FLEET UPDATE 2019-04-20
1) ABOUT AIS - Zihuatanejo, MX
Hailing Commercial Ships
When cruising from Isla Mujeres to Corpus Christi, we were hailed by a “Crane Ship” captain who had seen us on AIS. He was a “good ole boy” from the south and he was quite chatty. In the process of talking to him, he gave us this advice…whenever you are in the vicinity of a commercial ship, cruise ship or anything a whole lot bigger than you, hail them on Channel 16 because they are so big and you are so small (and they are often not watching), that they won’t even see you on their radar or on their AIS.
When you hail them, there is a record of your conversation and you alert them to your existence. Ask them if they see you on radar and AIS. If necessary, be ready to give them a definition of where you are in relation to them. i.e. 2 miles off your port bow.
We do this on a regular basis and have actually had some nice conversations with some ships, especially cruise ship captains. We also find that they respond more often to a woman’s voice, so I am generally the one that does it.
On the way south from Bahia Hadras, we were traveling loosely with three other boats, all of whom had AIS, but one only had receiving AIS, not sending. He was under sail and was very difficult to see in the dark. There was a commercial ship bearing down on all of us, so I hailed it and asked if he could see us. It took him awhile and then he finally said that he did. I alerted him to the fact that we were four sailboats in the vicinity and asked him if he saw all four of us. That took awhile longer, he said that he did see us and that he would take evasive action given that we were all under sail.
I really enjoy hailing ships both because it is a safety issue and it if fun if you get a chatty captain, but also because it breaks up the night watch a bit. I used to be hesitant to chat on the radio, but since I started hailing ship captains who don’t know me from Adam, my confidence has increased to the point that I can’t wait for a ship to come in range so that I can yak away.
John & Trish
MARIAH
2) Barillas Marina Club, El Salvador
13° 15.6562 N 088° 29.4645 W
(503) 632-1802 info@barillasmarina.com
It's not just an anchorage - the have mooring, fuel dock and not a big river bar to cross and only 30 nm from Bahia del Sol
Moorings are $ 45 for the first night and $ 16 after that - they have custom facilities and immigration
And a lovely Restaurant, Transportation
Plus they provide transportation to go shopping, get to the airport, laundry, showers and a pool
It's very relaxing and pretty
The also have fuel and water
Launch ramp next to fuel dock
Oscar & Nellita
MI PANGA 🇨🇷
3) Chiapas, MX Here is an overview of our tour. If it's already been done by others, just pitch this.
The crews of Slow Dancer and Blue Oasis joined Miguel in Marina Chiapas for a day tour.
First we went to the ruins at Izapa. Miguel was super knowledgeable about the ruins themselves as well as the Mayan and Aztec peoples.
After the ruins, we visited the small town of Tuxtla Chico. We walked through a beautiful old church and shopped a bit at the local market. Miguel is also knowledgeable about the plant life in the area and had us taste several fruits from the trees that we passed.
Next up was lunch. What an amazing feast! La Parra is owned by Josefina. This amazing woman has won competitions in several countries for her wonderful chocolate that she grows, roasts, grinds by hand and packages. We enjoyed tamales, quesadillas, rolls and hot chocolate. We enjoyed watching the making of tortillas over a wood burning stove. We also watched them make the chocolate. Next we traveled to Dona Petra's kitchen to see the tamale making process. Best tamales in the state according to Miguel. We thought so too!
Lastly, Miguel took us to see the Guatemala border and then to Walmart for some last minute provisions.
We highly recommend Miguel as a tour guide. His English is great and his knowledge of the area is amazing. Plus he's a really nice guy!
Dale & Kenneth
SLOW DANCER
4) Long Term Stay in Costa Rica
Hi All,
Here’s the info re leaving your vessel in Costa Rica beyond the 90 day basic temporary import.
There is a process called Exoneration, which provides for importation of the boat into The country for up to two years, with no import tax consequence. The proviso is that you must enter into a contract with a marina in order for this to occur. The contract need not be for two years, but for a period of time that you work out with the marina. The vessel must be physically in the marina with which you enter into the contract, while the Exoneration paperwork is completed which takes between 14-18 days.
