mvweebles
Guru
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2019
- Messages
- 8,526
- Location
- United States
- Vessel Name
- Weebles
- Vessel Make
- 1970 Willard 36 Trawler
A friend invited us to crew with them aboard their Nordhavn 55 up the Caribbean from Colon Panama to Cancun MX. We arrived in Panama 2-weeks ago and have been waiting for a break in the weather ever since. We used the time to travel through the country and spending quite a bit of time in Panama City which is a very large and mostly modern city.
It's just under 1000 nms from Colon to Cancun - just under 6-days. But there are two distinct weather systems - the SW Caribbean near Panama and Colombia; and the upper Caribbean along the Yucatan Penninsula. The lower Caribbean near Colombia is dominated by a persistant low pressure zone that really kicks-up seas and winds. Muirgen (TF member @slowgoesit ) waited over three weeks last year and still didn't get a great window. So we'll plan a bail-out at Cayman Islands if needed. Also possible we will bypass Mexico and head east towards Jamaica and up through the Grand Bahama Bank between Cuba and the Bahamas.
This coming Tuesday, April 8th, looks like the bug-out date so we've arrived at the boat to get ready. Shelter Bay Marina is located on the grounds of the old US Military Base "Fort Sherman." If you or anyone you know was 'in-country' in Vietnam during the war, they more than likely made a stop at the JWTC at Fort Sherman - Jungle Warfare Training Center. The US Army exited the base when the Canal Zone transferred to Panama in 1999.
About 95% of the boats here are sailboats, a third of those are catamarans.
Here's a smattering of the powerboats here - some are fairly large and to be expected but there are a few that may surprise many including a Bayliner 45/47 which would be near and dear to TF's @ksanders. Unlike his boat, this one looks a bit tired.
Another unlikely boat - a Bestway 45 also looking a bit tired.
A Sea Master 47 owned by a New Zealand couple that is for sale for $160k.
A Defever 53 that is a fellow Panama Posse boat and we've tracked since last year.
Here's a Moorings 41-foot Powercat. Note how low the bridge deck is - I'm sure it pounds mercilessly in any chop. Upside is there is likely a lot of interior space. At the boat show docks, you wouldn't see the bow.
Another Power Cat though this one is made for distance cruising. Guessing it was built in NZ or Oz. I'm awful at guessing boat length but would guess it at 75-feet long. It's a small boat for it's LOA as it has an enormous open air cockpit area in back. It's fairly low - I'd be interested in comments from other PC owners as some of the Malcom Tennant designs I've see have pretty high bows and more bridge-deck clearance.
Other notable boats I've seen:
Hatteras 58 that came down from Seattle area and is headed to Florida.
Delta Marine mega-yacht. Must be 150-feet long and has two 21-foot center console fishing boats on its aft deck
A very interesting 75-ish foot custom motoryacht that looks to be metal and perhaps an Ed Monk design. It's US flagged.
More to follow.....
Peter
It's just under 1000 nms from Colon to Cancun - just under 6-days. But there are two distinct weather systems - the SW Caribbean near Panama and Colombia; and the upper Caribbean along the Yucatan Penninsula. The lower Caribbean near Colombia is dominated by a persistant low pressure zone that really kicks-up seas and winds. Muirgen (TF member @slowgoesit ) waited over three weeks last year and still didn't get a great window. So we'll plan a bail-out at Cayman Islands if needed. Also possible we will bypass Mexico and head east towards Jamaica and up through the Grand Bahama Bank between Cuba and the Bahamas.
This coming Tuesday, April 8th, looks like the bug-out date so we've arrived at the boat to get ready. Shelter Bay Marina is located on the grounds of the old US Military Base "Fort Sherman." If you or anyone you know was 'in-country' in Vietnam during the war, they more than likely made a stop at the JWTC at Fort Sherman - Jungle Warfare Training Center. The US Army exited the base when the Canal Zone transferred to Panama in 1999.
About 95% of the boats here are sailboats, a third of those are catamarans.
Here's a smattering of the powerboats here - some are fairly large and to be expected but there are a few that may surprise many including a Bayliner 45/47 which would be near and dear to TF's @ksanders. Unlike his boat, this one looks a bit tired.
Another unlikely boat - a Bestway 45 also looking a bit tired.
A Sea Master 47 owned by a New Zealand couple that is for sale for $160k.
A Defever 53 that is a fellow Panama Posse boat and we've tracked since last year.
Here's a Moorings 41-foot Powercat. Note how low the bridge deck is - I'm sure it pounds mercilessly in any chop. Upside is there is likely a lot of interior space. At the boat show docks, you wouldn't see the bow.
Another Power Cat though this one is made for distance cruising. Guessing it was built in NZ or Oz. I'm awful at guessing boat length but would guess it at 75-feet long. It's a small boat for it's LOA as it has an enormous open air cockpit area in back. It's fairly low - I'd be interested in comments from other PC owners as some of the Malcom Tennant designs I've see have pretty high bows and more bridge-deck clearance.
Other notable boats I've seen:
Hatteras 58 that came down from Seattle area and is headed to Florida.
Delta Marine mega-yacht. Must be 150-feet long and has two 21-foot center console fishing boats on its aft deck
A very interesting 75-ish foot custom motoryacht that looks to be metal and perhaps an Ed Monk design. It's US flagged.
More to follow.....
Peter
