- January Panama Posse Special rate extended for 10 vessels under 50 foot @ Marina Puerto de la Navidad
- Las Perlas, Panama
- 81 prior Fleet Updates are online
- Notes on the Papagayos
- Caleta de Campos and Isla Grande, MX
- Picture of the week
- Counterposse Honuras to Panama & Panama Canal North to South
- New years eve at Marina Puerto de la Navidad Barra de Navidad, MX
- Counterposse / Guadaloupe
- Provisioning Seminar – All Mayor Stores are now listed online
- Vicente’s Moorings in Acapulco, MX
- Ordering parts to Acapulco, MX & PICTURE OF THE WEEK RUNNER UP
- Line calls
- Submit your reports
- Opt Out
1) Marina Puerto de la Navidad has extended the Panama Posse Special rate
Limited to 10 vessels under 50 foot @ until end of January (leave before the fishing tournament starts)
Conact harbormaster@islaresort.com.mx recepcionmarina@islaresort.com.mx for details
2) Las Perlas, Panama
Hi Everyone, I thought we’d share a link to our most recent blog post about our travel in Pacific Panama including the Perlas,
which are a must see.
We visited in November, the water was clear and warm (no jelly fish).
The anchorages were calm (except for the lightning) and very quiet.
Fair winds all. Good luck with the Papagayos…!
Here a couple of photos, Isla Perlas:
Pseudo Killer Whale
Lisa & Michael
FOOTLOOSE
3) 81 prior Fleet Updates are online
if you ever miss one of them or want to read the ones from the past you can head to
https://panamaposse.com/fleet-updates/
Fleet Updates
use docpasswords posse2018 posse2019 posse2020
to access the locked links
4) Notes on the Papagayos, Nicaragua & Northern Costa Rica
Avant won’t make the call today, we will be seeking radiator hose in the thriving metropolis of
Cocos la Playas Costa Rica to repair our engine (again – seems we’re replacing it part by part this week!).
A few tips from our southbound passage through the papagayos:
Plan on poor boat speed/ fuel economy. The wind chop stole about 15-20% of our typical boat speed,
resulting in longer than usual passages and a corresponding reduction in out typical miles per gallon.
Get some cycling glasses if you can. With the spray and wind, keeping watch for lobster pots and fishing
lines to windward is hard. Dodgers salt up with the spray, so you will be looking around them.
When the sun is up sunglasses work, but the clear glasses cyclists wear are great when the light is lower.
Chapstick. You want some. The conditions for chapping lips are ideal.
Check your heavy air setup. Twice. We haven’t sailed with a double reefed main for years, so we were
glad we had double checked that all lines were good to go before we deployed.
Our passage was easy and trouble free, and we hope we don’t sail to windward again any time soon.
Rob & Debra
RobDebra
AVANT
5) Caleta de Campos and Isla Grande, MX
Passage Notes:
Heading south from Barra de Navidad towards Ixtapa/Zihuatenejo we hugged the coastline (3nm out) and encountered a series of long lines around Manzanillo and again approaching Ixtapa. In a personal best we managed to snag on two of them in a row, giving us great practice on getting free. One was attended by a panga, one had flags, and one just had a series of white floats a long distance apart. The white floats look just like white caps, so keep an eye out. We draw 7′ with our daggerboards down, so after snagging on the second line with them fully down we pulled the boards up to about 4′ and were able to float over the rest.
We encountered a 2 knot current out of the south that slowed our south-bound passage dramatically. Your results may vary since we were taking the coastal hugging route.
Caleta de Campos
Caleta de Campos is a fantastic, easy, and pretty anchorage with great sand holding in
20′ in the middle of the bay and a lively palapa strewn beach.
The seas were essentially flat for our visit so we were quite comfortable,
but it is wide open with minimal protection so definitely consider it a fair-weather anchorage.
Coconut shrimp and posse shirt at isla grand.jpg
Isla Grande was fabulous as usual. Very busy this time of year with lots of boat parties
and a packed beach. It reminded us a lot of Avalon on Catalina Island in the summer.
