- LINE.me call Monday @ 16:00 UTC
- ’tis the season for Long Lines
- Marina Pez Vela, Costa Rica
- CrossRoads, Farewell
- Marina Chahue, Mexico
- Official Panama Posse Sponsors, Partners and Ambassadors
- We need head shots
- Carnival of Desamparados & Festival of the Little Devils, Cost Rica
- GoodNautical is mobile friendly
- Safe Esteem – get your free personal risk barometer app
- Flare Night
- Please reply to this email with updates and pictures
- opt-out
1) Line.me – live fleet line calls on Mondays
 @ 15:45 UTC Warm up  @ 16:00 UTC Panama Posse call (mute your mikes)
 @ 16:30 UTC Counter Posse Call(mute your mikes)
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2) ’tis the season for Long Lines
… I trust that sailors will not take my attached sketches as absolutes, but rather a documentation of my observations:Â Â
After un-charted rocks and lightning, the thing that sends shivers up my spine is the thought of long lines. We have seen many, hit 4 or 5 and had to dive on the prop 3 times to cut loose/unwrap them from the shaft. Unfortunately the marking standard for these nuisances seems to vary from country to country. What we learned in one country caused us to hit lines in another country. For instance in Mexico we would run parallel to the long precession of spaced flags and do an end run around the last. When we tried this maneuver in Costa Rica we consistently hit the lines because in that country, it turns out, many of the fisherman only mark the middle of the line with a black flag. There are no end markers.Through our encounters with the lines and with one with a fisherman whose long line we had to cut off the prop we think we have learned a few things about these obstacles that we believe is worth sharing. I am sure there are other variations and not all fisherman follow these unwritten standards but it is at least a documentation of what we have experienced. I have attached the various marking conventions we have seen on our trip south. We are only in Costa Rica now so I am sure we will have more learning to do in Panama !
Mexico Long Line Observation
The long lines in Mexico were anywhere from ½ mile long to 4 miles long but seemed to be pretty consistently marked in the below manner. We did not encounter any at night. We do not know if this was dumb luck or if they were pulled in before nightfall. Perhaps someone else has more insight.
Black Flags at various intervals up to several hundred yards apart. Last flag indicates end of line.
Intermediate floats: water bottles, milk juts, oil bottles, fishing floats etc. between flags.
Guatemala Long Line Observation
The long lines in were poorly marked and the black flags at each end not always easy to see. Any time we saw a floating plastic bottle ahead we approached with caution and a string of them indicated the presence of a line. Like Mexico, we did not encounter any at night. We averaged about 15 miles off-shore as we passed Guatemala.
Black Flag at both ends of line.
Intermediate floats: water bottles, milk juts, oil bottles, fishing floats etc. between flags. Spacing between floats was inconsistent with sometimes large spacings
Nicaragua Observations
We did not encounter any long lines off the coast of Nicaragua, however we encountered many fishing pangas both during the daytime and at night. They seemed to work in groups and I do not know what type of fishing equipment they were using. We passed well outside the mouth of the gulf of Fonseca , so perhaps there were longlines there; we do not know.
note: Here is a long-line marker off the coast of Nicaragua
Costa Rica Long Line Observation#1
The long lines were marked in the middle with a single black flag and typically extended 1 kilometer in each direction from the flag (according to a fisherman whose line we ran over and tangled in our prop.) and there may or may not be a panga on station at one end of the line. We encountered quite a few lines, particularly outside the mouth of the Gulf of Nicoya. We day-hopped between anchorages in CR so we do not know if they are out at night.
Black Flag at center of 2 km long line.
Floats: water bottles, milk juts, oil bottles, fishing floats etc. with perhaps 40 to 50 meters between floats. The last float will be about 1 km from the flag. Watch out for a string of floats cut off from the main flag by another passing boat.
Costa Rica Observation#2
This line is only a couple of hundred meters long and drifts parallel to the wind. It usually has a large black flag and small black flag on a float on the downwind side and a small float on the upwind side. Usually a panga is on station at some point along the line. We are not sure if this is a net or line. This was only encountered in bays and close to shore
Large black flag and small black flag a few meters away.
Floats: no observed intermediate floats; just the down-wind flag and an upwind float, mostly with a panga on station.
