“Only two sailors, in my experience, never ran aground. One never left port, and the other was an atrocious liar.”
– Don Bamford
Author, Sailor, Boat builder

SAFER EXPLORING WITH A RECORDED TRACK !

Every time a vessel anchors or makes an approach to an anchorage or enters confined navigational areas it takes a risk – but if we record and share this information, over time, our risks become much lower – these tracks are a sequence of way points recorded into formats such as GPX or KML ( jwhich means you can open and read it with any text editor and use in OpenCPN or add to your chartplotter) PLEASES send it to goodnautuical we than add this into record into good nautical and organize it by Maritime Area. Our goal is in-the future to overlay and share these routes to your mobile device and plptter so you can follow along and reduce your risk of hitting the ground and reduce your insurance premiums – if you record and safe the tracks we all benefit 

Sample exert from the above GPX file from 
Scott & Tami SY Animal Cracker 

      <trkpt lat=”21.512127000″ lon=”-105.283014333″

      <trkpt lat=”21.532839000″ lon=”-105.287736167″>

        <time>2021-03-19T17:11:25Z</time>

🇧🇸 SLOW DANCER AT ANCHOR IN THE BAHAMAS

Over 220 anchorages and 120+ marinas in the Bahamas are all in Good Nautical

🇨🇷 SY ARROW and MY DELTA SWIZZLER 

Picture of the Bahia Carillo Anchorage in Costa Rica

Coming out of Bahia Carrillo. Looks very intimidating coming from the North. Not too bad after you line up right.

 🇹🇨  SY GARGOYLE  @ Providenciales in Turks and Caicos 

🇵🇦 PUNTA MALA, PANAMA 

Punta Mala  Lighthouse Station established 1914  Active; focal plane 45 m (148 ft); white light, 5 s on, 15 s off. 33 m (108 ft) square pyramidal skeletal tower mounted on a square cylindrical concrete skeletal base. The pyramidal portion of the tower is enclosed on at least 3 sides by a slatted daymark. Entire lighthouse is white.

A Historic entry in Waggoner of the South Sea describing the sea coast from Acapulco to Albermarle Isle, made by William Hack at the signed of great Britain and Ireland in Wapping. Anno 1685′.  Contents Note: Anchorage shown. Bound in ‘A Wagoner of the South Sea describeing the sea coast from acapulco to Albemarle isle’, an English translation of a Spanish derrotero captured from the Spanish ship ‘Rosario’ by Captain Bartholomew Sharpe in 1680. Hack made multiple copies of this atlas. This one was presented to James II.

Our experience with Punta Mala: we rounded (inbound for Panama City) at about 30 minutes after low tide in about 40-50’ of water and it wasn’t bad at all. Turbulence and strong currents extend for 10+ miles on both sides of the point, but if you keep to shallower water, interaction with the bottom keeps currents down. Our autopilot had a good workout dealing with the churning waters, but we didn’t have a problem with standing waves, haystacks, or other anomalies.

The problem at Punta Mala is that the humbolt current fills the bay of Panama from the south, trying to get all the water of the South Pacific into it. When combined with a falling tide with the big ranges the bay of Panama has, the rush of water trying to leave is a true force of nature. If you go when the tide is flowing into the bay, it counters the humbolt. The current is still against you when trying to enter the bay, but less so (about 1/2 as much, 1-2 knots). This also lessens the turbulence and haystacks near Punta mala.

Many posse members described their passage from Punta Mala to Panama City as the worst on the pacific coast. Typical winds make it slow, head to wind, choppy, and in a counter current the whole way.

TRIP REPORT FROM 

GUALDALAJARA   MEXICO 

Our last day on the road trip we did a walking tour of the historic central square of Guadalajara, a city almost 500 years old. We visited cathedrals, art halls and of course a bar celebrating it’s 100th anniversary. We filled up the trip with a great Argentinian steakhouse dinner. Back to the boat now and time to prep for departure. Was a great week and I’m so happy to have shared all the experiences with the beautiful Tara Lee

🇳🇮 CATWEAZLE ON PASSAGE TO SAN JUAN DEL SUR 

Lovely sail round the peninsula to Nicaragua. Max 30 knots near the Cloverleaf anchorage (clover)

 Clearing in to Nicaragua in San Juan Del Sur is as follows:

1. Contact Eduardo as it’s really too difficult to do yourself. He will ask for all your documentation to get the ball rolling.

2. He arranged a bouy $20 /night and arrange Ministry of Agriculture / Health / Immigration  etc to come to the boat.

3. After a cursory look at the food on board, the ministry of agriculture took his $25. They wanted to see our fire extinguishers and life jackets. And much form filling out was done.

3. Then we went to the bank to make a small payment.

4. Then the port Captain

5. Then the hospital (can’t remember why, but nothing to do with Covid)

6.  Then Immigration where our passports were stamped for 3 months stay.

7. Finally to the border to get the temporary import license. This is where is unravelled as they required the originals of our sailing certificate of competence and we had only taken copies. So back tomorrow.