When the Exoneration process is completed you surrender your original 90-day TIP, and henceforth the boat is in the country under the exoneration permit. With that in place, you can now leave the marina, under a zarpe that the marina puts in place and sail anywhere in Costa Rica and even out of the country and thereafter return, all under the auspices of the Exoneration. The obvious kicker is that you will still be paying whatever marina fees apply vis a vis your contract, assuming you don’t leave the country permanently, i.e., terminating your marina contract and commensurate with that, your Exoneration Permit. It is permissible to change from a one marina to another during the two year period and your Exoneration permit transfers from one contract to the next. The Exoneration Cost, which is primarily an Agent Fee to put the paperwork in place, with the Agent we’ll use through Marina Papagallo is approximately $800. BUT, Marina Papagallo offers to offset the Exoneration fee which some very attractive marina fee reductions in order to have our marina business. For a six month contract, the cost to us, net, is about what we’d pay on a monthly long term basis for Marina La Cruz, Marina Vallarta, Marina Paradise Village, and the three marinas in La Paz, or El Cid in Mazatlan.
For us, it makes great sense to do this, so we are. We’ll fly out of Liberia airport non-stop to LAX on Alaska Airlines at a very affordable fare. Liberia airport is a taxi ride from this marina. This region of Costa Rica is considerably drier than, for example El Salvador, or even Golfito, and the bottom growth comparatively is negligible. So, boat issues should be less than in Chiapas, or El Salvador, or even Golfito, and anywhere in Panama. And the bonus is, we can in the meanwhile and upon our return, sail throughout the country at will until northbound to Mexico weather suits our fancy.
I’m certain that Contract Offers differ from marina to marina, and probably even agent to agent, so all is negotiable. For those in Golfito, Miguel at Banana Bay, who used to be at Marina Golfito, was in a former employment capacity, a Costa Rican Customs official, and undoubtedly knows the ins and outs of this on par with Marina Golfito.
So, there it is. We’ll leave here in late October/early November and make Barra de Navidad for the annual Cruisers’ Thanksgiving fete,😎
If any questions, shoot an email back and I’ll clarify. Ciao,
Bob & Sherry
NIRVANA
5) Sumwood Channel, Bocas del Torro, Panama
Sumwood Channel is a convenient connection between Bahia Almirante and Laguna de Chiriqui.
It is also a beautiful ride between the mangroves. We cruised it from South to North.
We planned our route on Navionics charts. We checked the route against positions obtained from grid on Bauhaus’ photos and the ferry route indicated on Google Maps’ (!) sat images. Critical areas could be easily identified by lookout. Minimum depths recorded on approach was 8.5 m.
In the canal sometimes becomes shallow in the midst. If your attention is not distracted by the beautiful landscape, it may be easier to stay in max depths (bottom is mud ...).
North of canal Navionics and grid from Bauhaus photos shows discrepancies. Nacionics Sonar Charts are of great help.
And for those, who still rely on Pat Rains ten year old revised edition 2017:
There are no buoys anymore in the Boca del Toro Canal (as correctly reflected on the chart in Bauhaus‘ book).
Jochen
MORNING HAZE
4) Casco Viejo, Panama
The gifts of Living in Gratitude 🙏🏻 continue in abundance as we met with JAIME FIGUEROA the Tourism Ambassador of Panama and Alva, the proprietor of Panama House Bed & Breakfast this morning at the most quaint and personal B&B we were honored to spend time whilst in Panama City .. thank you Alva for sharing your home and family and hospitality with us . Thank you Jaime for your welcoming spirit to your Country and the stories, knowledge and passion you share. We look forward to coming through the Canal Sunday with the added information you enlightened us with. We also look forward to visiting with you soon. You live and share a fascinating life and we’re honored to call you a friend. Till next time - Carpe Diem - live love and laugh
Fantastic meeting with Our ambassador in Panama, jaime Figuero ! Beautiful person!
Jaime is sharing so much of his life and experiences and his passion for Panama !
To contact him email jaime@panamaposse.com
Ron & Karen
KOKOPELLI
5) LINE / FACEBOOK / FLEET UPDATES
Every Monday UTC 16:00 LINE GROUP CALL
Our cruising season in the area and for the Panama Posse is NOV - MAY based on the hurricane season.
Most participants will be staying put after June 1. Thus our last weekly LINE call will be held Monday May 20. At this time the plan is to leave the LINE chat room open and but it will no longer be actively managed. Everyone will have the choice to remain in contact with each other thru the chat room. When we start the new season in November we will open a new LINE chat room for the next seasons' members. Download from https://line.me/en-US/
We will fade out the Panama Posse Facebook group over the summer and start the new FB group page in September.
Fleet updates will stop June and start up in October for next season's posse. SO it's time for you to ....
