FLEET UPDATE 2022-02-27

Feb 27, 2022

PANAMA POSSE 
FLEET UPDATE 

 

TOP NEWS THIS WEEK

1) Great Harbour Cay Marina  🇧🇸 Bahamas sponsors the Panama Posse
2) Panama Posse grows to 351 yachts from 25 flag states
3) El Salvador bar continues to challenge yachts 

 

1) GREAT HARBOUR CAY MARINA 🇧🇸 BAHAMAS
SPONSORS THE PANAMA POSSE

We are excited to welcome the Panama Posse to The Great Harbour Cay Marina!

We will celebrate your stay with an extra 10% over our low rates and look forward to tucking you into one of our 65 slips which are nestled inside a serene harbor. We have accommodated yachts up to 150 feet. Our “Hurricane Hole” is one of the most protected marinas in The Bahamas. Our service oriented, well-trained staff, is on hand 7 days a week to accommodate all your yachting and personal needs.

Meet General Manager, Steven Johnson, available 24/7 at 1(242)457-4216

The Marina and Dock Office are fully staffed 7 days a week from 7am-7pm

AMENITIES: Free Wifi · Pet Friendly · Restaurant · Restroom · Showers · Trash · Water · Transportation · Near GHC Airport  ·  a.m.o.

 

2)  PANAMA POSSE WELCOMES 
OUR NEWEST MEMBERS TO THE FLEET

348  SY ISLAND BOUND  🇺🇸 Bill & Melissa  – Kelly Peterson 44′

349  SY CLAPOTIS 52  🇺🇸 Charles & Anne – Lagoon 52′

350  SY AEOLIAN  🇺🇸  Jared  – Hanse 45′

351 SY TAMANGO 2 🇨🇭 Hanspeter  – Amel 53′

 Panama Posse fleet tracking. To be added follow this link >>

3) TIMING OF THE BAR 🇸🇻 EL SALVADOR CONTINUES TO CHALLENGE THE FLEET  

MY GITANA a Nordhavn 60′  entering El Salvador over the bar 

We are good, now in Bahia del sol. Hope to be heading south on Sunday. Both MY Last Arrow (reporting) and MY Gitana  image above) had very rough Bar crossings I went side ways with a knock down, got out and came through second time. Gitana knocked down twice made it on the 3rd attempt, I did have a steer issue occur with the jog level switching to Standy, second hand steered and locked the fins. Pilot was late so by the time we were crossing 40 mins past the turn of tide. Swells didn’t seem big but the breakers were very big.

MY LAST ARROW  🇺🇸  Vincent & Linda   – Nordhavn 65′

4) SAVE THE DATE  
SATURDAY JUNE 4TH, VISTA MAR MARINA 🇵🇦 PANAMA

The Boga bar will be once again the site of the Panama Posse 
Season Finale celebration with music, food, free rum and the obligatory fireworks.

A big thank you to Jacqueline and everyone at Vista Mar staff for being so supportive of the Panama Posse !

RSVP by following this link 
https://panamaposse.com/vmcelebration

 

Thank you for all those on the ground for helping out and putting this together 

5) ENTRY INTO THE UNINVITED VISITORS CATEGORY

Here are a few pics of show downs between our cat and the birds

SY WONOMA  🇨🇦 Christopher & Jessica  – Dufour 37′

6)  ENTRY INTO HIGHEST WIND RECORDED 

44.1 Knots

Our sportiest sail to date 

Papagayo wind action near Cabo Santa Elena   10° 53.271′ N 085° 57.6466′ W 

Nothing defeats us !

SY BOHEMIA 🇺🇸 Tom & Peter – Beneteau 36′

7)   SPECIAL SUMMER RATES IN CHIAPAS 🇲🇽 MEXICO 

Special Summer Rate for the Panama Posse in Chiapas 
July / Aug / Sep / Oct ’22  special flat fixed rate up to 60 feet in water
Monohulls $ 250 x month Catamarans $ 300 x month

Drystorage $.025 x foot x day + Travelift $ 12 x foot in & out

State of Chiapas has a tax rate of only 8 % IVA

Memo and Rolf at Marina Chiapas are ready to assist !