Costa Rica Observation#3
This line is only perhaps a hundred meters long and seems designed to drift perpendicular to the wind. It usually has a black or some other colored flag at each end and single float ½-way between. We do not know if this is a long-line or net. This was only encountered in bays and close to islands and shores.
Black Flag on each end of line Floats: One intermediate float between flags.
Bob & Joan
GREEN FLASH
note from Panama:
Beware of entering or exiting Vista Mar Marina, PANAMAÂ or sailing in the area at night. Our prop was fouled by an unlit fishing net cast directly across the entrance 60 meters after exiting. Captain Fabio & Lisa
AMANDLA
3) Marina Pez Vela, Costa Rica
FYI, we are a little ahead of the game. They asked for 48 hrs notice but bent over backwards to assist.
We pulled into Quepos, CR and we’re going to have issues until I mentioned the Panama Posse and the doors flew open.
Received discount at the marina and the agent was great. Marina Paz Vela was fantastic!Â
We had to motor most of the way in 5 knts of wind. Quepos,CR and Pez Vella Marina were fantastic-said the magic words “Panama Pose” and the doors flew open. Flamenco Marina was good, but our agent Erick Galvez was tremendous. Made it so easy. We transited Canal in one day-had to maintain 7 1/2-8 knots and we just made it. Will also forward the name of a rigger and sail maker as we had a few minor repairs. Will wait until they are done to recommend. Saved a few hundred $$ by mentioning the pose. Tough but great trip. Off to Cayman and then Ft Lauderdale .
Bruce & Kirk
LILIPAD
4) CROSSROADS – Farewell
Thursday was a bittersweet day for us. After 14 years, 3 Nordhavns and many thousands of miles at sea the money hit the bank and the best of the bunch, our beloved N57, CrossRoads, was gone and we exited the family of Nordhavn owners. It seems like the end of an era for us and we are wondering what’s next. Is there another Nordhavn in our future? Maybe….maybe not. Is there another boat in our future? Probably.
It’s been a great ride and we have made some incredible friends and acquaintances from all over the globe along the way. We’ve met and enjoyed laughs and liquor with folks who have done incredible things, like the GSSR group who took three Nordhavns to Russia and beyond, a great young couple who put their careers on hold and took an N43 around the world, entrepreneurs that brought their love of boating and their skills to organize new events like the Panama Posse, a woman who at nearly 70 years old is completing her single handed circumnavigation on a vintage 50 ft. sailboat and so many others who have ventured across oceans or along foreign coastlines in search of their own kind of adventure on the sea, with stories to tell and experiences to share.
Over the years, time after time fellow Nordhavn owners have come to my aid and I have skinned my knuckles more times than I can remember helping others as well, knowing there was always something to be learned from a new friend and that there was a beer and a chuckle around the corner. Such is the Nordhavn world. I have seen and shared moments of incredible natural beauty and wildlife while drinking fine wine and listening to beautiful music with friends in the cockpit of a Nordhavn. Such is the Nordhavn world. I have pounded on the hull of a Nordhavn in Charleston belonging to perfect strangers, demanded that the beautiful woman that appeared become my wife’s friend and received in return giant smiles, a hearty laugh, instant compliance and friends for life. Such is the Nordhavn world.
We have made our way from the Channel Islands of Southern California to British Columbia, SE Alaska, and across the Gulf of Alaska to places not oft visited by cruisers, like Lituya Bay, Yakatat and the far reaches of Prince Williams Sound. We learned to love the beauty and the people of Mexico in ways the casual tourist does not have time to appreciate, we experienced the hospitality of desperately poor El Salvador and the natural wonders and wildlife of Costa Rica. We were virtually adopted by some wonderful locals in Panama and heard of their escape from the chaos in Venezuela and making a new home in a new country with their beautiful family.
We have been through the Canal three times and visited, touched and imagined the hopes and the crushed dreams of past mariners while visiting one of the first operational submarines abandoned 150 years ago where she still remains alone on a beach on a very remote Panamanian island. We have visited far away Caribbean islands, experienced the historic ports of the East Coast of the US making wonderful friends along the way and we have even eaten fresh lobster with Milt and Judy Baker at their summer haunt in Maine. We have visited many of our Nordhavn friends at their homes around the world and we had the great pleasure of helping take a newly minted FPB 64 across the sea from New Zealand to Fiji in what turned out to be a rather nasty storm.