Isla Grande
The powerboats have completely taken over and will anchor a boat length apart,
so we took in most of our chain to ride on a short scope during the day to allow them room.
They pretty much all took off just after sunset so we let out chain again
once they departed and slept easy in an empty anchorage.
Sunset at Isla Grande
Sunset
anchorage
Ricardo from Lili Cipriani restaurant came around both days we were anchored at
the island in his panga taking orders for lunch and dinner. It was so much fun to have
freshly prepared seafood delivered to the boat just in time for sunset.
He told us to call on 16 if we needed something, but we had no trouble flagging
him down during his rounds. We highly recommend ordering from him during your stay.
6) PICTURE OF THE WEEK – Panama Posse T-Shirt & Coconut Shrimp
Isla Grande Coconut Shrimp
Brian and Liz
BrianLiz
HALF MOON
7) Counterposse Honuras to Panama & Panama Canal North to South
This report will have to be dissected in reverse because most of the Posse is transiting to the Caribbean.
Here is an update and some info from Sailing catamaran Saltair3 from Panama on the Pacific side.
After 5 years of sailing and visiting almost all of the islands in the Caribbean we made our decision to transit the canal and cruise the Pacific.
Trio
We arrived at ShelterBay marina on December 6th. We had been hurricaning the boat in the beautiful Rio Dulce of Guatemala.
We started our journey from Fronteras, the small town at the head of the Rio Dulce. The journey down the Rio Dulce is amazing and I hope many of you get the chance to do it. It’s 25 miles one way up the Rio to one of the many marinas located near Fronteras.
Leaving Guatemala for Belize is just a days sail away and much the same for Honduras and the Bay Islands.
After much conversation and a few meetings with a group of fellow sailors regarding the safety and security from Piracy in the area, we left for the Bay Islands. The concern is for the area off eastern coast of Honduras and Nicaragua. Known for Piracy we chose to sail with a few other sailboats for safety. You can find more information on the Piracy issue in the Rio Dulce Facebook group.
Our final push off was from Guanaja, one of the Honduras Bay islands and after 4 nights
and almost 5 days we arrived at ShelterBay.
ShelterBay is a good marina with a nice pool, and the marina manager Juan is a great guy
and does an excellent job of keeping cruisers happy. There isn’t really much to share about
that marina that you won’t easily find when you check in so I won’t bother.
There is an anchorage outside of the marina if you do not want to check into the marina but
to dock your dinghy at Shelterbay marina it is $12 per day. Ouch.
Watch out for the crocodile lying daily in the sun on the southern shore. I think there is two!
One of them approach us in the dinghy when we were still oblivious to the crocs.
We dinghies near our boat which is where it hangs out! I don’t think it was too happy
we were so close to its hang out! It did circle and come at us from out of nowhere,
that’s when I immediately motored away…
Trio
A walk outside of the marina towards the jungle and you will see Sloths and Toucans
as well as a World War bunkers and such. It is a great walk and well worth the effort.
You can do it yourself easily.
The aren’t any crocs here and you will feel a little like Indian Jones.
Trio
We had an amazing and incredibly exciting transit through the Panama canal.
All of our crew were friends and everyone of them had dreams of one day transiting.
I can honestly say it was much more than any of us expected. Incredible experience!
Be sure and get someone to check the web cam and capture your transiting!
Trio
I won’t go into the transit experience but to say, keep an eye on your 125′ foot line if you are a line handler!
It’s not something you can get distracted from.
trio
When we came out to the Pacific side we disembarked our Advisor just outside of
the canal markers and inside the Balboa mooring field. You must always be outside of
the Red and Green markers after your advisor leaves or you will be in trouble!
You can anchor here or get a mooring. We still had daylight and chose to continue the
6-7 more miles to Las Brisas anchorage with Panama city in the background.
The Balboa mooring field and anchorage is rolly due to tug and freighter traffic constantly moving past.
Las Brisas has an incredible view of Panama city. While we were here fireworks went off from the
city at one of the parks along the malecon.