8) SEND US YOUR UPDATES – PICTURES – SUGGESTIONS 

YOUR EXPERIENCE COUNTS 

Call for Service provider data and fuel price data

Every vessel has their own journey and along the way you have encountered service providers – please let us know about what works and what doesn’t we’ll publish this list and facts to the Panama Posse fleet anonymously 

We all want to know the good the bad and the ugly please provide your feedback on service providers you have used with this simple form – we’ll update the results as soon as we get this data from you – just takes a few seconds and helps the next yacht !-> https://panamaposse.com/service-provider

9) HIGH TIDE ONLY NEW PANAMA MARINA ENTRANCE 

Waiting to enter into Marina Buenavantura, Panama at high tide. Emilio, boss man at the marina has been on top of everything. So far so good 

MY HO’OKIPA 🇺🇸  Lisa & Lucky Chucky – Selene 43′

10) DESTINATIONS AND EXCURSIONS

HUATULCO NATIONAL PARK 🇲🇽 MEXICO

 Huatulco National Park, also known as Bahias de Huatulco National Park is a national park of Oaxaca, Mexico. It was initially declared a protected area and later decreed as a National Park in 98. Located in Huatulco, to the west of Cruz Huatulco, it extends to an area of 29,000 acres . In the low lands of the park, there are 9,000 species of plants (about 50% of the species are reported throughout the country) in the forest and mangroves in the coastal belt. Fauna species have been identified as 264, which includes armadillos and white-tailed deer. Bird species are counted at 701, which include hummingbirds, pelicans and hawks. The reptile species are counted to be 470, which include Black Iguana, salamanders and snakes. Dolphins, whales and turtles are sighted species off the coast line, out of the identified 100 amphibian species. 

The Panama Posse was absolutely right about La India and Isla Cacaluta, why we missed the Line call yesterday, huge white sand beaches and great snorkeling and all alone at night. Our first stop at dawn from Acapulco was Playa Riscalillio/Jicaral perfect to rest after 48 hours sailing. Clear water, star filled nights, no cell service, water and weather perfect temperature at all the stops. Now at Playa Maguey for internet to check weather and eat out.  

  Clear water, star filled nights, no cell service, water and weather perfect temperature at all the stops. 

Now at Playa Maguey for internet to check weather and eat out. Not in a rush to cross to Chiapas, enjoying everything too much!

Back online for a moment after a week in the Bahías de Huatulco. Good Nautical provided us great, protected anchorages even with the Tehuantepec blowing strong. T

SY PATHFINDER  🇺🇸  Jean-Philippe & Nicole  – Lagoon 39′

NOTE: 
This area of Huatulco was the destination secret beach in the Mexican cult movie 
Y tu mama tambien

11) COIBA ISLAND 🇵🇦 PANAMA

The National Park of Coiba encompasses many smaller islands

 38 smaller islands are part of the Unesco world heritage site

Protection for coral reefs, humpback whales, pilot whales, killer whales, dolphins, sea turtles, manta rays, marlins and many other marine creatures.

Coiba has a tropical monsoon climate  with moderate to little rainfall from January to April and heavy to very heavy rainfall from May to December. 

Since 1993, through a collaboration with the Spanish Agency for Cooperation, a biological station was created in the park that to date has registered 36 species of mammals, 147 of birds and 39 species of amphibians and reptiles

SY CHIMERA 🇺🇸 Dennis & Margaret  – Beneteau 47′

12)  BOCAS DEL TORO 🇵🇦 REGATTA

Skipper briefings onboard MY Delta Swizzler 

The Bocas Regatta in full swing

Bocas Regatta underway – cruise ship in the background

MY DELTA SWIZZLER 🇺🇸  Mark & Cindy  – Vantare 58′

13)  PICTURES OF THE WEEK 

SHEARWATER under full canvas

SY SHEARWATER 🇺🇸  Eric & Pati   –  Formosa 50′ 

14) SUNSET PICTURE OFF THE BOW 

SY Second Set  🇺🇸   Chip & Kristina  – Robertson & Caine Leopard 49′

15) ENTRY INTO BIGGEST FISH CAUGHT 

SY JULIET 🇺🇸   LeeAnne  & Charlie – Mason 44′

16) AIDS TO NAVIGATION
 
PORT OF ENTRY REPORT 
BAHIA DE CARAQUEZ   🇪🇨  ECUADOR

Sorry this has taken me so long to put down on paper, but you know how things go with internet access and moving the boat etc. 

