PANAMA Cruising Guide

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PANAMA Cruising Guide

When most sailors think of Panama, they think of it as just an easy gateway to the Caribbean, or west to the Pacific. There is much to be seen in this country however, so you don't have to rush through that famous Canal.

• About Panama
• Marine Weather in Panama
• Major Ports in Panama
• Marinas in Panama
• Islands in Panama
• The Geography of Panama
  
• Politics, Provinces, Demographics of Panama
  
• PANAMA CANAL Cruising Guide
• Comments and tips about cruising in Panama
  

About Panama

Panama, officially the Republic of Panama (Spanish: República de Panamá), is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on an isthmus, some categorize it as a transcontinental nation connecting the north and south part of America. It borders Costa Rica to the north-west, Colombia to the south-east, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. It is an international business center and is also a transit country. In Central America, it is the second most industrialized country, behind El Salvador, Panama is also the 3rd largest economy in Central America, after Guatemala and Costa Rica and has the largest expenditure on resource consumption, making the country the largest consumer in Central America.

Weather in Panama

Panama Climate: By Regions
Temperatures vary according to geography. The climate is less tropical at higher elevations. In mountain areas the average annual temperature ranges from 10ºC to 19ºC (50-66ºF) at various mountain elevations.

Panama Climate: By Seasons
Days are hot, nights much cooler; temperatures range from 32 °C (90 °F) during the daytime to 21 °C (70 °F) in the evening practically year-round. Humidity is always high at about 80 percent. The rainy season takes place between October and November.

• Weather in Panama
  
• Marine weather for Santiago, Panama
• Current Weather Conditions in David, Panama
• Marine Weather Howard Air Force Base, Panama
• Boating weather for Tocumen, Panama
• Caribbean Surface temperature and Current Forecast
• National Hurricane Center

Major Ports in Panama

* Almirante
* Balboa
* Bahia De Las Minas
* Bocas Del Toro
* Boca Chica
* Colon, Panama
* Cristobal
* Chiriqui Grande
* Isla Parida
* Puerto Aguadulce
* Puerto Armuelles
* San Juan
* Mensabe
* Miraflores Lake
* Pedregal
* Porvenir
* Rio Diabolo

Marinas in Panama

• Balboa Yacht Club - Monitors VHF channel 6 phone: 507-228-5794 Railway Haul-out
• Bocas Yacht Club & Marina
• Careening Cay Marina
• Careening Cay Resort & Marina
• The Flamenco Marina - monitors VHF channel 10. Phone: 507-314-0665 email: marina at fuerteamador.com.
• Marina Boca Chica
• Match Shipping Management, Balboa
• Match Shipping Management, Cristobal
• Miramar Inter-Continental hotel
• Panama Canal Yacht Club - On the Caribbean side. Daily cruiser’s net on VHF 72 at 0730
• Panamarina
• Pedro Miguel Boat Club - Located in the Canal at the Pedro Miguel locks.
• Shelter Bay Marina, Panama

Shelter Bay Marina: Cruisers say this is a good place to prepare your boat for a canal transit, haul your boat for a bottom job, or leave your boat in a a safe, "hurricane free" dry storage yard while you explore inland or return home.
When approaching the breakwater, you can call Cristobal Signal on VHF channel 12 or 16 and notify them of your presence.
If you have just transited the canal coming from the Pacific side, drop off your pilot or advisor at anchorage "F" or "the Flats." Proceed North along the marked channel like you are heading to the main breakwater opening. Nearing the breakwater opening you will see the Shelter Bay green buoys on your port side. Turn left keeping the green "SB" buoys just to port and run parallel to the breakwater. Continue to the marina bay entrance. At aproximately 9 22.23N and 79 56.864W you will see white concrete markers SB 12 Red and SB 13 Green showing the boundries of the harbor entrance. Stay between the markers and procced past the coast guard docks to the Marina. Contact the marina office on VHF 74 for your slip assignment.
If you are coming from the Caribbean ocean, enter the big ship channel and turn right after passing through the entrance. Follow the breakwater keeping the green SB buoys on your port. See above for the harbor entrance instructions.
If you will be entering the harbor after dark, contact this Panama marina on the phone (507) 6613-1558, or VHF 74 during business hours to notify them of your estimated time of arrival so the marina staff can assist you.