The anchorage is about 3/4 of a mile from the city but the view was still awesome!
Trio
The holding here is good in a thick mud like sand. The wind blows from the North
most of the time and there is always plenty of room in the anchorage. It’s huge.
You will need to wash the boat after a week though, as the smog from the city
likes to leave a thin film on your boat. Just walk around with a wet foot or two and
you will see the dark foot prints you will leave behind as the film comes
together in the water from your foot.
trio
There is a good dinghy dock here now and it is run by the Aeronaval guys.
They are always present and in full uniform. Captain Alex is a Panamanian in charge of h
elping cruisers and he keeps an office right at the top of the dinghy dock ramp. He is not AeroNaval.
To find the dinghy dock look for the large aviation style hangar and at it’s base is the dock.
There seems to always be a large yacht tied up to the Aeronval portion of the dock.
You will easily figure out where to dock the dinghy when you get close to it.
Be sure and wear a life Jacket (Salvabidas) and a T-shirt or you may not be allowed to dock your dinghy.
Panama has a dress code and the Naval guys in full uniform don’t like seeing us in less than a T-shirt and shorts. No bikinis either.
We used our cruise ship style key stone life jackets so we could leave them in the dinghy and not be too worried about them being stolen
but Captain Alex and the Naval guys keep a close eye on the dock at least during daylight hours.
We still lock our dinghy with a decent length so our dinghy can be moved if someone needs to tie their dinghy up too.
Don’t leave you engines up either.
It does get crowded at the dinghy dock and you will probably have to crawl on
someone else’s dingy to get back onto the dock especially in low tide when the dinghy space shrinks a lot!
trio
If you haven’t got it already then go and download the UBER app. There are lots of taxis in
Panama but they are in rough shape and if you can believe it, they charge more than what
UBER charges and they have no qualms about driving through the “Red Zone” to get you to your destination.
Red Zone = very impoverish area of the city.
Uber cars are always nice clean cars with great air conditioning.
It is very HUMID here and air conditioning is a must in a car stuck in the crazy Panamanian traffic.
One local business man told me every one in Panama has a car Lol! It shows.
trio
There is potable water at the dinghy dock and it tastes pretty good. The hose is at the
top of the ramp and you can get Cpt Alex to toss it down to your jugs waiting in your dinghy.
Careful don’t lean on the metal bar style fence. I did and fell off the edge! Only ended up with a cut on my foot luckily.
Below is a photo of the dinghy dock and the motor yacht that is moored at the Naval end of the dinghy dock.
We have made water in the anchorage but it isn’t very clean looking.
We have swam in the anchorage due to the high heat and humidity but it isn’t very clear water to swim in.
Just 8 miles West is Isla Taboga. The anchorage is quite deep, we’re currently here anchored in 50 feet
and there are quite a few private mooring balls taking up anchorage space,
but right now we total three boats at anchor here and the water is nice and clear and the town small, quaint and cute.
trio
The dinghy dock at the Aeronaval dock in Las Brisas anchorage Panama city with the yacht tied up.
There is a commercial area up at the top of the ramp with a mini market, multiple restaurants and Pizza.
The mini market has lots of groceries and drinks including liquor but no fresh fruit or veg.
There is a nice park up there too with a nice long walkway around the whole bay.
There are bike rentals and scooter rentals and even four wheeled bike rental for up to 6 people!
Diesel is available at both local marinas. Marina Flamenco and Marina La Playita.
We found La Playita 25 cents cheeper than Flamenco but La Playita does not have gasoline,
ONLY diesel and you must make a reservation to come to the dock to fill up.
Water is free to fill up with at the same time. Flamenco marina does not need
a reservation but you need to call them on channel 10 before entering, They will answer.
Moorage is expensive, at least to this sailing family.
$150 for your first night no matter what length and then $2 per foot per night.
trio
Laundry pick up is available but there aren’t any laundry machines around for do it yourself washing.
I don’t know the price exactly but it seems very similar to all the other places we’ve had laundry done.
We do have a small laundry machine onboard.
