20·21 PANAMA POSSEFLEET UPDATE 2020-12-10KICK OFF WEEK  

This was the brief moment of time at Barra de Navidad, Puerto de la Navidad Marina MX when some of the masks came down for the annual kick off photo op !

SEAGLUB & KOGNITA

ARROW

KOGNITA

NAMO & WINSTON

PACIFIC RAVEN

LUNA

RAMBLE ON ROSE PACIFIC RAVEN

REEF DANCER & TANNIE ANN

BAJA FOG

EXHIBITIONISM & NAMO

DELTA SWIZZLER & MAR Y SOL

MAISON DE SANTE & DUE WEST

EMERSON MAGANA & REEF DANCER

ARROW & FIREFLY

OPEN AIR SEMINARS

REEF DANCER & TANNIE ANN

4 days of SEMINARS at the Grand Isla Navidad Resort

KICK OFF WEEK FLYING ALL THE COLORS

 🇲🇽 SOCORRO ISLANDS MEXICO 
Obtaining Permit for Revillagigedo (Socorro) Islands

REEF DANCER

Debbie D’Adamo

December 9, 2020

Dive Trip

My husband Jerry and I have been in the Marina de Navidad in Isla Navidad (Barra) Mexico aboard  MV Reef Dancer, a Selene 53, since the Covid shutdowns began in March, 2020. We planned to be here for 5 days and have now been here for 10 months. Finally we are able to plan our departure as we continue our voyage to Panama with the Caribbean as a final destination in 2021.

Scuba Diving is one of the main reasons we began this trip from San Diego in October, 2019. We did some diving in the Sea of Cortez along the way but have been dreaming of diving the Revillagigedo Islands which is made up of 4 volcanic islands known for their unique ecosystem. The islands are approximately 430-680 miles west of Manzanillo. The Revillagigedo Archipelago were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016 and in 2017 they were declared to be a marine reserve and a national park of Mexico.

During the Covid shutdowns, the Revillagigedo Islands were closed to marine traffic. In November they began allowing Liveaboard commercial dive operators to resume trips. I had been trying to get details of what was was required to visit on a private boat for months with no luck. Finally, in early October I got connected with someone who worked with me to explain exactly what was required to obtain a permit, when and if they reopened to private vessels.

My contact was given to me by another cruiser who had been there in 2018 and wrote a wonderful account of his experience there and posted it! I sent him a message asking what was required and at the time he visited it was much easier…but he pointed me to someone who would help me navigate the current situation.

I contacted Yolanda Espinoza who is in La Paz at Eco Naviera (www.econaviera.com.mx) 612-348-8787. She has been wonderful to work with.

The islands finally opened for private vessels in December and we now have a permit issued by CONANP to visit!! For others who may be contemplating this trip, I will outline below what the current requirements are to obtain a permit (obviously subject to change).

You must write a letter explaining the reason for your visit and include the following information (letter must be in Spanish so we got Yolanda to translate for us) – :

1. What you will do there (mine was to observe flora and fauna and recreational diving)

2. Arrival and departure dates planned

3. Which islands you would like to visit ( we requested Socorro, San Benedicto and Roca Partida and were only granted permission to visit Socorro and San Benedicto – our permit specifically said we were PROHIBITED from visiting Roca Partida – no explanation was provided)

4. How many people will be aboard, full names, nationalities and copy of all passports showing full signature page and photo page.

5. Vessel Information: Copy of TIP, Certificate of Documentation, Name of vessel, registry number, photos of vessel from all sides (any other information to identify the vessel).

6. Satellite phone number

7. VMS or MMSI code to be monitored

8. Conservation Park Passes for each person on board – we had to send photos of the passes along with proof of payment for the passes

9. Port of Departure

10. Copies of Dive Certification (we sent copies of our PADI cards) for all passengers and crew who will be diving

11. Copies of DAN Insurance card

Eco Naviera charged us $100 US for her work to get the permit. For now, that is the only cost other than the required Conservation Park passes which are $34 US each.

Yolanda did indicate that the Mexican government was planning to institute new fees for visiting the islands in the very near future (around the first of the year) and it is planned to be 1500 pesos per person per day – I saw a note on several of the Liveaboard sites indicating they would be passing this fee on to their customers when it is implemented and I’m sure Yolanda will be up to speed when/if this happens.

I know this seems like a lot of information and it took us 8 or 9 back and forth emails to get this all figured out – but I think if you write a short letter and attach all the required documents in PDF format the first time it should go pretty quickly.

