Protected: FLEET UPDATE 2019-12-15

 

  • 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
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Line

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)

 Remember to practice muting and un-muting your microphone 

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OPEN

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White mike is OPEN & we can all hear you

– Register using your vessel name as the USERNAME (example Carinthia or CARINTHIA_Dietmar)
– the LINE system allows for up to 200 live conference call participants  !
– Search for dietmarpetutschnig and become a friend – wait and accept your panamaposse20192020 GROUP INVITE – send us your position via the message system and listen to the vessel check instab > +   Location  - adjust the blue marker - tap the grey box

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:  
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.

Mexican
          Longlines

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.

Guatemala Longlines

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.

NIcaragua

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.

CR 2

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

CR 2

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.

CR 3

Black Flag on each end of line Floats: One intermediate float between flags.

Bob & Joan

Bob
Joan

GREEN FLASH
note from Panama:
Beware of entering or exiting Vista Mar Marina, PANAMA  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

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! 

Pez
            Vela

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

Bruce
Kirk

LILIPAD
4) CROSSROADS - Farewell

Crossroads

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.

crossroads

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)  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 !

Map of Chahue

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 )
https://www.goodnautical.com/mexico-pacific/anchorage/la-india
 

La
              India

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

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 – Mexico 
  • Marina Puerto de La Navidad – Barra de Navidad – Mexico 
  • Marina Ixtapa, Ixtapa – Mexico 
  • La Marina Acapulco, Acapulco – Mexico 
  • Marina Chiapas – Mexico 
  • Marina Bahia del Sol – El Salvador 
  • La Palma Moorings – Bahia del Sol, El Salvador 
  • Marina Puesta del Sol – Nicaragua 
  • Marina Papagayo – Costa Rica 
  • Marina Pez Vela – Costa Rica 
  • Banana Bay Marina – Costa Rica 
  • Golfito Marina Village – Costa Rica *
  • Vista Mar Marina – Panama 
  • Shelter Bay Marina – Panama 
  • Red Frog Marina – Panama 

Discounts by marinas offered to the active Panama Posse roster are at subject to availability a.m.o. »

 

 

Official Panama Canal Agent

 

Official Panama Posse Ambassadors

Panama Posse Partners

Panama Posse

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

Faces of the 2019-2020 Panama Posse

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.

Desamparados
Desemp 2
Desempa 3

Festival of the Little Devils in Boruca, CR
Dec 30th & Jan 2nd @ 08°59 N 083°16 W

Boruca
Borucas

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

Flute and Bull

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

Good
            Nautical Mobile Friendly
Safe Esteem

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/  
scroll down and use the invite code "PP1920"
This is a private beta release and currently only works on iphones.

SafeEsteem app

 “Safe-esteem is the map & compass to navigate risks in our life’s journey and provides a life risk barometer”

11) PANAMA POSSE FLARE TESTING

After a lot of planning, coordinating, and waiting since last year, the opportunity was upon us, FLARE NIGHT !  

Flares

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.

Flare Guns

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.  

Flares

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

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

Suzanne
Dietmar

Dietmar & Suzanne
SV Carinthia

Panama Posse BUrgee

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FLEET UPDATE 2019-12-10

  • Picture of the Week
  • Safe-esteem app for iOS
  • OpenCPN
  • Tours and info from Marina Puesta del Sol, Nicaragua
  • The 5 most significant cultural celebrations in Panama
  • Costa Rica, Rental Car Theft Incident
  • EMERGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION
  • Barra de Navidad, Mexico MARITIME & CRUISERS RESOURCE GUIDE
  • Time to decorate your vessels and share your pictures !
  • Reply with updates please
  • Opt-out

1) PICTURE OF THE WEEK !

Panama
          Posse 2019 - 2020

and we're off - thank you all for coming to the kick off seminars !

Safe
          Esteem

2) Safe Esteem - personal risk app free for download

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-esteem  who gave a very insightful travel risk presentation during the safety seminars
- you can use it for free to see how your risk scores change along the route.

To download go to https://www.safe-esteem.com/   scroll down and use the invite code "PP1920"
This is a private beta release and currently only works on iphones.