Here is a phone number for the Laundry guy, a very nice young Chinese man that doesn’t really speak English,
but is fluent in Spanish. I’m sure he speaks Chinese too.
His name is Moises.
With this number comes a recommendation to get the WhatsApp App. Everyone in the Caribbean uses Whats App.
This is his WhatsApp number +507 6481-2611 The laundry is called Freeway Laundry.
trio
Below is a picture of Isla Taboga anchorage at low tide just 8 miles from the Las Brisas anchorage.
Albrook Mall (one L) is a good place to go check out.
Good shoes and an Explorers attitude helps! It is a HUGE mall.
There is a large and good grocery store there called Super Extra,
and upstairs by the Theatres is a Do It Yourself hardware store.
Lots of clothing stores here mostly name brand stores with good selection
and big department stores of mostly made in China stuff.
An Uber from Las Brisas to Albrook is less than $5.00 for up to four people.
trio
You can get a bus but you first need to get a transit card. Yay can get this at the
Cinco De Mayo Metro station. Rides after that on the very clean buses are just 25 cents
and the very clean Subway is just 35 cents for one way trips of any length,
at least that’s what we found on the subway. We rode it end to end on one of the two lines.
It does go above ground for some of the trip but the scenery is mostly city residential,
otherwise it’s a true SubWay. You will see many vendors selling fruit and vegetables
(above ground portion,) while on the subway and at Cinco De Mayo station.
It’s a little cheaper at these stalls and they tend to have more selection if you can believe it.
There is tons more info but the new Panama guide PDF shares all of that information.
This is just our first hand info that I wanted to share.
We have done one quick motor sailing trip to the Las Perlas islands with our
Panama Canal crew, but it was short and I don’t have any pictures. Sorry. Soon we will hove some.
The islands are definitely worth the trip of about 35 miles from Ls Brisas.
Isla Contadora is difficult to anchor at with so many private moorings there but Isla Chapera
was easy with good north protection, good holding, a couple of beautiful beaches, a jungle trail,
great snorkelling with lots of fish and corals and the site of the Survivor series.
Isla Mogo Mogo is also right there to explore.
Those are the only islands we have done so far but we will be back before heading North to Mexico.
trio
Propane is the last thing I have to share.
In Panama they use a different fitting. I have asked many people about how to fill our
bottles and where to get another bottle that would have our North American fittings.
Best way is to take an Uber to La Loceria Tropigas station. Uber took almost
30 minutes to find the station and it cost us just $9 US for the three of us.
Seems super cheap to me and in a nice car too!
You will have to leave your tank with them for a minimum of 2 days.
Over the holidays we have to wait 5-7 days. Then you have to go back and pick it up.
There seems to be no other way. It has to go all the way out to Chilibre for filling.
That’s along the number 9 highway on this map below if you wonder where Chilbre is.
They did tell me that I should be able to get a new North American propane tank at
Do It Yourself hardware store if I wanted another one. I have yet to check.
Well that’s it from the cockpit of Saltair3 on a hot and humid day! Time for a swim here at Isla Taboga.
I hope everyone has a safe and adventurous Panama Posse voyage!
Buen viaje everyone!
Trio
Panama Canal December 14 / 2019
SHIPPING INTO PANAMA INFO
Note: DESTINATION I had success shipping 3 ac compressors,air handlers,controls etc from Ft Laud to Vista Mar recently.
Kings Marine did a great job. They have a relative on ground in Colon that delivered packages to marina.
Not sure what equipment they will ship. Attached is their contact info. Gal’s name in FT Lauderdal is Marina.
Not a quick process. Took 2 weeks compounded by holidays.
Note: KNOT RIGHT any one else needing items delivered to them via carrier or mail.
UPS does not deliver to Vista Mar, they contract with a third party.
I believe that DHL does come out that far.
The significance of that is there is an additional charge for customs which needs to be collected on receipt.
But UPS will not do that through a third party. With them you have to deposit money into their banks account
and email the receipt to the releasing agent in Panama city for them to send via a third party.