The permit itself is also a lengthy document and is only provided in Spanish. We got it translated locally and just FYI, some of the major notations are:

• NO night diving

• NO going to shore at any time

• NO loud noises/music

• NO excessive lights on your vessel at night

• NO removing of anything from the ocean

• NO discharges from the boat

We are just waiting for a 2 day weather window to depart and can’t wait to share the experience!

If you need any help or additional information please feel free to reach out to us via email

Thanks!

Debbie D’Adamo

Reef Dancer

PICTURE OF THE WEEK

NAO SANTA MARIA AT SUNRISE

Winning picture by Nicole from Maison de Sante

Predict Wind is once again sponsoring the Panama Posse and Chris did an outstanding presentation during the Seminars in Barra de Navidad, MX – We have recorded the session and you can watch it online in case you missed it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LkNUpZ68Ds

Lucky Chucky and Lisa fro Ho’okipa win the award for the most appreciated dish – Thanks to a generous donation of the Alex from the Hawaii Super Store in Melaque in support of the Panama Posse and Chucky’s superb culinary skills in dressing, marinating, smoking and ultimately distributing this delicious dish via the Panama Posse Grill !!!!

At the dock in Barra de Navidad

PANAMA POSSE CONVOYS 
through pirate prone waters  

DEFINITION: a group convoyed or organized for convenience or protection in moving

This season we are going to encourage and support the creation of convoys for vessels planning on traveling along the north coast of Venezuela or transiting along the Nicaraguan / Honduran Caribbean coast. We are working on a safety protocol which will group vessels into a convoy. Stay tuned for updates and more development on this safety issue.

To express your convoy interest please email security@panamaposse.com with your vessel name

 PANAMA POSSE  “PODS”  

PANAMA POSSE pods based on your cruising plans
 
💰 🍹🌿 ☠️ 🥥☸️ 🦜🌊 🏝️

Based on seasonal gathering spots here are the “sub pods” with line calls after the
main calls starting Mondays in November to save everyone’s time
(great suggestion Eric Sprezzatura)

To add your designation to you LINE display name

1) to find your emoji and use it, copy them form the bottom legend of this page
https://panamaposse.com/2020-2021-vessels

2) edit your display name using the GEAR icon within LINE  and paste or insert your EMOJI

WHAT’S THAT CALLED IN SPANISH ?

SALSERO 

WEEKLY PANAMA POSSE LINE CALLS MONDAYS @
15:30 UTC for CARIBBEAN  
16:00 UTC for PACIFIC 

COSTA RICA IN GOOD NAUTICAL 

CHECKING IN   COSTA RICA – REPORT 

Costa Rica Check In.

We arrived Marina Bahia Golfito yesterday about 1500. Maikol,  the Dock Master (VHF Ch 10), talked us in and was waiting dockside with 3 other dock attendants. He welcomed us and said he’d be back at 0700 to collect our documents.

I had contacted him by email about 4 days prior to arrival when I still had cell coverage and he requested documents. Regular stuff, Boat Certification, Passports, Crew List, Panama Exit Zarpe. And he said we needed to go to a CR Health web site within 48 hours of arrival. Sent him the documents.

The Health web site is a little cumbersome but the key is to select International when it asks for Health Insurance type. Later you upload a picture of your declaration page. If you don’t have a policy that covers CR then you wait to fill out the Health declaration until after you buy insurance the Maikol helps you deal with (Was told this by another cruiser).

Maikol came to boat this morning. New procedure. He takes originals of all documents and asked for copies of OUR health insurance docs. I have Cigna Global Silver and it covers $1,000,000 in Costa Rica no pandemic exclusion. I asked “what about the hotel coverage” and he said “you’re on the boat. Not necessary “. (!). No insurance purchase at all.

Seems these are newer procedures so things move slower than the normal slow CR processes. Heard back from Maikol thru out the day and approval of our health insurance keeps getting delayed.

Finally around 9pm Maikol emailed that our insurance was approved and our check-in will be approved by  8:30 tomorrow morning.

9am Maikol returned with our passports and the papers to sign. He took the papers away and came back an hour later. We’re checked in!!  BUT, we’ve got to go with him to Customs out by Duty Free and pay for the Cruising Permit. Probably requires a trip to the bank at the same location. We could be completely free to leave by early afternoon.

Maikol speaks excellent English, lived in California and was with the USCG. He does a great job and works thru issues that still arise. He knows “The System” is not good and said he’s trying to get them to change to accommodate the low-risk cruisers. I wished him well.

Definitely another Big Plus for Panama Posse membership

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