Category Archives: Panama

Welcome to Panama City, Panama

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Continued from yesterday… At 0400, we approached the anchorage for the large boats coming from/going to the Panama Canal. We could have done circles for two hours until dawn broke, but since the ships were not moving, were lit, and all had AIS, we were confident that we could navigate safely. 

Even though there was plenty of space for us to navigate between the vessels, we still felt quite close to the monstrous ships that we passed. 

A couple small pangas came really close to us during the twilight approach to the marina. At one point dinghy zoomed across our the bow so close that it made our hearts skip a beat. Here is a photo looking back at the large vessel anchorage as dawn broke.

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Passage from Puerto Chiapas to Panama City – Days 6 – 7.25

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Thursday, January 9 — It was another ominously grey day with light wind. The lack of wind made it very hot outside, so we again ran the AC. There was very little wind chop, but the swell had increased in the wee hours of the morning to 3 – 6 feet from our port side at relatively fast intervals, so it was a bit rolly. In the late morning/early afternoon, we went through a pass between two islands, which gave us a little reprieve from the swells.

The conditions varied throughout the afternoon and evening, but overall, conditions were pretty good. Eric saw some dolphins and Keith saw a turtle. And, we saw lots of birds.

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Passage from Puerto Chiapas to Panama City – Days 3 – 5

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Sunrise on January 6, 2024

in the morning, the swells were about 4 feet and coming from two different directions: on the nose and on the starboard right quarter, so we were both hobby-horsing and lurching. The intervals between the swells had increased, too, adding to the discomfort. The good news was that the wind was light at about 4-knots, so wind waves were small. 

It was miserably hot again, so we ran the AC for most of the day to help minimize the discomfort.  We had a pod of dolphins come to play for a while. Christi saw a turtle.

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Passage from Panama City to Golfito, Costa Rica

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The nice, smooth ride lasted until around noon yesterday. Then we turned a corner, so the wind and waves were coming from our starboard (right) side rather than the rear. The comfort level was only modestly affected and it was still an overall pleasant ride. Throughout the afternoon, the wind speed climbed quite a bit. The wind was coming from the shore, and since we were paralleling the shoreline, there wasn’t enough fetch for the waves to pick up too much, but it did get lumpier. The dual stabilization probably helped. The day was sunny, bright and clear, which was a nice change of pace. Pretty much the whole time we have been in Panama, it has been gray, overcast and gloomy, so we were appreciating the sunshine. We enjoyed looking at Panama’s scenic mountain coastline while we motored along. As the day wore on, we saw less and less traffic.

We ran our generator almost all day, making water, doing laundry, and enjoying the AC. It is really hot out today, probably because it is so sunny. Eric checked the fan and shaft temperature several times, concerned that they had been running hot in Gatun Lake. The fan seems to be working great. The shaft temperature is actually lower than normal, and we assume it is because the water temperature is about 15 degrees cooler than it was in the Atlantic.

At about sunset, a big school of dolphins came to play with the boat. Usually they only play on the bow, but this set also played with the paravanes. They are a different species to what we are used to seeing. According to a flier we had picked up somewhere, they are called Continue reading →

Checking Out of Panama

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Today the plan was to get an early start. We’d check out of the country and go to the grocery store in the morning, then spend a leisurely afternoon getting the boat ready for sea and pull up anchor at 1700.

It all started off well. On the way in to shore, we saw a big, pretty jellyfish in the water. We stopped to watch it for a couple of minutes. They are so graceful and elegant. Over the few days we have been here, we managed to pawn off 14 of the tires to assorted cruisers getting ready to transit. We had our 6 remaining tires in the dinghy with us. We carried them up the huge ramp to the trash dumpster, and paid the disposal fee at the same office we pay the dinghy fee. It was low tide, so it was a steep walk up that ramp.

We hopped in a taxi and went to Continue reading →