Relinquish yacht helm altogether on vacation time (6)
I believe the answer is:
rhythm
'time' is the definition.
(rhythm is a kind of time)
I cannot understand how the remainder of the clue works.
(Other definitions for rhythm that I've seen before include "Poetic pattern" , "Beat - time - metre" , "Stress pattern (mus., poet,)" , "(Musical) stress pattern" , "Regular recurrence of stress" .)