Islands in Panama

• Bocas del Toro Islands
• Isla Bastimentos
• Isla Colon
• Cañas
• Cébaco
• Isla Iguana - Pedasi - Azuero
• Coiba
• Gulf of Chiriqui Islands - The Gulf of Chiriqui is a part of Panama that encompasses Coiba National Park and Golfo de Chiriqui National Park. There are many islands in this Gulf. Along with the islands of Coiba National Park there is also Islas Secas, Los Ladrones, Parilla and Montuoso. Montuoso is the farthest island from Panama in this Gulf. During certain seasons, you can even spot Galapagos seals on Montuoso. The Gulf of Chiriqui also includes one of the most famous fishing areas, Hannibal Banks. Here "the sky is the limit" as to the size of the fish you can catch. Coiba National Park has gained World Heritage Site status. Many of the same species found in Coiba National Park can also be found in other areas of this Gulf. Los Ladrones is a small group of four islands. The four islands are the only islands that appear above the surface. There are many islands that come up almost to the surface, some of them dangerous for boats. 300 foot deep channels also cut through the area, bringing in large fish and mammals.

• Isla Boca Brava
• Isla Parida
• Isla Sevilla
• Islas Secas a group of sixteen islands.

• Gulf of Panama Islands
• Panama Bay Islands (Panama Bay is part of the Gulf of Panama)
• Causeway Islands
• Otoque
• Taboga
• Taboguilla
• Archipelago Las Perlas (aka Pearl Islands)
• Isla Bolano
• Isla Bayoneta
• Isla de Boyarena
• Isla Buena Vista
• Isla Canas
• Isla Casaya
• Isla Casayeta
• Isla Chapera
• Isla Chitre
• Isla Cocos
• Isla Contadora
• Isla del Rey
• Isla Espirito Santos
• Isla Galera
• Isla Gallo
• Isla Gibraleon
• Isla José
• Isla la Mina
• Isla Lampon
• Isla Mogo Mogo
• Isla Monte
• Isla Pacheca
• Isla Pachequille
• Isla Pedro Gonzalez
• Isla Puerco
• Isla Saboga
• Isla San Blas
• Isla San Jose
• Isla Senora
• Isla San Telmo
• Isla Vivenda
• Isla Viveros

• Lake Gatun Islands
• Isla Barro Colorado
• Isla Escudo de Veraguas
• Isla Grande
• Las Tres Marias
• Isla Cabra
• Isla Mamey
• Isla Montuosa
• Jicarón
• San Blas Islands - The San Blas Islands of Panama is an archipelago of 365 islands off the north coast of the Isthmus, east of the Panama Canal. Home to the Kuna Indians, they are a part of the comarca Kuna Yala along the Caribbean coast of Panama.

Geography

Panama is located in Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, between Colombia and Costa Rica. Its location on the Isthmus of Panama is strategic. By 1999, Panama controlled the Panama Canal that links the North Atlantic Ocean via the Caribbean Sea with the North Pacific Ocean.

The dominant feature of the country's landform is the central spine of mountains and hills that forms the continental divide. The divide does not form part of the great mountain chains of North America, and only near the Colombian border are there highlands related to the Andean system of South America. The spine that forms the divide is the highly eroded arch of an uplift from the sea bottom, in which peaks were formed by volcanic intrusions.

The mountain range of the divide is called the Cordillera de Talamanca near the Costa Rican border. Farther east it becomes the Serranía de Tabasará, and the portion of it closer to the lower saddle of the isthmus, where the canal is located, is often called the Sierra de Veraguas. As a whole, the range between Costa Rica and the canal is generally referred to by Panamanian geographers as the Cordillera Central.

