matters
September is when the following summer is decided. Owners have just finished a season and know what worked. Captains know what the yacht needs. Central agents are setting rates and calendars for the year ahead. A client thinking about a charter in the summer after next is, whether they realise it or not, choosing from a field that is being shaped this month.
If you are considering a Mediterranean charter for 2027, or looking at a purchase, this is a useful moment to tell us what you have in mind. We can look at specific yachts while we are on the docks and come back to you with a first-hand assessment rather than a brochure.
Meeting us at the show
If you are attending Cannes and would like to meet, or if you would like us to look at a particular yacht while we are there, get in touch before 8 September and we will arrange it. Contact details are on our contact page, or reach us on +30 210 2600026.