I could go on but I think you get the point. It’s all been a great adventure and loads of fun made possible in very large part by the folks at PAE and their wonderful boats. Is there life after Nordhavn? Only time will tell but we live on a mountaintop now and life is pretty good…………it snowed yesterday and the sun is shining today so I’m headed for the slopes just as soon as I’m done with this post.
To all of you continue to savor the dreams, the people and the adventures and………..thanks for the memories!
Cheers,
Stan and Diane
CROSSROADS 5)Â Marina Chahue
+52 958 587 2652
marinachahue@hotmail.com – due to runoffs and silting this Marina is currently closed (no word on the status of the fuel dock )
– when anchoring and waiting for your weather window for the Tehuantepec please always lock your dinghy in this area !
As you can see in Good Nautical – there are plenty of alternative anchorages in the Huatulco
area as you “wait” for the green light to cross the Tehuantepec – just LOCK your DINGHY !
One of the favorites is La India @ 15° 42.63 N 96° 11.87 W ( use a stern anchor if anchored behind the reef for extra comfort )
http://www.goodnautical.com/mexico-pacific/anchorage/la-india
Â
We are anchored outside Marina Chahue. Seeing small boats enter. I was told no with my big boat due to dredging. I plan to scope out the marina tomorrow Marina is a Fonatur government marina. Took dink in. Docks in poor shape. Closed to transients. Dredging in progress. Slow due to debris in marina. Old tires. A motorcycle. Cables. Restaurant open. Some business open like dive shop. Hope to be fully open by January. Manager Ezekiel was sad and frustrated and friendly.
Angela & Dan
ANGELIQUE
6) As always we want to thank all of our
Official Panama Posse Sponsors, Partners and Ambassadors
- Marina Puerto Vallarta, Puerto Vallarta – MexicoÂ
- Marina Puerto de La Navidad – Barra de Navidad – MexicoÂ
- Marina Ixtapa, Ixtapa – MexicoÂ
- La Marina Acapulco, Acapulco – MexicoÂ
- Marina Chiapas – MexicoÂ
- Marina Bahia del Sol – El SalvadorÂ
- La Palma Moorings – Bahia del Sol, El SalvadorÂ
- Marina Puesta del Sol – NicaraguaÂ
- Marina Papagayo – Costa RicaÂ
- Marina Pez Vela – Costa RicaÂ
- Banana Bay Marina – Costa RicaÂ
- Golfito Marina Village – Costa Rica *
- Vista Mar Marina – PanamaÂ
- Shelter Bay Marina – PanamaÂ
- Red Frog Marina – PanamaÂ
Â
Â
Official Panama Canal Agent
Â
Official Panama Posse Ambassadors
- Jaime Figueroa Navarro – Panama
- Bill & Jean – El Salvador Rally, El Salvador
- Ralph Hewitt – Nicaragua
Panama Posse Partners
- Vicente’s Moorings – Acapulco – Mexico
- Luis Sanchez Tours – Chiapas – Mexico
- Discover Tours Chiapas – Mexico
- Park Avenue Villas – San Juan del Sur – Nicaragua
- Coconutz – Annual Papagayo Victory Party – Playa Cocos – Costa Rica
- Abernathy – Chandlery – Panama
- Advertising Partners – Las Vegas
- safe-esteem.com
7) We need head shots from the following vessels :
APHRODITE, ONE LIFE, WISHLIST, MAKANI, STAND DOWN, KOUMBA BANG, ENTERPRISE III, SALPARE, CONTEXT, CYCLADES, SEDNA VI, SEAQUEL, SOUTHERN CROSS III, PILIALOHA, ANKYRIOS, HERITAGE, EVIE, SHAZAM, NESHUMA, IMPOSSIBLE DREAM, BIG CITY FISH, DOTTIE SUE
8) Costa Rica – Carnival of Desamparados
(San Jose, CR – 27th of December 09°53.88 N 084°03.92 “W)
Traditional parade, horse riders and characterized by colorful state coaches and
costumes of the participants, who dance to the rhythm of big bands.