The highest point in the country is the Volcán Barú (formerly known as the Volcán de Chiriquí), which rises to 3475 meters (11401 ft.). A nearly impenetrable jungle forms the Darien Gap between Panama and Colombia. It creates a break in the Pan-American Highway, which otherwise forms a complete road from Alaska to Patagonia.

Panama's Politics

Panama's politics takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Panama is both head of state and head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Assembly. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.

Panama's Provinces and regions

Administratively, Panama's major divisions are nine provinces and five indigenous territories (comarcas indígenas). The provincial borders have not changed since they were determined at independence in 1903. The provinces are divided into districts, which in turn are subdivided into sections called corregimientos. Configurations of the corregimientos are changed periodically to accommodate population changes as revealed in the census reports.

Provinces
Bocas del Toro · Coclé · Colón · Chiriquí · Darién · Herrera · Los Santos · Panamá · Veraguas
Provincial-level comarcas Emberá · Kuna Yala · Ngöbe-Buglé · Kuna de Madugandí · Kuna de Wargandí

Capital (and largest city) Panama City 8°58'N, 79°32'W

Demographics Panama

According to the CIA World Factbook, Panama has a population of 3,242,173. The majority of the population, 70%, is mestizo. The rest is 14% Amerindian and mixed West Indian, 10% white and 6% Amerindian. The Amerindian population includes seven indigenous peoples, the Emberá, Wounaan, Guaymí, Buglé, Kuna, Naso and Bribri. More than half the population lives in the Panama City–Colón metropolitan corridor.

The culture, customs, and language of the Panamanians are predominantly Caribbean and Spanish. Spanish is the official and dominant language; English is spoken widely on the Caribbean coast and by many in business and professional fields.

The overwhelming majority of Panamanians are Roman Catholic, accounting for almost 80% of the population. Although the Constitution recognizes Catholicism as the religion of the great majority, Panama has no official religion. Minority religions in Panama include Protestantism (12%), Islam (4.4%), the Bahá'í Faith (1.2%), Buddhism (at least 1%), Greek Orthodox (0.1%), Judaism (0.4%), and Hinduism (0.3%). The Jewish community in Panama, with over 10,000 members, is by far the biggest in the region (including Central America and the Caribbean). Jewish immigration began in the late 19th century, and at present there are synagogues in Panama City, as well as two Jewish schools. Within Latin America, Panama has one of the largest Jewish communities in proportion to its population, surpassed only by Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico. Panama is also the first country in Latin America to have a Jewish president, Max Del Valle. Panama's communities of Muslims, East Asians, and South Asians, are also among the largest.

Panama City hosts a Bahá'í House of Worship, one of only eight in the world. Completed in 1972, it is perched on a high hill facing the canal, and is constructed of local mud laid in a pattern reminiscent of Native American fabric designs.

Panama, because of its historical reliance on commerce, is above all a melting pot. This is shown, for instance, by its considerable population of Chinese origin. Many Chinese immigrated to Panama from southern China to help build the Panama Railroad in the 19th century; their descendants number around 50,000. Starting in the 1970s, a further 80,000 have immigrated from other parts of mainland China as well.

-- PANAMA CANAL CRUISING GUIDE --

The Panama Canal (Spanish: Canal de Panamá) is a major ship canal that traverses the Isthmus of Panama in Central America, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It has had an enormous impact on shipping and sailing between the two oceans, replacing the long and treacherous route via the Drake Passage and Cape Horn at the southernmost tip of South America. A ship sailing from New York to San Francisco via the canal travels 9,500 km (6,000 miles), well under half the 22,500 km (14,000 mi) route around Cape Horn. Although the concept of a canal near Panama dates back to the early 16th century, the first attempt to construct a canal began in 1880 under French leadership. After this attempt failed and saw 22,000 workers die, the project of building a canal was attempted and completed by the United States in Panama in the early 1900s, with the canal opening in 1914. The building of the 77 km (48 mi) canal was plagued by problems, including disease (particularly malaria and yellow fever) and landslides. By the time the canal was completed, a total of 27,500 workers are estimated to have died in the French and U.S. attempts.

