5 ways to charter luxury yachts responsibly

It’s important to be careful where you anchor your luxury charter yacht, because dropping anchor on coral reefs causes extensive damage. It could even land you with a heavy fine and the threat of a legal investigation: in 2013, the captain of superyacht White Cloud was ordered to pay a $30,000 fine.

You can usually anchor in sand or use buoyed anchoring areas where available, but the rules change from place to place. However, your superyacht captain is responsible for anchoring and should know where you can drop anchor and whether you need a permit to do so. Since it’s usually the captain who would be prosecuted for any anchoring misdemeanours, they have good reason to make sure your charter yacht complies with the rules.

You can take your charter yacht anywhere, which means you have unrivalled access to some of the world’s best dive sites and the chance to see the most diverse and undisturbed coral reefs around. But if you’re new to diving, it’s important that you’re cautious above and below the water to avoid causing any damage to these living organisms.

You will have been told about this when learning to dive, but it always bears repeating: don’t touch anything, don’t take anything, watch your fins and make sure your gear doesn’t hit the reef.

If you enjoy it, fishing for your supper is a fun, relaxing way to ensure you have plenty of fresh fish for the chef to cook. Just make sure there are no restrictions on fishing for certain types, as overfishing has depleted many fish populations around the world. There's a great guide that will help you find this out on the Seafood Watch website.

If you want to eat seafood on board, instruct your chef to shop for fish that has been sustainably sourced, preferably by local fishermen. And if you choose to dine on shore, make sure you don’t eat any of the fish on this red list.

Many of the communities you’ll visit on a luxury yacht charter will rely heavily on tourism. One of the surest ways to help these communities is to shop locally, injecting your money into where it’s needed most. As well-healed travellers will attest, shopping locally often gives you a better deal or some invaluable advice that you wouldn’t find elsewhere.

It’s highly likely that the food you eat on board your charter yacht has also been sourced locally, ensuring you get to enjoy the freshest produce and local delicacies wherever you are.

Join the likes of Sir Charles Dunstone, Stephen Fry and Simon Le Bon by supporting the Blue Marine Foundation, a charity fighting to fix the largest solvable problem on the planet: the crisis in the oceans. By donating a small percentage of the cost of your charter to BLUE, you can help the NGO achieve its aim of protecting 10% of the world’s oceans by 2020.

If you charter with Y.CO this is made even easier, as you can an opt-in to make a contribution to BLUE at the time of booking. Anyone who takes up this offer will receive a thank you in the form of an exclusive collection of gifts from some of BLUE’s partners.

Follow @Bluemarinef on Twitter to learn more about the charity.