SafeEsteem app

 “Safe-esteem is the map & compass to navigate risks in our life’s journey and provides a life risk barometer”

3) OpenCPN

Get satellite chartlets from www.panamaposse.com/open-cpn/  
Make chartlets https://panamaposse.com/opencpn-5-0-mbtiles/

OPenCpn

The Seminars at Barra de Navidad

opencpn
        Seminars

4) Tours and info from Marina Puesta del Sol, Nicaragua 

Marina
        Puesta del Sol

Tours from Marina Puesta del Sol

We took the advice from Vikki of Taliesin Rose and contacted a local surfing guide for the possibility of a non-surfing tour of Nicaragua.  Chinto and his Bostonian fiance Drew customized a three-night, four-day outing that included:

León, Granada, Masaya, Catarina, the beautiful Laguna de Apoyo and the live Volcán Masaya.  They found great accommodations with A/C for us at prices ranging from $45 to $60.  We took their recommendations and we're certainly happy with them.  They knew we weren't interested in "exciting" adventures but preferred slow and relaxing days but if you want a more active tour, Chinto can certainly provide it.

Here's a link to his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/LocalSurfAdventuresNorthNica/
Chinto's phone/whatsapp - +505-7727-1305

Chinto's place is a short distance from the marina, next to the Badaboom hostel/restaurant.  Drew also provides yoga, fitness, and nutritional training at that location.

It was a huge bonus...

Surf

Update on our previous entry for Marina Puesta del Sol.  I wish we could edit our entries for corrections and updates.

Electricity is NOT included in the slip fee and is a bit on the spendy side in Puesta del Sol.  When we were there 22Nov19-03Dec19, electric was provided from a generator 0700-1300 and 1700-2200 at a cost of $0.45/kwh compared to $0.24/kwh at Marina Papagayo.  We ran our "window" style 110v aircon for about 8 days out of the 12 we were there and we used 88kwh at a cost of about $40.

Water is also metered at about $0.04/liter.  Since we only used our tanks for drinking and cooking, we used dock water to rinse the boat and shower with.  Total used for 8 days was about 226liters for $9.00.

The washing machines & dryers are in poor shape.  Only one washer and one dryer were functioning (for each, the "good" one was on the left).  $2 per load each in quarters obtained from Juanita.  We would recommend waiting for the next port for your laundry.  The laundry room is locked when not in use, so arrange for it to be open before Juanita leaves for the day.  Keep in mind the hours that electricity is on.

Juanita is a gem and did all that she could to ensure our stay was pleasant.  Her Whatsapp #+505-8880-0013, but she may not be available after hours.

The pool is very nice and one of the few we've used with convenient shade.

Currently, the restaurant/bar at the marina is only open Fri-Sun.  Reasonable prices - dinner for one & two beers $18.

Wi-Fi is available at the pool and on the dock, but they're using an older style transmitter and more modern extenders may or may not be able to connect to it. 

All-in-all, Marina Puesta del Sol was a very quiet, tranquil and pleasant stop.

Bob & Carol

Bob
Carol

SINGULARITY

5) The 5 most significant cultural celebrations in Panama

Carnaval de Las Tablas Feb 22, 2020 - Feb 25, 2020 @  07°46'10.1"N 80°16'17.7"W

Tablas

Held over four days prior to Ash Wednesday.
You'll see  floats and musicians and fireworks at night.
The queens appear on Saturday night and their coronation is on Sunday.
Monday is masquerade day and
Tuesday townswomen wear polleras.

Festival de la Mejorana en Guararé September 2020 @ 07°48'57.6"N 80°16'42.5"W -

-
          Festival de la Mejorana en Guararé

Dance groups from all over Panama – and even from other Latin American countries – attend this important annual event in late September. Festivities include a colorful procession in which decorated floats parade through the streets in oxcarts.

- Fiestas Patrias - Expect heavy traffic.