I think that was the order but it’s a bit of a blur.

🇨🇷 REPORT FROM ISLA CABALLO, CR

Two nights ago we anchored at Isla Caballo (09º 58.60’ N, 084º 58.19’ W) in Costa Rica in a smallish channel between this island and the mainland – what a nightmare. First the anchor was really difficult to set. It took us more than an hour. I guess strong currents up to 4 kn and only a thin crust of sand over rock were to blame. Then, when night came, I heard strange noises from the anchor chain… Went outside and saw something strange extending back from our boat, slightly florescent, giving it a ghostly touch. At the anchor chain I discovered that a fishing net was entangled. Apparently, the fisher are out in small boats and drag a very long net with floats and a pulsing light at the end of the net. They fish in the strong currents that way and sweep more or less the width of the entire channel. And that chap had not had his net under control really, or did not see us, despite all the many lights we had on. Then the anchor alarm went off. The combined drag of the long net in the strong current, the engine of the fisher, and our own drag & windage was too much for the poor holding ground. So, slightly panicking I decided to cut the net. Then I reset the anchor alarm and got my air pistol and my taser out, in case I had any arguments with the fisher. Sure enough they came looking for their net, shouting from one boat to the next, but they did not bother us. I decided to stay on anchor watch, which turned out to be rather useful. At almost 3 in the morning we got caught in another net. By now being a professional fishing net cutter, I watched the single fisher a few minutes in his efforts to free it, but he had no clue what to do and eventually sped away with his boat. Then I took my knife again, which was still open and ready to be deployed, lying on the cockpit table… Also this chap never came back. I then watched for the remainder of the night another of these blinking lights slowly approaching us, but before it did so, the tide turned and it started drifting away… What a night! We left at dawn under sail, when the tide was still weak and we did not have to use the engine for approaching the anchor and could let the windlass do the work, as I was not sure whether the prop had been fouled in the process. Later during the day we dived down to the propeller to see whether it was all clear. And so it was! 🙂 No damage done around the boat, except for dirt marks from the various nets. Bottom line, I cannot really recommend anchoring there, at least not for the night… 😉

NOTE there aare several calm anchorages in the Golfo de Nicoya nearby including Carinthia’s Punta Naranjo and Isla Cedros West

PAPAGAYO PASSAGE by HO’OKIPA

San Juan Del Sur @ 0900; 15 kt winds

Predict Wind’s track of Ho’Okipa jugging the shore to avoid the fetch

PANAMA POSSE CONVOYS  forming through pirate waters

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

This season we are supporting the creation of convoys for vessels planning on traveling along the north coast of Venezuela or transiting along the Nicaraguan / Honduran Caribbean coast. We have a working safety protocol which will group vessels into a convoy. Please inform us if you would like to participate -> email security@panamaposse.com with your vessel name.

Area of mayor incidents as compiled from  CSSN – Caribbean Safety and Security Net

COVID VACCINE ROLLOUT:  RACE TO NORMALCY 

 Most Embassies are not offering vaccinations for citizens abroad apart from their own staff, meaning  private-sector personnel abroad need to arrange their own vaccinations, either by accessing locally available vaccines or by returning to their countries. This report provides a country-by-country overview of the state of the vaccine rollout.

The statistics were accessed on March 20, 2021 and reflect reported Cumulative COVID-19 vaccinations per 100 people (%)  from countries who report

Bahamas                              0.03
Belize                                    3.31
Canada                                 9.88
Cayman Islands               59.56
Colombia                             2.12
Costa Rica                           4.87
El Salvador                          0.64
Germany                            12.25
Guatemala                           0.34
Honduras                             0.38
Jamaica                               0.54
Mexico                                  4.02
Panama                                6.65
Turks & Caicos Islands   16.62
United Kingdom               41.65
United States                    35.38

source March 13,2021  https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations

UPDATES ON QUARANTINE BY COUNTRY >>

QUARANTINE UPDATES  
 Keep checking this section for most recent updates  ...more >>>

🇸🇻 ROSA LEE EXTING THE BAR IN EL SALVADOR – RIGHT OF PASSAGE AKA WHITE KNUCKLE RIDE !

 PANAMA POSSE  “PODS”  

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

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

If you would like to receive CREW resumes please notify the Panama Posse via email and we will forward you any and all CREW seeking vessel information >>

YOUR  CREW LOGISTICS MAP 
WITH AIRPORTS – CODES AND MARINAS ALONG THE PANAMA POSSE ROUTE TO MAKE CREW LOGISTICS EASIER >>

PICTURE OF THE WEEK
and honorary entry for the Captain Ron Award

 long line wrapped around the props

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

LINE TIP:

Please drop your location pins and take pictures of the anchorages and places you visit