So, I can give you a breakdown of the costs we encountered this past fall of 2021 for clearing into and back out of Ecuador. I do this not to deter people, but the comment on the chat was made that Ecuador was a simple $180.00 to check in, and this is, or was, not the case. There were many other fees that got added and popped up…so it is worth knowing if someone is planning on going there.  

We on SV Wildhood, along with our good friends on Osa, cleared into Ecuador in Bahia de Caraquez on October 14, 2021. Maybe by fluke, or excellent seamanship, we timed the tides perfectly and did not have to drop anchor and wait to enter the river estuary. The pilot boat  from Puerto Amistad met us as we came into the outer bay, and we followed him in through the sand bars. On arrival to the mooring field off of the marina we dropped anchor for the first night as the moorings are much easier to attach when at low tide. Your entrance must be at high tide…and the pilot boat is highly advisable. None of our charts showed the “perfect path” into the river.

The following fees where what we needed to pay, for check in, and checking back out when we left (solo this time) on November 24, 2021. All prices in USD.

1. $ 20.00 – Pilot boat fee for being led in.

2. $ 200.00 – Initial fee for the “Autographo”, sent to Gene at Puerto Amistad 2 months prior. (We initially believed this to be our “clearance fees”, but later figured out it was basically the marinas “agency fee”.)

3. $ 147.00 – “Closed Port fee”, this was due to COVID, and is now apparently not necessary with the port being “open”.

4. $ 180.00 – Customs fee. 

5. $ 180.00 – Health visit/Covid tests, this was a visit to the boat by two nurses, $100.00 plus $20/person for the rapid tests. Not sure if this requirement has changed or not.

6. $ 189.00 – Check out/clearance out of Ecuador. Worth mentioning that customs does not come back to the Bahia for check out, so you have to go to Manta for this, plan ahead.

7. $ 50.00 – Taxi to Manta and back for Customs run.

8. $ 30.00 – Pilot boat fee for exiting the river. Not sure why it was more, and yes, it was a slightly different track out, and still very “skinny”, and we only draft 4’.

Total cost for checking in and back out – $ 996.00 USD

You may also be asked for a “Sewage Certificate” to go along with the initial paper work you send ahead of time.

It is also worth mentioning that if your boat will be in the river estuary for a bit, it will get dirty…and not just a little dirty, I mean absolutely filthy! We had full fish carcasses and skeletons all over our decks…and the associated bird droppings to go with them. The underwater growth is also amazing! If you have folding props you will want to go down and clean them off as ours would not have even opened up, they were that encrusted. You can pay the guys at the marina to clean your bottom if you so chose. Also worth mentioning, there is not a dock at the marina. Your boat will be on a mooring or anchored. Fuel can be tricky, as the fuel stations can only sell you a minimal amount (I forget the exact amount) at a time, so this may require several trips, on different days, or sweet talking the station attendant. And no fuel dock, jerry cans.

My initial comment on the PP chat was that the total costs were “over $1000.00”, I apologize as it seems my quick mental math was slightly off. The above is as exact as our records allow. I do not offer up this information to try and deter people from visiting Ecuador, it is an amazing country, and we loved it. Our month traveling inland was fantastic. However, on the PP chat it was mentioned recently that the cost for Ecuador was $180.00, and I figured it was worth mentioning that the overall price will be much different. It now seems that cruisers can save on the “closed port fee” as it is no longer “closed”. Although from what I have heard Bahia de Caraquez is still the only open port.

We have a lot of other “opinions” on the services there and what not, but this is not the place for that…folks can contact me directly with specific questions if they would like. Like I’ve said before, we loved Ecuador!

Cheers, and happy cruising!