Festival of the Little Devils in Boruca, CR
Dec 30th & Jan 2nd @ 08°59 N 083°16 W
The Boruca put on masks representing devils and do stylized battle with the invading Spanish.
Their surviving population numbers barley over 2,500 members and they speak the ‘Brunka’ language.
Less than 40 members of the tribe can currently speak the language
The game of the Boruca devils is a traditional festival of the Boruca culture, indigenous people of Costa Rica, which takes place between December 30 and January 2 of each year, in the community of Boruca, and the first weekend of February, in the town of Rey Curré,
9) GOOD NAUTICAL MOBILE FRIENDLY
Good Nautical is now mobile friendly (aka responsive)
so whip out all your cellphones and give it a tab
10) Safe Esteem – get your free personal risk barometer app
Free to try for 6 months for all Panama Posse participants
– safe esteem is a barometer for personal risk and thanks to
Van – COO of safe-esteeem who gave a very good travel risk presentation
during the safety seminars – you can use it for free to see how your risk score’s change along the route.
To download go to https://www.safe-esteem.com/Â Â
scroll down and use the invite code “PP1920“
This is a private beta release and currently only works on iphones.
 “Safe-esteem is the map & compass to navigate risks in our life’s journey and provides a life risk barometerâ€
11) PANAMA POSSE FLARE TESTING
After a lot of planning, coordinating, and waiting since last year, the opportunity was upon us, FLARE NIGHT ! Â
The Panama Posse worked since last year to coordinate an exercise night of testing distress flares. After discussions regarding timing, location and safety with both Port Captain and Harbor Master, the flare night was a go for this year. From the corner of the marina and looking out towards the empty area of the lagoon, we began launching flares, one at a time, over the lagoon.
As we were launching from land, we were instructed to aim out over the lagoon, versus straight up which obviously would bring hot burning flares falling into the marina full of boats (there was a lesson here, see below….). The first flares being fired were typical 12mm flares, there were a few people launching 25mm flares and towards the conclusion of the exercise we had two parachute flares.
Personally, I was really glad we were able to hold this exercise. I’ve never personally fired a flare, there’s no kick or flame from the initial launch (although you should look away when firing), and there is a distinct ‘cracking’ sound at trigger pull. The flares actually take much longer to ignite and light up after launch then I would’ve imagined and the flares stayed lit until finding the surface of the water. The 25mm were clearly brighter and launched higher than the 12mm flares. The 12mm flares stayed visible for about 6-8 seconds, the 25mm about 8-10 seconds. But recall we were launching at an angle to avoid flares falling back into the marina. The lesson here: despite what is likely a natural tendency to aim your flare in an emergency towards the target rescue vessel, in fact the better option would be to aim the flare just off directly overhead and downwind thus increasing the flight time and decreasing risk of the flare returning to your vessel.
Next lesson learned: admittedly many people probably brought expired flares for this exercise, but it was surprising just how many were duds. Rough estimate is that 3/10 were duds. Lesson is, when also considering the 6-10 seconds flight time, that it would be a good idea to have a dozen or more flares on hand.
Another lesson learned: the parachute flare was absolutely amazing. This launched at least twice as high as the 12mm and 25mm flares, was much much brighter, and stayed airborne and visible for 4-5 minutes!
Lastly, an important reminder and lesson: remember that with flares you are dealing with extremely hot, flammable and a potentially very dangerous product. Take extreme caution with these. Our evening concluded with a misfire of a parachute-type flare which, very shortly after launch, made a wicked 90 degree turn only 100′ off the ground and flew until it hit something, fortunately for us it landed in the moist jungle and burned itself out. Â
Overall the experience was very educational and I’d like to thank the Barra de Navidad Port Captain, Marina Puerto de la Navidad Harbormaster, for the opportunity for this exercise.
Chris
SEAGLUB
12) Please reply to this email with any updates – your vessel location –
contenders for picture of the week – your favorite song for our list –
and we’ll include it in the next Fleet Update
The Panama Posse transfer of knowledge and learning process operates under the gestalt theory
We will not tell you what to do, when or how – we want you to to figure it out. YOUR VESSEL YOUR CREW YOUR RESPONSIBILITY
Dietmar & Suzanne
SV Carinthia
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