NOT PART OF THE 20·21 POSSE ?  SIGN UP NOW

197 VESSELS HAVE SIGNED UP  >>   

See the faces of the 20·20 Panama Posse, SEE WHO IS ON THE ROSTER >>>

PANAMA POSSE PARTICIPANT WEBSITES 

SY  DAPPERE DODO  >> 

Here is the link to Past and Present Participant Websites and Blogs.  
Great experience here …more >>>
 

IT WOULD NOT BE A RALLY WITHOUT A CONTEST 

by the end of May 2021 we will announce the winners in these highly competitive fields

BIGGEST FISH CAUGHT

HIGHEST WIND RECORDED

BIGGEST MISHAP aka THE CAPTAIN RON AWARD

MOST UNWELCOME VISITOR ONBOARD

SPEEDY GONZALEZ AWARD

PANAMA POSSE YODA OF THE YEAR

PICTURE OF THE YEAR

GOOD SAMARITAN OF THE YEAR

🇨🇴 COLOMBIA  is in Good Nautical

PANAMA POSSE SPONSORS 

🇺🇸 California Yacht Marina, San Diego, Chula Vista – USA

🇲🇽 Marina Coral, Ensenada – Mexico

🇲🇽 IGY Marina Cabo San Lucas  – Mexico

🇲🇽 Marina de la Paz – Mexico

🇲🇽 Marina y Club de Yates Isla Cortes – Mexico

🇲🇽 Marina el Cid – Mazatlan – Mexico

🇲🇽 Marina Vallarta, Puerto Vallarta – Mexico Marina

🇲🇽 PANAMA POSSE HQ  – Marina Puerto de La Navidad – Barra de Navidad – Mexico

🇲🇽 Marina Ixtapa, Ixtapa – Mexico

🇲🇽 La Marina Acapulco, Acapulco – Mexico

🇲🇽 Marina Chiapas – Mexico

🇬🇹 Marina Pez Vela – Guatemala

🇸🇻 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

🇨🇷 Marina Bahia Golfito – Costa Rica

🇨🇷 Banana Bay Marina – Costa Rica

🇵🇦 PANAMA POSSE PACIFIC HQ Vista Mar Marina – Panama

🇵🇦 Shelter Bay Marina – Panama

🇵🇦 IGY Red Frog Marina – Panama

🇵🇦 Bocas Marina – Panama

🇵🇦 Linton Bay Marina – Panama

🇨🇴 ClubNautico Cartagena – Colombia

🇨🇴 Club de Pesca Marina Cartagena – Colombia

🇨🇴 Marina Puerto Velero – Colombia

🇨🇴 IGY Marina Santa Marta – Colombia

🇯🇲 Royal Jamaica Yacht Club – Jamaica

🇯🇲 Errol Flynn Marina – Jamaica

🇯🇲 Montego Bay Yacht Club –Jamaica

🇰🇾 The Barcadere Marina –Cayman Islands

🇭🇳 Barefoot Cay Marina – Roatan – Honduras

🇭🇳 Fantasy Island Marina – Roatan – Honduras

🇭🇳 Jonesville Point Marina -Roatan – Honduras

🇬🇹 Marina Nana Juana Resort & Boatyard – Guatemala

🇧🇿 Thunderbirds Marine – Placencia – Belize

🇲🇽 Marina Makax – Isla Mujeres – Mexico

🇲🇽 Marina V&V – Quintana Roo – Mexico

🇲🇽 Marina El Cid – Cancún – Riviera Maya – Mexico

🇨🇺 Marina Marlin Nautica Cayo Largo – Cuba

🇺🇸 Marathon Marina, Florida, USA

SERVICE PROVIDERS

• ULLMAN SAILS SAN DIEGO
• PREDICT WIND
• SEVENSTAR YACHT TRANSPORT
• CABRALES BOATYARD
• ONESAILS MEXICO
• NAUTICED.ORG
• HOME DEPOT PRO MEXICO
• HERTZ RENTAL CARS  MEXICO
• YACHT AGENTS GALAPAGOS 

OFFICIAL PANAMA CANAL AGENT

Erik Galvez @ Centenario & Co.S.A. Eric Galvez – Panama

STRATEGIC PARTNERS 

SEVEN SEAS CRUISING ASSOCIATION

Vicente’s Moorings – Acapulco – Mexico

Park Avenue Villas – San Juan del Sur – Nicaragua

Coconutz – Playa Cocos – Costa Rica

Abernathy – Chandlery – Panama

Advertising Partners – Las Vegas

Safe-Esteem.com – Delaware

PLEASE SEND US YOUR UPDATES AND WE’LL INCLUDE YOUR STORIES IN NEXT WEEKS FLEET UPDATE via email to news@panamaposse.com

🇨🇷 PANAMA POSSE SEASON 1 – Christine and a freindly Capuchin monkey at Manuela Antonio NP SY SUGAR SHACK currently at  23 08.567′ S 135 01.464 W

WE OPERATE UNDER INTERNATIONAL MARITIME LAW

YOUR VESSEL YOUR CREW YOUR RESPONSIBILITY 

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© 2021 Panama Posse / Good Nautical Inc