OCEAN POSSE 
 FLEET UPDATE APRIL 7, 2024

APRIL 7, 2024

 Progress lies not in enhancing what is, 

but in advancing toward what will be.

 – Khalil Gibran

TOP NEWS  

• Season 7  Posse Seminars and Events Past and Future
• Sunsets from Mexico to Panama with Posse Meetups in Between 🇲🇽 🇨🇷  🇵🇦 
• Season 7 Award Entries: Biggest Fish Caught, Pictures of the Year
• The Adventure Continues in Holandes Cay, Panama 🇵🇦
• Posse Perk: Sharing Tracks and Inspiring One Another
• OpenCPN Tutorial: Turn on Tracks and Share Tracks
• BONUS: Ceviche: A MUST SAMPLE ALONG THE ROUTE
• Easter Meet up in Marina Papagayo 🇨🇷
• PredictWind Perks: Tracking and Wave Polars explained
• Good Nautical: Pargos Cove, Gulfo Dulce, Costa Rica 🇨🇷
• Meet the Fleet: SY MARIA NOA
• Safety Alert: Safety Flares Revisited
• MUST SEE: Belize Barrier Reef 🇧🇿
• SV BISOU FOR SALE
• Atlantic Posse  🧭 Forming
• South Pacific Posse  4 🗿  Underway ! 

🇲🇽 🇧🇿 🇨🇷 🇳🇮 🇨🇴 🇨🇺 🇪🇨 🇸🇻 🇵🇦 🇩🇴 🇭🇳 🇯🇲 🇧🇸 🇹🇨 🇰🇾 🇬🇹 

277 Yachts are signed up -
NEXT SEASON SIGNUP AND RENEWALS 
STARTS MAY 15 

1)  PICTURES OF THE WEEK

Good times waiting for a weather window to cross the Tehuantepec to Chiapas, Mexico 🇲🇽 

SV KEY LIME PIE 🇺🇸 Pawel & Shelly - Kelley Peterson 44'

SY LOST PEARL 🇨🇦 Onno - Hardin 45′

& MORE

White faced Capuchin Monkeys are curious onlookers from the trees, Costa Rica  🇨🇷

SY EVER AFTER 🇺🇸 Andrew & Laura - Jeanneau 44′

Tiadup, Guna Yala, Panama 🇵🇦 

SY BOUNDLESS 🇺🇸   Daniel & Naiby - Shannon 43′

2)   PANAMA POSSE 🇧🇿 BELIZE YACHT FEST 

@ PLACENCIA YACHT CLUB

16° 30.471’N 088° 21.7216′ W

Sunset atmosphere - dinghies arriving at high speed 

Placencia Yacht Club Anchorage - room for 150 + yachts 

SAVE APPROACH   @ 16° 29.9333′ N 088° 20.9266' W

Welcoming drift wood

The venue is set 

Marly and Leslie representing  from Belize Tourism Board 

3) SUNSETS FROM PANAMA TO MEXICO

POSSE GATHERINGS IN BETWEEN

Sunset off Baneup island, San Blas Panama  🇵🇦

MY MUIRGEN 🇺🇸 Scot & Laura - Beebe 50′

 “EL SALVADOR 6” in Bahia Santa Elena, Costa Rica 🇨🇷 

 The very bravest and yet, the very kindest, of all sailors!

SY FIN 🇺🇸 Michael & Susan- Lagoon 450F 45′

Sunset in San Juanico, Sea of Cortez, Mexico 🇲🇽 

SY DAWN PATROL 🇺🇸  Laney & Mark  - Outbound 46’

4) SEASON 7 AWARD NOMINATIONS:

 TWO NEW BIGGEST FISH CAUGHT ENTRIES

Monster King Mackeral Peter brought aboard SY BOHEMIA 

SY BOHEMIA 🇺🇸 Tom & Peter - Beneteau 36'

Fortitude X caught sailfish crossing the Tehuantepec 🇲🇽

Note * Billfish is excluded from Biggest Fish Award BUT THE CATCH IS STILL IMPRESSIVE 

SY FORTITUDE X 🇨🇦 Stefanie & Torsten - Beneteau 43′

TWO NEW PICTURE OF THE YEAR ENTRIES

Pelican flying across the setting sun in Bahía Huevos, Costa Rica 🇨🇷 

MV SERENITY 🇺🇸 Kurt & Kylie - Horizon 77′

Space X from Bahia San Marte, Sea of Cortez, Mexico 🇲🇽 

SY JOURNEY 🇺🇸 Anne & Remmi – Manta 42’

Flor de Caña sponsors the Panama  Posse 

ANNUAL AWARDS INCLUDE:

• BIGGEST FISH CAUGHT*
• PICTURE OF THE YEAR
• 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
• BOAT YOGA POSE OF THE YEAR
• COURAGE AWARD

Nominate yourself, a crew member, or another boat   

SUBMIT ENTRIES ON THE LINE AP OR EMAIL TO EDITOR@PANAMAPOSSE.COM

Share the adventure

5) PANAMA POSSE EVENTS 

Placencia Yacht Club hosting event Saturday, April 6th, 2024 🇧🇿 

SEASON FINALE AND AWARD CEREMONY 

MAY 11 BUENAVENTURA MARINA 🇵🇦  PANAMA

6) THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES 

IN EAST HOLANDES CAY  🇵🇦 

Posse perk: going snorkeling in new places with new friends

Some places are too good to be kept a secret.  SY COURAGE continued
adventure in Holandes Cay meeting another boat that took them to a
snorkeling spot they may not have otherwise found in the San Blas,
Panama.

TRIP REPORT:

What we wanted to follow up with is the great snorkeling we were taken to by Bob and Joan of SY GREENFLASH yesterday
morning. it is to the west of the swimming pool and a dinghy ride up a
deeper water channel to the deeper water inner side of the coral break
wall along the north of the island. The picture below has two dots where
the channel begins and ends and two fish symbols where we spent a few
hours admiring underwater life (rays, sharks, coral of all kinds, fish
of all kinds). and a brief video so you can see water conditions out in
the swell and water conditions in the deeper water on the inside of
break wall. We would rank these spots as very good, but west Holandes
Cay remains our favorite.

This snorkelers treasure map is marked with fish instead of an 'X'

SY COURAGE 🇺🇸 John & Kristine – Tartan 4100

SY GREEN FLASH 🇺🇸 Bob & Joan – Beneteau 35’

Thank you for Sharing your Adventures on the water !

 7) SHARING YOUR ADVENTURES  
is the heart and soul of the Panama Posse 

Please
share pictures of your adventures, your award entries/nominations, your
breathtaking sunsets, and picturesque anchorages on our group
communications platform for others to enjoy in real time and/or email
Maurisa at editor@panamaposse.com
to share in the upcoming newsletter.  Maurisa is a sailor among
us.  She is part of the Ocean Posse crew and enjoys writing fun and
helpful updates to the Panama Posse. 

Sloth hanging out at the Gamboa Sloth Sanctuary in Panama 🇵🇦 

8) POSSE PERK: 

SHARING TRACKS & INSPIRING ONE ANOTHER
  

SONG OF THE SEA makes landfall in the Marquesas 
THEY ARE NOW PART OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC POSSE !

9) OPEN CPN TUTORIAL

📍 TURN ON TRACKING

 SHARE TRACKS 🔗 

OpenCPN
is an excellent navigational tool and Panama Posse members have access
to many resources and tutorials to better understand and use the program
effectively.  

For those that have OpenCPN here is a quick tutorial on how to use tracking and share tracking with Open CPN:

Once connected to GPS or NMEA – please enable tracking 

Once you are tracking the yellow line will show your track right click on it and select properties 

You can then save this track or import another one …

To manage routes click on the Route and Mark Manager Icon on the left 

Next 

Navigate to the GPX file you wish to import 

Next activate the track in the ROUTE TAB 

Next ACTIVATE THE ROUTE and VOILA 

To import GPX tracks from Good Nautical look for the tracks shared on the right bar and download to your device 

Review route details 

Download the GPX and import into Open CPN as outlined above 

AND DISPLAY THE ROUTE IN OPEN CPN WITH A SEQUENCE OF SAVE WAYPOINTS

BONUS: CEVICHE 🧑‍🍳

 SAMPLE ALONG THE ROUTE

Ceviche
has it's roots in the northwestern region of South America that are now
known as Ecuador and Peru.  Overtime the dish has spread
throughout Central America with each country, each region, each family
adding their own touch of individuality.  Ceviche is the result of
fish and/or other seafood, like shrimp, conch, or Octopus being
submerged in salt and lime juice.  The chemical process that occurs
is similar to fish getting 'cooked' in which the flesh turns opaque and
gets firm...although the fish is not truly cooked.  

A colorful bowl of shrimp ceviche

The
additional ingredients, the presentation, the size, and the
accompaniments vary greatly.  For instance, along the Gold Coast in
Mexico ceviche is commonly a mix of fish or mixed seafood with
tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, and cilantro served on a large platter with
a basket overflowing with various large corn disks called tostados.
Further south, in Panama, ceviche is commonly served in small
individual servings with diced onions and lots of juice.  They are
both DELICIOUS ....just different....and sampling ceviche along the
route is highly recommended.  

