First Med season: the shape of the year

If you've never done one, here's roughly how a Mediterranean season runs and what it demands. THE CALENDAR • March–April: yards and shipyard periods finish, boats come out of winter work, crew hiring peaks. This is when to be on the dock. • May–June: shakedown, owner trips, early charters. Monaco Grand Prix is a wall of work for boats involved. • July–August: the peak. Back-to-back charters, no days off, everything at maximum. This is the part that tests people. • September: still busy, slightly more civilised, Monaco Yacht Show at the end. • October–November: crossings, or into winter yard period. Second hiring window as crew leave. THE GEOGRAPHY The French and Italian Riviera, Corsica and Sardinia, the Balearics, the Amalfi coast, Croatia, Greece and increasingly Turkey and Montenegro. Distances are short and turnarounds are tight — you'll do more manoeuvring and more guest movements than in almost any other cruising ground. WHAT IT DEMANDS Speed and polish simultaneously. Anchoring stern-to in a crowded bay, tender driving in chop with guests aboard, and a boat that must look immaculate at all times in the dustiest, most photographed water in the world. THE HONEST PART July and August are relentless. Crew who plan a season around the money and treat those two months as a sprint do fine. Crew who expect the glamour version have a hard time. First-timers — what surprised you most? Old hands, what would you tell them?