But the bank no longer has a branch in Coronado. So someone has to drive to the bank (don’t know where the closest one is).
Cesar was able to do this for me when my debit card was fowarded from my home.
It took 5 weeks, misplaced, many phone calls to the one UPS person that spoke English.
So avoid UPS. Now, if you have been at Vista Mar for awhile, then you know about
Mail Boxes Etc in Coronado. Set up an account with them. Then have everything sent (snail mail, FedEx, UPS, Amazon…
Dometic
Cheers from the crew of catamaran Saltair3!
Brad, Krista and Cole
BradKristaCole
SALTAIR 3
8) New years eve at Marina Puerto de la Navidad Barra de Navidad, MX
Chris SV Seaglub
Shrimp sculpture
The band from Jose Currvo
Jose Cuervo sends their troops
Nice crow
Plenty of room – open sky
Let the festivities begin
dessert buddah bar
All you can hope for
line em up
BBQ
Lot’s of protein roasting
The Band
The Band
And here is 2020
here is to a happy 2020 !
Chris
Chris
SEAGLUB
9) Guadaloupe / Counterposse
Hi everyone! We’re Patrick, sherrie, emjay and Kai! Part of the counter posse!
Currently in Guadaloupe and heading to St. Martin on Thursday to pick up our inverter!
We’ll then head to Panama to make our up to you guys! Spending 2020 sailing Panama and Costa Rica!
Falkor
Patrick, Sherrie & Crew
PatrickScherrieCrewCrew
FALKOR 4.2
10) Major Provision Spots along the Panama Posse Route
Below are the links to mayor provisioning stops along the way({north to south)
– follow this link
https://panamaposse.com/provisioning
Provisioning Spots
Panama Posse
10) Vicente’s Moorings in Acapulco, MX
Vicente – Acapulco
Vicente is so helpful in Acapulco. Knowledgable and resourceful.
Highly recommended !+52 744 439 8184
Fireworks
Incredible fireworks in Acapulco. Great company with Galina and Vladimir on SV Wave Dancer
Dennis & Margaret
DennisMargaret
CHIMERA
11) Ordering parts to Acapulco, MX
In March 19 our older Raymarine wind instruments failed. We found the parts and part
number from RayMarine. Confirmed with Raymarine that they were in stock.
We needed a reliable dealer between Barra and Acapulco to order and receive them for us.
We made many inquiries before finding Compass yachts in Acapulco (office at the yacht club).
Cinthia spoke and wrote English well. Super helpful.
I think it took about a week to order, ship, pass customs and get to Compass yachts.
They new how to do the customs paperwork, as they are a dealer.
Anyway shipping was not outrageous, but as expected for air.
They didn’t take cc, bank xfer or cash. Since they are at the yacht club and we were staying at marina Acapulco,
we couldn’t get passed the yacht club security. We just called Cinthia and she met us at the gate.
Worth a call or email certainly
Cinthia Villa
Compass Yachts
+52 744 404 0837 (o)
+521 744 909 0537 (m)
cinthia.villa@compassyachts.com.mx
PICTURE OF THE WEEK RUNNER UP
Blue Oasis
Barry & Kathy
BarryKathy
BLUE OASIS
12) LINE
Panama Posse Warm up @ Monday’s 15:45 UTC
Panama Posse Line Calls @ Monday’s 16:00 UTC
Counter Panama Posse Line Calls @ Monday’s 16:30 UTC
– go to https://line.me download the app for iOS or Android
– use your vessel name as your account name / display name
– search for dietmarpetutschnig ( carinthia ) and send a message with your vessel name
– you’ll get an invite to join the PanamaPosse line group
– mute your mike ( green line through ) when you join the group call
Line
13) 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 that out.
YOUR VESSEL YOUR CREW YOUR RESPONSIBILITY
SuzanneDietmar
Dietmar & Suzanne
SV Carinthia
Panama Posse BUrgee
14) opt-out from the Fleet Updates simply reply with “REMOVE”
Happy 2020
[…] 2020-01-04 >> […]