My
favorite ceviche as of late was a new twist that I encountered sailing
to the southernmost island in the Perlas.  The base of the ceviche
is still the same: fish submerged in salt and lime juice making the
flesh firm and opaque.  The twist that was a taste bud sensation
was in the additional ingredients, namely coconut.  Suddenly,
ceviche was a fusion of flavors.  It was still crisp and fresh, and
now rich and creamy.  I was in heaven!

Fresh caught Corvina is a choice fish for Ceviche

In
my galley, the variation on my ceviche has a lot to do with what I have
so it is often not the same twice.  That said, I do have a general
process.

So far my process:

Step 1: Fresh caught corvina, snapper, or dorado, diced, and put in a bowl.

Step 2: Sprinkle with salt and cover with fresh squeezed lime juice.  Place in the fridge.  Let sit about 30 min.

Step 3: 
Dice what fresh additions I have that sound good.  Ideally, onion
(purple is pretty), jalapeno, tomato, and a leafy green (either cilantro
or culantro ).  

Step 4: When
I am ready to serve, I mix everything together.  Lately, if I want
to try the coconut variation I add in some coconut milk and either a
dash of fish sauce or soy sauce.  I sample and add salt to taste.

Step 5: Serve with chips or tostadas.

SY WHIRLWIND 🇺🇸 Maurisa, Mike, Russell & Josea – Alajuela 48’

10) MARINA PAPAGAYO 🇨🇷 COSTA RICA 

SPONSORS THE PANAMA POSSE

Marina
Papagayo is proud to continue our sponsorship of the Panama Posse fleet
for the 2020/21 season.  Our dockage discount for Posse members
is:

• Stay three nights pay for two
• Stay for a week and pay for five days
• Stay for a month and pay the annual monthly rate
• Complimentary drink coupons for the Dive bar on arrival  

We look forward to welcoming you to Marina Papagayo.  

Best Regards,

Dan

Dan Eaffaldano

Gerente, Marina Papagayo

Tel: + 506 2690-3600
Tel: + 506 2690-3602
VHF: 16

E-mail: dan.eaffaldano@marinapapagayo.com

Web: marinapapagayo.com

GATEWAY TO THE EASTERN TROPICAL PACIFIC

Situated
below the hurricane line and sheltered from the northern Papagayo
winds, Marina Papagayo’s naturally protected harbor offers a year-round
safe haven in a yachting paradise, just 30 minutes from an international
airport. An idyllic stop-off point and staging area for epic diving and
underwater adventures in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Seascape. Malpelo
Island, Isla del Coco, Coiba and the Galápagos are all close by.

A FULL SERVICE DEEP SEA PORT

Marina
Papagayo offers 180 fully serviced berths for yachts up to 250 feet
LOA, with both single & 3-phase electrical service, grey & black
water disposal and wireless broadband. All complimented by a wide range
of services and amenities, including mooring assistance, 24/7
monitoring, yacht assist, on-site provisioning, fuel bunkering and
dockside concierge service. From airport transfer, shuttle service, car
rentals, dining reservations and activities for captains and crew
members, the marina concierge team is at your service.

WHERE CAPTAIN IS KING

While
staying at Marina Papagayo, captains and crew enjoy access to select
facilities and amenities on Peninsula Papagayo. Including seven
spectacular beaches, the Arnold Palmer Signature golf course, Andaz
Costa Rica Resort Beach House and miles of hiking and biking trails. For
insider access to nature unleashed, check out Papagayo Explorers Club.
Their expert guides, naturalists and translators are available for crew
expeditions off the beaten path.

VESSELS OF ALL SHAPES AND SIZES

Among
its ultra-wide, custom-designed floating dock system, 180 owner and
guest slips can accommodate a wide variety of watercraft. From
superyachts and luxury cruisers to schooners and sportfishing vessels.
Ultimately, 350 slips will fill the marina, making it the largest and
most advanced in Costa Rica.

MARINA SUITES

The
village at Marina Papagayo is undergoing a metamorphosis, offering new
and enhanced amenities for owners and guests. A refreshed seaside
apartment hotel offers studio, 1- and 2-bedroom suites with daily
housekeeping, pool, gym, lounge and meeting rooms.

Panama Posse Party Papagayo Costa Rica  

(7) Posse boats all together for Easter dinner!  Was a great time and wonderful food.  