Dirk, Jennifer and the Crew

SY WILDHOOD – Dirk & Jennifer & Crew – Perry Catamarans 43′

17) PANAMA POSSE SEASON AWARDS CATEGORIES 

HERE ARE THE CATEGORIES 

    BIGGEST FISH CAUGHT* ✔ 

    PICTURE OF THE YEAR ✔  

    PANAMA POSSE YODA OF THE YEAR ✔  

    SPEEDY AWARD – SEVENSTAR AWARD ✔  

    THE CAPTAIN RON AWARD ✔ 

    MOST UNWELCOME VISITOR ONBOARD ✔ 

    HIGHEST WIND RECORDED ✔ 

    SPIRIT OF EXPLORATION ✔ 

    GALLEY GOD(ESS) ✔ 

    GOOD SAMARITAN OF THE YEAR ✔  

    NEWLY ADDED – BOAT YOGA POSE OF THE YEAR ✔

*non billfish entries only 

Every season at the awards ceremony in Panama we give out some valuable liquid prizes and free weeks in marinas to the winners and sometimes even to the runners up , and of course Flor de Caña Rum. 

14)  PANAMA POSSE KITE SURFING 

Having a blast in Punta Chame, Panama
First ever OFFICIAL Panama Posse windsurfing summit !

SY BLESSED LIFE   🇺🇸  Bob and Margie – Catalina 42′
SY OUTVENTURE 🇵🇱 Jurgen & Iris – Lagoon 44′

19) MORE PICTURES OF THE WEEK

SY BEATA surfs into El Salvador

SY BEATA  🇺🇸 Billy & Ruth – Beneteau 45′

 20)  ” THE BIRDS OF MARINA CHIAPAS “

A lovely ebook has been made available by the Panama Posse S3 veterans and bird watchers extraordinaire Bill & Lisanne – 
Please follow this link to view it https://panamaposse.com/birds-of-chiapas

SY 🇺🇸  ROCINANTE Lisanne Aerts & Bill Streever – Pearson 44′

21) FEATURED VIDEO SY SAN’S ANCHOR CHAIN APP 

 

Anchor Chain Calculator App is designed to help you get this assurance. It will help you determine the minimal length of chain that you need to pay out, based on a number of weather conditions and vessel parameters. With this minimal length of chain the anchor only needs to bear the smallest possible load, which maximizes the chances that the anchor will actually hold. And if you cannot pay out that amount of chain, for one reason or another, the App will tell you how much the anchor load increases, and at which angle the chain will pull at the anchor. The larger this angle is, the less the anchor will hold, and so you will want to keep this angle small.

An important part of your anchor gear is the snubber / bridle, which is essential to absorb swell and often is not recognized for this. I encourage you to play around with this parameter to see what huge benefits good snubbers / bridles have.

A sure way to create a long and heated debate is to walk into a bar full of sailors and start a discussion about how to anchor correctly. It seems no topic is discussed more controversially than anchoring! And yet, it would appear so simple – your throw out your hook, make sure the chain and/or rode is long enough, make sure the hook bites, and that’s it. Yet, everybody seems to have their own recipe how to do things correctly when it comes to anchoring.

And certainly, if you are alone in a large bay at anchor, you can pay out all the chain you have. Then you may think, oh well, I could not possibly have done more than that.

It starts already here – will it be enough, what you did? Wouldn’t it be great to get a better sense of how your anchor gear will stand up to the weather foretasted for the next night? Do you have any safety margins built in? Is a scope of 5:1 really enough? Or should you go up to 7:1? Or even more? Or should you relocate the vessel to another place? What about snubbers and bridles? Do you need them? Or, perhaps you need to use as little chain as you possibly can, as you are rather close to a friendly neighbor at anchor, or a not-so-friendly corral reef. How much can you reduce the chain length and still be safe?