-
        Fiestas Patrias
  • Nov 03, 1903 Separation of Panamá from Colombia.
  • Nov 04: Flag Day
  • Nov 05 Separation Movement in Colón
  • Nov 10  1821 "El Grito" of Independence" in Villa de Los Santos  07°56'25.0"N 80°23'54.9"W
  • Nov 28 1821 Declaration of Independence from Spain ( 320 years of colonialism)

- Panama Jazz Festival - https://panamajazzfestival.com/ Jan 13-18, 2020

- Panama
        Jazz Festival

- Festival de Cristo Negro de Portobelo - October 21st 2020 @ 09°33'15.0"N 79°39'16.6"W 

blackjesus

Cristo Negro is a wooden statue of Jesus Christ in Iglesia de San Felipe, a Roman Catholic parish church located in Portobelo, Panama. The statue was found on the shores of the town's harbour. Life size, it is adorned with a robe that is changed twice a year, once during the Festival of the Black Christ and during Holy Week.

6) Costa Rica, Rental Car Theft Incident
Since we covered the Security subject today I wanted to share my recent experience in Costa Rica. In our time on the water and in anchorages and marinas we have felt very safe and have had great experiences, taking the normal precautions. My wife and I also rented a car and did a fantastic tour of northern Costa Rica without incident. Most of the driving was very rural, as were the hotels/motels and it was very safe. However Liberia are taught us some lessons about rental car shortcomings. My wife had to fly to New York to deal with a family emergency so my friend flew down from Mexico to join me on the trip from Marina Papagayo to Quepos. I picked him up and dropped my wife off at San Jose airport. My friend Zolly and I stopped at Walmart in Quepos for provisioning on the way back to marina Papagayo. The security at the Walmart parking lot is very good, but we believe we were identified as a potential theft target there due to all of our luggage in the car. On our way to the marina we stopped at the Do-It Center for Coffee and Gas, as it is the only place to get coffee on the way back to the marina. We only know this after a detailed review of security footage, but to make a long story short, a guy arrived 1 minute before we did with a key fob jammer. We parked, and he prevented may car from locking with the jammer in his hand after I pushed the lock function on the electronic key. In less than a minute he took our luggage out of the car and left the center before we exited the coffee shop. Passports, clothes, cell  phone, etc.....all gone. It is important for people to know to physically check to see that their doors are locked and that they not just push the lock button and walk away. The good news is that the US Embassy in San Jose is VERY efficient and we walked out of there with new 1 year temporary passports in 2 hours without any appointment and my wife arrived a few days ago from New York with a new cell for me. As we have learned, much of the crime in Costa Rica is petty theft from rental cars, so always be aware of surroundings, check your lock, and if possible do not leave anything in the car, and this will eliminate most of the theft risk. Again, we have had a great time here and it seems that most of the sharks are on land in the bigger cities, not on the water!!
Kudos to Marina Papagayo for all of the support they provided after this incident and for helping me access the security videos, from Duit Center so I knew what happened. Thank you Dan!!

Bob and Joan

Bob
Joan

GREEN FLASH

7)EMERGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION

MEDICAL REPATRIATION TO U.S.

DAN Boater (boating accident) (take from ship to nearest hospital/medical facility; limitation on amount but might get you all the way home). This is an annual membership fee service.
Emergency +1-919-667-9111
Information +1-919-490-2011

MEDJET Expat 180 Family Membership (any medical condition)(take from hospital/medical facility in foreign country to your home in U.S.). This is an annual membership fee service.
+1 205-595-6626
There are a number of Medical repatriation companies. Check your boat insurance, policy carefully as some policies do not contain any or sufficient medical repatriation expense.
Medjet and DAN Boater provide emergency information. There are a number of companies on the internet that are pay as you go and do not require that you purchase a membership that provide emergency information.

U.S. COAST GUARD EMERGENCY SSB CHANNELS
MHZ UTC time
4.125 2300-11
6.125 24 hr.
8.290 24 hr.
12.290 1100-2300

U.S. COAST GUARD EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBER
001 310 732 2046
HAM SSB NETS
World wide emergency Ham net: 14.313 24 hr.
Central America Ham net: 7.083 UTC time 1300

U.S. COAST GUARD RESCUE COORDINATION CENTER
    Rescue Coordination Center:  (510) 437-3701.  This is the number for group receiving EPIRB emergency beacon distress signals.  They will coordinate with local country Coast Guards if boater is outside of the U.S. and they have translators, as the numbers at the local country Coast Guards in Central America will speak Spanish.  They said it would be ok to call them in emergency.