MV PAUSE: 

I would like to give a shout out to Dan and his team at Marina Papaguayo, CR.
There are 7 PP boats here now and we mentioned that we would like
to have a get together on Easter.  Dan provided a place for the
party, drove across the peninsula to borrow a grill for us , bought 3
bags of charcoal and donated 2 cases of beer for our party.  That
is going above and beyond.  Thanks Dan!

SV BRIGADOON, SV QUE VENDRA, SV PERCEPTION, SV FIREFLY, MV SERENITY, MV PAUSE, MV MARTINI

11) PREDICTWIND SPONSORS THE PANAMA POSSE: 

TAKE A DEEP DIVE INTO TRACKING & WAVE POLARS 

PREDICTWIND offers mariners powerful tools to advance 
their safety and weather routing capabilities 

We
support the Panama Posse with free tracking and a Discount 20% off
>> 499/year for Pro, 249 for 3 months, 249/year Standard , 99 for 3
months.

To claim your discount please login and email support@predictwind.com with your vessel name and email address

There are multiple ways to take advantage of the tracking offered by Predictwind:

1. Sign up for PredictWind Pro package using the Posse 20% Discount and tracking will be automatic through your PredictWind Pro account.
2. Sign up for PredictWind Standard package using the 20% Discount and you can link to a PredictWind tracking page using Datahub automatically
3. Tracking is also available for Panama Posse members without a PredictWind Subscription using Garmin Inreach URL link which will link automatically 
4. PredictWind also offers Posse members a tracking page that can be managed manually.  This method is a bit more cumbersome, but do'able.  See the link and article below for explanation.

Note: Starlink customers will require a Datahub to get automated tracking. It cannot track without it.

https://help.predictwind.com/en/articles/4246589-how-to-use-gps-manual-tracking-in-the-offshore-app

PredictWind Pro Subscribtions get access to PredictWind advance Weather Routing Features.  Highlighted here are WAVE POLARS

Boats respond to waves in their own unique manner based on boat specifications

With
PredictWind Weather Routing, you can set your Wave Polar not only to
define the performance of your boat in various wave conditions but also
to view the Roll, Vertical accelerations and Slamming Incidence that
your boat will experience through the route.

Setting
up the Wave polar can only be done on the PredictWind Website at
https://forecast.predictwind.com; once set up, all the PredictWind Apps
will use these settings saved on your account. The Apps (PredictWind App
and Offshore App) cannot modify the Wave polar settings. They can only
turn it ON or OFF.

To set up Wave polar:

• Go to the weather routing page, then click Routing Preferences.
• Press the Wave Polar button in the Routing Settings section
• You will first need to turn ON Wave polar
• Next, turn OFF Advanced Wave Polar (if it isn't already. We will explain Advanced Wave polar at the bottom of this article)

If
you use a Predefined Polar, make sure the checkbox indicating "Use
Predefined Boat Dimensions" is ticked. The boat dimensions of our
Predefined Polars will be automatically defined using this setting,
saving you the effort of looking them up.

If
you're not using a Predefined Polar or think the values given are
incorrect, uncheck the box, then fill out the fields, Displacement, LWL,
Beam and Draught. If you're unsure what these values mean, click on the
link: "What are Displacement, LWL, Beam and Draught?" The image below
will be shown on screen.

The router will use these supplied dimensions to alter the performance of your boat based on the influence of wave conditions.

Note:
For sailboats the the roll damping effect of the mainsail is accounted
for. The mainsail forms a large part (around 40 – 60%) of the roll
damping. So, resonant roll motions may be approximately doubled with no
sails up.

If motoring, it has been assumed that the mainsail is hoisted.

Roll, Vertical Acceleration & Slamming Incidence

(Only available on the Professional Subscription.)

There are three new data points output by the router at each route point: Roll, Vertical Acceleration and Slamming Incidence.

Roll
is the root-mean-square (RMS) roll amplitude in degrees. When roll
motions are large, moving around the boat and performing tasks becomes
difficult. Objects not strapped down are likely to move. A roll RMS
limit of 4 degrees is often used to move around the boat and complete
tasks safely. Roll tends to be the largest in beam seas. For sailing
yachts, which have a heel angle, the roll is the change in heel angle
due to the waves.

There
are three new graphs on the graphs tab of the route results, one for
each new variable; the data is also given in a tabular format on the
wave tab.

Vertical acceleration is
pitching or a vessel's up and down motion. This is characterized by the
rising and falling of the bow and stern. Vertical acceleration is the
root-mean-square vertical acceleration in 'g's' (1.0 = Earth's gravity
9.81 m/s^2). Vertical acceleration is a good indicator of the potential
for the crew to get seasick. The algorithm considers the primary,
secondary and tertiary swells to calculate the overall vertical
acceleration for the boat. The higher the acceleration, the more likely
the crew will get seasick.