Since opening, the canal has been enormously successful, and continues to be a key conduit for international shipping and as a gateway for cruising boats and ocean yachts. Each year more than 14,000 ships and yachts pass through the canal. The canal can accommodate vessels from small private sailboats and motor yachts up to fairly large commercial ships.

Panama Canal Layout

The canal consists of seventeen artificial lakes, several improved and artificial channels, and three sets of locks. An additional artificial lake, Alajuela Lake (known during the American era as Madden Lake), acts as a reservoir for the canal. The layout of the canal as seen by a ship transiting from the Pacific end to the Atlantic is as follows: Due to the local geography, the main direction of sailing is north-westward, whereas the global direction from Pacific to Atlantic is eastward.

• From the buoyed entrance channel in the Gulf of Panama (Pacific side), ships travel 13.2 km (8.2 mi) up the channel to the Miraflores locks, passing under the Bridge of the Americas
• The two-stage Miraflores lock system, including the approach wall, is 1.7 kilometres (1.1 mi) long, with a total lift of 16.5 meters (54 ft) at mid-tide
• The artificial Miraflores Lake is the next stage, 1.7 kilometers (1.0 mi) long, and 16.5 metres (54 ft) above sea level
• The single-stage Pedro Miguel lock, which is 1.4 kilometres (0.8 mi) long, is the last part of the ascent with a lift of 9.5 meters (31 ft) up to the main level of the canal
• The Gaillard (Culebra) Cut slices 12.6 kilometres (7.8 mi) through the continental divide at an altitude of 26 metres (85 ft), and passes under the Centennial Bridge
• The Chagres River (Río Chagres), a natural waterway enhanced by the damming of Lake Gatún, runs west about 8.5 kilometres (5.3 mi), merging into Lake Gatun
• Gatun Lake, an artificial lake formed by the building of the Gatun Dam, carries vessels 24.2 kilometers (15.0 mi) across the isthmus
• The Gatún locks, a three-stage flight of locks 1.9 kilometres (1.2 mi) long, drop ships back down to sea level
• A 3.2 kilometer (2.0 mi) channel forms the approach to the locks from the Atlantic side
• Limón Bay (Bahía Limón), a huge natural harbour, provides an anchorage for some ships awaiting transit, and runs 8.7 kilometres (5.4 mi) to the outer breakwater

Thus, total length of the panama canal is 77.1 km (47.9mi).

Panama Canal Lock Size

Each lock is 300 metres long with the walls ranging in thickness from 15 metres at the base to 3 metres at the top. The central wall between the parallel locks at Gatun has a thickness of 18 metres and stands in excess of 24 metres in height. The lock gates are made from steel and measures an average of 2 metres thick, 19.5 metres in length and stand 20 metres in height.

Panama Canal Coordinates
Northern end 9°18'38N 79°55'11W
Southern end 8°55'57N 79°33'32W

Panama Canal Tolls
Tolls for the canal are decided by the Panama Canal Authority and are based on vessel type, size, and the type of cargo carried.

Sailboats and Motor Yachts are assessed tolls based on their length.
As of 2008, these are:
Up to 15.240 metres (50 ft) = US$500
More than 15.240 metres (50 ft) up to 24.384 metres (80 ft) = US$750
More than 24.384 metres (80 ft) up to 30.480 metres (100 ft) = US$1,000
More than 30.480 metres (100 ft) = US$1,500

Links for sailboats and power boats in Panama and transiting Panama Canal:

• Official Site of the Panama Canal Authority
• Panama Canal WebCam

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