CENTRAL AMERICA COUNTRY COAST GUARD CONTACT NUMBERS
    These numbers were given to me by the U.S. Coast Guard Rescue Coordination Center.  The individuals from these local Coast Guards will speak Spanish when you call them.  If you cannot communicate with them, the Rescue Coordination Center can call them, but that will take more time.

  El Salvadore Coast Guard:  (505) 22500210,   Extension 5103
    Nicaragua Coast Guard:      (504)22342507
    Costa Rica Coast Guard:      (506) 22314924
    Panama Coast Guard:           (507) 60451197

CALIFORNIA COAST GUARD OFFICES WHO COULD BE  called if you cannot reach rescue coordination center, however the local coast guards will likely just go through the Rescue Center:
    Coast Guard Sector LA/Long Beach:  310 521-3815
    Channel Islands office:  805 985-9822

VHF EMERGENCY CHANNEL FOR MAYDAY: 16

HAM SSB NETS

World wide emergency Ham net:  14.313    24 hr.
Pacific Seafares Net 14300 @ 0300 UTC 
Central America Ham net:  7.083   @ 1300 UTC

CENTRAL AMERICA EMBASSY CONTACT INFORMATION.  Go to www.usembassy.gov/ for further information.  For Central America embassies, emergency number is +1-202-501-4444, and press “0”,  from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. EST.  When dialing embassy numbers below probably start with “ +” depending on phone service.   

   MEXICO
    +52 55 5080-2000
    Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtenoc,     06500 Mexico, DF
  

GUATEMALA
    +502 2326 4000
    Avenida Reforma 7-01, Zona 10, Guatemala Cuidad, Guatemala

    EL SALVADOR
    +503 2501 2999
    Final Blvd. Santa Elena,     Antiguo Cuseatlan, La Libertad,     San Salvador   

    HONDURAS
    +504 2238 5114 (after hours X4100)
    +504 2236 9320 (per embassy website, but not communications received:  011-504 2236 9320)
    Avenida La Paz,     Tegucigalpa MDC, Honduras
 
    NICARGUA
    +505 2252-7100
    Kilometer 5.5 Carreter Sur, Managua, Nicagagua

    COSTA RICA
    +506 2519 2000
    Calle 98 Via 104, Pavas,     San Jose, Costa Rico

    PANAMA
    +507 317 5000
    Bldg 783, Demetrio Basilio Lakas Ave, Clayton, Panama

REPORT U.S. CITIZEN MISSING ABROAD:  1-888-407-4747

GLOBAL MARINE DISTRESS SAFETY SYSTEM:      1-888-407-4747, press “0” for overseas citizen emergency services.

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION MARITIME ADMINISTRATION, OFFICE OF MARITIME SECURITY. 

They provide information on piracy and safety and security, and you can sign up for alerts by going online.
    Emergency:  1-202-501-4444 (8-8 EST, M-F)

Stan
Diane

Stan & Diane

CROSSROADS

8)  Download the official Barra de Navidad, Mexico
MARITIME & CRUISERS RESOURCE GUIDE

barra guide

Thanks to Tally, Neil, Jan and of course Otter -
this is the best resource guide to date on Barra de Navidad
and we wholeheartedly thank Tally and SV Raven for creating such a detailed guide !

Follow this link and download this 36 page guide !

https://route.panamaposse.com/books/BarraResourceGuide.pdf

Tally
Neil

Neil, Tammy, Jan & Otter

SV RAVEN

9) Time to decorate your vessels and share your pictures !

Xmas Lights

10) Please reply to this email with

– your updates
contenders for picture of the week links to your favorite SONGS
– relevant blog posts – and of course your valuable suggestions

and we’ll include it in the next FLEET UPDATE – Keep em ‘coming

Dietmar
Suzanne

The Panama Posse philosophy is to pass on nautical knowledge via the gestalt theory...

Dietmar & Suzanne
SV Carinthia

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