A vertical acceleration limit of 0.2g is often used for safely performing tasks and avoiding seasickness.

Vertical Acceleration Graph

"Slamming Incidence”
is the likelihood of experiencing at least one slamming event per
minute. For monohulls, slamming is measured near the bow (10% LWL from
the forward extent of the waterline). When this part of the boat emerges
clear of the water and then impacts the water with a high relative
vertical velocity, it is called a slamming event. For sailing
catamarans, slamming is measured at the cross-deck structure (bridge
deck), and again is based on relative vertical velocity. For either
monohulls or catamarans, a slamming incidence of 50% is considered
excessive and may lead to hull damage or injuries to the crew.

Slamming Incidence graph

To
continue learning more about the Wave Polar Features on PredictWinds
Pro Subscription see the link below.  This article sets it out
well.

https://help.predictwind.com/en/articles/5979677-weather-routing-using-wave-polars

12) GOOD NAUTICAL: 

PARGOS COVE, GULFO DULCE, COSTA RICA  🇨🇷 

Golfo
Dulce, Costa Rica (north end) – Near Pargos Cove there some underwater
geothermal hot springs where the water temp goes from a balmy 82 degrees
to a hot 106 degrees.

GPS coordinates at 08° 43.730 N  083°  23.314 W

Visually, vector the small island sea cave with the slightly offshore rock formation and that’s where the thermals are.

https://goodnautical.com/costa-rica/point-interest/geothermal-hot-springs

CRACKERJACK & SERENITY at Pargos Cove, Golfo Dulce, CR

Glassy calm anchorage

MV CRACKERJACK  David & Nancy- King Yacht 47′

& SY SERENITY 🇺🇸 Mark & Kathryn – Antares 44′

Registration for Panama Posse Season 8 starts May 15th - or to simply rollover to next season send an email to registration@panamaposse.com with the words "RENEW" 

13) PLACENCIA YACHT CLUB 🇧🇿 BELIZE 

SPONSORS THE PANAMA POSSE

16° 30.5216′ N   088°21.7333′ W

https://panamaposse.com/placencia-yacht-club

We are please to sponsor the Panama Posse with a 20 % discount on our slip fees

CONTACT

 Beat,  Caroline, dogs & Heyson Garcia

PLACENCIA YACHT CLUB

info@clearwaterexploring.com

www.placencia-yacht-club.com

T: +501 639 8555

Whatsapp   +41 78 605 5181

VHF 68

RATES

4bzd/2usd/ x ft 20% off

Potable Water free

Metered Electricty

Placencia Yacht Club

14) LATITUDES AND ATTITUDES 

& PANAMA POSSE

“The Journey is the Destination”

PANAMA POSSE PARTICIPANTS RECEIVE: 

 $5.00 off per subscription

Hello, Please use the coupon code upon checkout : panamaposse

The
#1 Cruising Lifestyle publication on the planet just keeps getting
bigger and better! Incredible destination articles and features by the
cruisers themselves, including how-to’s, DIY and exciting new products!

15) MEET THE FLEET  

SV MARIA NOA

Hans-Joerg & Brigitta

Hannes and Brigitta with Maria Noa in the background

Our
sailing Catamaran MariaNoa , a Lagoon40 has been our home for the past 3
year. Because of a special incident in our life we decided to leave our
hometown Hamburg/Germany to sail around the world on a boat.

We,
that’s Hannes, the skipper and Brigitta, sailor and head chef, started
in Les Sables d’Olonnes/France in February 2021, in the middle of the
Covid time. After traveling the Canary Islands for 7 months, we sailed
across the Atlantic to Barbados via Capo Verde.

For
2 years we enjoyed traveling the Caribbean, with Martinique, St.Vincent
and the Grenadines, Grenada and back north with several stopovers to
the British Virgin Islands.

The first hurricane season we spent on the ABC Islands and Colombia.

The
following year we focused on the Western Caribbean with Dominican
Republic, Turks and Caicos, Bahamas, Florida, Cuba and Mexico. Last year
our Hurricane Hole was the Rio Dulce/Guatemala after we had been to
Belize.  Because of a lightning strike in the Rio Dulce in July
2023, we had to stay much longer in Guatemala than intended to get our
ship repaired.

Now
the boat is fit again, and we have been enjoying the San Blas Islands
in Panama since January. A few days ago, we arrived in the Pacific
through the Panama Canal and are now preparing for the Galapagos Islands
and French Polynesia.

Eventually
Kiribati in the South Seas is one of Hannes’ dream destinations.
Afterwards we slowly drift towards Australia and see where the wind
blows us next.