6) SIGN UP FOR NEXT SEASON - THE 19-20 PANAMA POSSE
16 vessels have done so already https://panamaposse.com/2019-2020-vessels
If you are ready simply reply with an email and re-register (no new registration form to fill out)
and we'll take care of the rest - or sign up here
https://www.panamaposse.com/sign-up
We'll meet in Barra de Navidad in October / November for an early December kick off ( right after Thanksgiving)
7) Las Perlas, Panama
Ay Caramba ! is in Isla Parida, two different anchorages. In the N, a good first stop at N 8 07.183 W 82 20.888 un 25 feet at +7 tide.
It was rolly in the evening. The second spot near Playa Socorro at N 8 07.679 W 82 19.427 under 21 feet of water at +10. It turns out I Gamez is probably the better place for the current conditions. There's an annoying swell that seems to be wrapping around the island, we're exposed to it here. Isla Gamez at around N 8 07.722 W 82 19.062 ( just across) seems to have good protection for that. SV Octopus Garden is there. They reported a little rolliness only when the wind went to the East.
03:40 Ay Caramba! - Juan A note to vessels leaving Golfito, you will benefit significantly from timing your departure with the ebb .. ;-) + 1.5 kts.
Juan & Michelle
AY CARAMBA !
8) Panama Posse Swag ... coming this summer ...
9) Please reply to this email with
any updates - songs - pictures - alerts and we'll include it in the next Fleet Updates
Happy Easter & Happy Passover to all from
Dietmar & Suzanne
CARINTHIA
10) opt-out from the Fleet Updates simply reply with "REMOVE"
FLEET UPDATE 2019 - 04 - 13
1) La Marina, Acapulco, MX
Happy to announce our latest addition to Sponsors of the Panama Posse
16° 50.4790' N 099° 54.4468' W - deep draft and length up to 200 feet
20% discount of daily rate ( $1.00 x foot x day - 20% discount) up to 60 feet
20% discount of daily rate ( $1.20 x foot x day - 20% discount) up to 61-100 feet
25% discount for 2 weeks stay ( $1.16 x foot x day - 20% discount) up to 60 feet
25% discount for 2 weeks stay ( $1.29 x foot x day - 20% discount) up to 61-100 feet
Base Rates for 1 month+ stay
$ 11 35-39 feet
$ 15 40-50 feet
$ 17 51-60 feet
$ 25 61-80 feet
$ 34 81-100 feet
5 MXD x kwh
+16% Tax IVA on all fees
For reservations please contact
LUIS RAMIREZ MAGDALENO
GERENTE MARINA ACAPULCO
TEL: +52 744 483 6143
TEL: +52 744 483 7744
MOVIL: +52 744 131 3007
email : marinaacapulco@jarestate.com
24/7 Security and friendly dockworkers
30/50 AMP electricity
300 TSS Water
Small Store
Small Chandlery
Wifi (in the office only)
Showers / Bathrooms (9 AM - 6 PM)
Amazing Superama (owned by Walmart) grocery store right across the street
ATM inside the Supermarket (so probably one of the easiest places to provision from in all of Mexico)
Lavanderia in walking distance and
Bus stop right outside the gates for the $1 yellow air conditioned bus which takes you all around the bay of Acapulco
Lot's of collectivos and taxis stop on this bus stop too and are happy to take you to see the cliff divers or
For 500 MX x day we hired the very dedicated and extremly hard working
Jose Miguel Carbajal Leyva to help us get the "Tehuantepec salt" off
+52 744 2058184 AND +52 744 263 7112
We had fuel brought to the dock in Jerry cans by Vicente
or you can go to the main Pemex fuel dock
⌖ 16° 50.8644 N 99° 54.3474 W (they all charge between a 12-18% premium for fuel)
2) Tamarindo, Costa Rica
We finally unglued ourselves from the comforts of Playa El Coco to begin again our journey southward. We popped up to Marina Papagayo for some fuel. As we had already checked into the country there were no issues, but we wouldn't have been allowed if we were not already cleared through immigration and customs.
The fuel pumps did their work quickly and as the sport fishing fleet are the main customers, the fuel was clean, no need for a baja filter. As we headed out of Bahia Culebra we saw hundreds of jumping Mabula Rays trying to catch flight in hopes of catching a mate, apparently. Yet again, the the breezes were allowing for pleasant sailing.