SY SAN 🇩🇪 Birte & Mathias – Neel 51′

22) PANAMA POSSE MARINA SPONSORS 

🇺🇸 Safe Harbor South Bay – Chula Vista, USA

🇲🇽 Marina Coral, Ensenada – Mexico  

🇲🇽 IGY Marina Cabo San Lucas  – Mexico  

🇲🇽 Marina Puerto Escondido – Mexico

🇲🇽 Marina Palmira Topolobampo – Mexico

🇲🇽 Marina y Club de Yates Isla Cortes – Mexico

🇲🇽 Marina el Cid – Mazatlan – Mexico

🇲🇽 Marina Vallarta, Puerto Vallarta – Mexico  

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

🇲🇽 Marina Ixtapa, Ixtapa – Mexico 

🇲🇽 La Marina Acapulco, Acapulco – Mexico  

🇲🇽 Vicente’s Moorings, 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  

🇪🇨 Marina Puerto Amistad – Ecuador  

🇵🇦 Buenaventura Marina – Panama 

🇵🇦 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 

🇹🇨 South Bank Marina & Boatyard – Turks and Caicos  

🇧🇸 Romora Bay Resort and Marina – Bahamas  

🇧🇸 Elizabeth on the Bay Marina – Bahamas 

🇧🇸 Great Harbour Cay Marina – Bahamas

🇧🇸 Blue Marlin Cove Resort & Marina – Bahamas  

🇩🇴 Ocean World Marina – Dominican Republic

🇩🇴 Marina Puerto Bahia – Dominican Republic    

🇺🇸 Marathon Marina – Marathon Keys 

🇺🇸 Pier 66  Hotel & Marina – Ft. Lauderdale, USA

🇺🇸 IGY Marina at Ortega Landing – Jacksonville, FL , USA 

🇺🇸 Oasis Marinas at Fernandina Harbor Marina – FL , USA  

🇺🇸 Morningstar Marinas Golden Isles St. Simons Isl. – Georgia, USA  

🇺🇸 Windmill Harbour Marina – Hilton Head South Carolina , USA  

🇺🇸 Coffee Bluff Marina – Savannah Georgia , USA  

🇺🇸 Hazzard Marine – Gerogetown, North Carolina , USA  

🇺🇸 Holden Beach  – Town Dock, North Carolina , USA 

🇺🇸 Portside Marina – Morehead City, North Carolina USA  

🇺🇸 Tideawater Yacht Marina – Portsmouth,  USA  

🇺🇸 Ocean Yacht Marina, Portsmouth, USA  

🇺🇸 York River Yacht Haven – Virginia , USA  

🇺🇸 Yorktown Riverwalk Landing – Virginia USA  

🇺🇸 Regatta Point Marina – Deltaville, Virginia USA 

The grounds at Marina Romora Bay Resort and Marina in the Bahamas

23)  PANAMA POSSE  SPONSORS 

• SHELTER ISLAND INFLATABLES 
• PREDICT WIND
• SEVENSTAR YACHT TRANSPORT
• HOME DEPOT PRO MEXICO
• HERTZ RENTAL CARS  MEXICO
• YACHT AGENTS GALAPAGOS 
• FLOR DE CAÑA
• CALIFORNIA YACHT MARINA
• WESTMARINE PRO
• SAILMAIL  

ECUADOR MARITIME AREA INFORMATION IS IN GOOD NAUTICAL

24) SEVENSTAR YACHT TRANSPORT

 SPONSORS THE PANAMA POSSE

More info on Sevenstar™s services can be found on https://www.sevenstar-yacht-transport.com/

Who is Sevenstar Yacht Transport?

Sevenstar is the world’s leading provider of yacht shipping services on a lift-on, lift-off basis.  

For a quote with the Panama Posse discount please contact 
Kris Caren  kris@sevenstar-usa.com   sevenstar-usa.com

25) PANAMA CANAL AGENT 
CENTENARIO CONSULTING ERICK GALVEZ

To arrange for transit with the Panama Canal Authority please contact Eric Galvez our dedicated Panama Canal agent and sponsor of the Panama Posse and the Pacific Posse

Erick Gálvez

Erick Gálvez

info@centenarioconsulting.com

www.centenarioconsulting.com

Cellphone +507 6676-1376

WhatsApp +507 6676-1376

26) STRATEGIC PARTNERS
 

SEVEN SEAS CRUISING ASSOCIATION

Vicente’s Moorings – Acapulco – Mexico

ONESAILS MEXICO – Puerto Vallarta – Mexico

Park Avenue Villas – San Juan del Sur – Nicaragua

Coconutz – Playa Cocos – Costa Rica

Abernathy – Chandlery – Panama

Pacific Posse 

Advertising Partners – Las Vegas

Safe-Esteem.com – Delaware

WE OPERATE UNDER INTERNATIONAL MARITIME LAW

YOUR VESSEL YOUR CREW YOUR RESPONSIBILITY 

Pacific Panama Islands Shores

panama posse communications 
 @ 9811 w charleston blvd 2262 89117 Summerlin USA

 

© 2022 Panama Posse / Good Nautical Inc