We pulled into Bahia Portrero for a quick overnight, with the crew of Shearwater over for dinner on board. The lights in the mooring field are bright, supposedly to prevent theft. We had no issues at all in our spot between the two groups of fishing boats and pangas. We we're up in the morning to get a head start and pop around the corner to Playa Conchal. Due to the name we had dreams of some shell collecting but the shells had already been ground up to make the beautiful light color sand. A walk along the beach revealed a few souvenir vendors on the side of the gravel path. And the beach clubs for two hotels. Not open to the public, unfortunately. But we had planned to picnic anyway, and not long after we picked our lunch spot, a man with a cooler came by, offering ice cold beers and coco frios. It was a perfect lunch-hook stop-over. The afternoon graced us with more good sailing weather and we enjoyed snapping pictures of Shearwater flying full canvas.
We pulled into Tamarindo just as the sun was setting behind us. We picked a spot near the mooring field. We spent the next week taking full advantage of all Tamarindo has to offer with our buddies, Pati and Eric. We took the dink and anchored outside the lineup at Playa Grande and caught some fun party waves at the beach break near the river. We beached the dinghy and headed into town most days. We found the best landing at the jet ski launch. We did lock the two dinghies together but never had any issues. Each time we found our dinks just the way we had left them. We sampled the microbrews at Witches Rock Surf Camp. We found a street off the beaten path that had a coffee shop called Breaking Bread that Walter White would approve of, Nacho Libre tacos at Little Lucha, and the open air El Mercadito with lots of options including poke bowls and a bar in a sailboat. The roadside BBQ skewers near the beach were cheap and delicious. We had a great meal at the beautiful Bamboo Sushi Club.
We checked out the funky shops more for the air conditioning than anything else and came away with some cool shirts from the five dollar bin. Pati arranged an estuary tour and we saw a ton of birds and a few crocodiles. If you go at high tide you can see monkeys as well. The Papagayos were still howling and at one point we were slowly dragging along the rock bottom and had to reset at the edge of the mooring field and a little closer to the beach, but there was no fetch to speak of so it was still pretty comfortable even in the high winds.
We got to meet up with Dietmar and Suzanne as they pulled into the bay to deliver a Posse Burgee to the Shearwater crew. Tamarindo is pretty busy with a lot of crispy gringos escaping the snow and soaking up some rays. But even with the crowds, the vibes are mellow and there are plenty of chilled out spots to find a lounge chair or hammock and an umbrella drink. We almost skipped it since we had been before, but from the water, Tamarindo is a real treat!
Pura Vida!
Tamarindo Swings for Crew
Tamarindo Beach Bar
Tamarindo Sunset
Captain Rowan celebrating his birthday in Golfito with a cold imperial and a beautiful sunset,
before meeting up with fellow cruisers for happy hour at Fishhook!
Victoria, Rowan & Crew
TALIESIN ROSE
3) The 2018-2019 Panama Posse now stands at an amazing 120 vessels !
HIP HIP HURRAY to all of you from 14 different nations !
but WAIT THERE IS MORE !!!
2019-2020 Registrations are open
www.panamamposse.com/sign-up/
and there are already 11 vessels signed up for next season
including 3 "re-posse" vessels ;-)
4) We wish 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
- 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
Official Panama Canal Agent
Official Panama Posse Ambassadors
- Jaime Figueroa Navarro – Panama
- Bill & Jean – El Salvador
- Ralph Hewitt – Nicaragua
Panama Posse Partners
- Vicente’s Moorings – Acapulco – Mexico
- Luis Sanchez Tours – Chiapas – Mexico
- Discovery Tours - Tapachula - Mexico
- Park Avenue Villas – San Juan del Sur – Nicaragua
- Coconutz – Annual Papagayo Victory Party – Playa Cocos – Costa Rica
- Abernathy – Chandlery – Panama
5) Acapulco & Marina Chiapas, MX
Blue Oasis used the main Pemex fuel dock in Acapulco by the cruise ship docks. Very helpful staff. We took on 370L of fuel successfully. The dock has a big surge, and angle bracket underwater perpendicular to the float. The surprise was a commission/docking fee that was a percentage. Since our Spanish is not up to negotiation skills. We paid ~14%!very pricey diesel indeed all in 25pesos/L . On our way South this am to Puerto Angel, MX. Entrance to Tehuantepec.
Blue Oasis arrived safely in Marina Chiapas this afternoon. We had a brilliant crossing of the Tehuantepec: sailing starting Thursday morning until 2 in the morning Friday. Off the wind, fast beam ride. Seas were following and not too churned up, current with us from the afternoon through the night to Chiapas. We did catch 2 long lines as we left Bahia Huatulco about 12 nm off shore. We were very careful, but were sailing a a good clip. We had to cut one stuck on the keel, the second one slipped off. Tons of Sea turtles and several mating pairs in the middle of the Bahia de Tehuantepec. All toll about 32 hours crossing. Predict Wind Offshore was spot on PWG was a little closer than PWE. Slow Dancer we’ll be over to say hello after some rest.
BLUE OASIS
Barry & Kathy
6) Clearing in Panama
Simple Life UK Thank you all....final question: is the Cruising Licence the equivalent of a TIP? We plan to leave the boat in Vista Mar, dry storage, leave the country next Wednesday, return in October. So must I procure the cruising licence now, or can I defer until October?
Figment Reply: Just looked at our Cruising Permit. It expires one year from date of issue. Says it must be renewed prior to expiration or we will face a fine if found to be navigating in Panama with an expired permit. So no TIP in the MX sense.
Immigration was more fully staffed the Sunday we visited. The Port Capt's office - not so much it seemed. When we arrived at the building - before we met up with Erick Galvez - we asked one of the local employees for directions. He started to take us in then noticed a lady sitting outside with a uniform of some sort. Seemig to recognize her he spoke with her about going to the Port Capt's office and she shook her head no and he then changed his attitude and wasn't going to take us to the Port Capt'ns office. About that time Erick showed up.
We managed to get in on Sunday. Both offices are located on the second floor of the Fuerte Amador Resort and Marina Building (Flamenco Marina). When we were there the stair was roped off. We gained access. But don't know if we would have been allowed to pass without the presence of Erick Galvez. We retained him as agent to assist with the canal transit - we did get our requested date - and he also then worked the clearing in process. So rambly response - open on Sunday but for walkins - don't know.
A small adder. The Panama Cruising Permit takes 1 day or 2 or 3 to process at the Port Captains office. My advice is this.
1. Don’t go to Vista Mar and make multiple trips (you CAN or stay in Panama City and tour a bit). Go directly to La Playita anchorage, pay the $50/week dinghy dock charge and get all your paper work done by walking to the building across the street near Flamenco. Then go to Vista Mar.
2. Vista Mar haul out capabilities are not great. You load onto a “trailer” and they tow it up the lunching ramp that looks dicey. Maybe it’s ok but your bit best be shallow and light. On the plus side Marine Tech Ollie is setting up shop at Vista Mar and he’s excellent for mechanical work.
3. Flamenco is a Great Yard for haul out if you need it. Manager Alejandro is the best I’ve met. Not sure they have dry storage though.
Eric
SPREZZATURA
7)
A different adder from Carinthia (if you are not in a hurry to go through the Canal like Eric or plan to spend the season in Panama) Go to Vista Mar - get settled in - take a bus to Albrook Mall and Uber to Flamenco -
pack a light bag for 3 days and go to Panama - check in with Port Captain at Flamenco spend 1 -2 nights in a cute boutique hotel - celebrate a great meal at Tio Navajo
at the Casco Viejo District and tour this stunning city.
then pick up your cruising permit and head back to Vista Mar.
8) Playa la Ropa Anchorage, Zihuatanejo, MX 20' but need to deploy a Stern anchor.
Much cleaner water than the municipal anchorage near downtown
https://www.goodnautical.com/mexico-pacific/anchorage/zihuatanejo-bay-playa-la-ropa
Chris, Monica & Penny
SEAGLUB
9) Panama Posse Weekly Line Net - we currently have 78 vessels taking part
MONDAY'S at 16:00 UTC via LINE and open 24/7 to all !
( go to line.me and download the app works on WIN/MAC/IOS/ANDROID )
- Register using your vessel name as the USERNAME SV CARINTHIA
- Search for panamaposse or SV Carinthia or Seaglub and be friend us
- wait and accept your panamaposse GROUP INVITE
- send us your position via the message system and listen to the vessel check ins
- the LINE system allows for up to 200 live conference call participants !
To Drop your location and share it in the Panama Posse group simply click on (+) and drop your location PIN
10) Call for testimonials and feedback
We are about 6 weeks from finishing this season - can you believe it ?
so please take a little time out from your grueling cruising schedule reply to this email with
any testimonials or what we could all do to make next season's Panama Posse better.
- your updates
- contenders for picture of the week
- relevant blog posts - and of course your valuable suggestions and testimonials
Keep em 'coming
Dietmar & Suzanne
CARINTHIA
11) Opt-out from Fleet Updates simply reply with "REMOVE"