Panama Passage

[pdenton]

I am preparing my 35 foot Pearson sailboat to make the passage to the South Pacific through the Panama Canal. I'm sure that this is a question that has been addressed before but I would like to hear about the experiences of people who have made the passage recently. From what I have heard it sounds as if one needs to bite the bullet and pay the going rate to get through successfully.
Peter Denton
luxembergphd@gmail.com

[piloto]

Peter, of course you have to pay "the going rate", there are no breaks in the pricing when it's under the control of a single entity. The old days (when I went through) lent themselves to cruisers helping each other out in passings (I'm sure they still do), pick up crew on one side and move to the other then go back and help them on their's. I think the price has gone up since we captured Noriega.


Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[Clamdigger]

Yes, ever since the old days and the clintanistas giving away the PC the prices did go up. When I first started going through in the 1980's cruisers acted as 'line handlers' for one another to save on costs. You'll still have to 'fender up' and maybe even have hire line handlers due to fewer cruisiers going through. Read up here on CF threads about Panama for info. Noonsite is another place to check. One would think it would get cheaper with the second canal online, but I guess they are funding it through the usage of the original canal, sightseeing an' all on Gatun lake

[Island Time O25]

In the scheme of things it seems that cruising boats are small potatoes as far as PC budget is concerned. Very small potatoes. I was there this February, helped friends to sail from Key West to PC and they continued to Pacific. I just hung around for few days before my flight home, didn't go through with them unfortunately.

At the entrance we saw probably close to 100 or more huge container ships just waiting their turn and what not while the sailboats were few and far in between in the Shelter Bay marina. Turns out that the huge commercial ships pay up to $450K per passage. And there were many more of them than sailboats, at least while I was there. I gather that the cruisers and their boats are more of a nuisance and just a small business employment opportunity for the locals than a feeding through for the Canal authority.

Someone posted transit stats here on CL which showed just about 1,000-1,200 transits by sailboats per year, 3-4 per day. That just a few $$mil in fees. When a large shipping vessels pays $100K-$450K EACH transit. And they probably do a few dozen or more per day or thereabouts. With the selling price for the Canal as I recall at measly $5bil this is the sweetest toll booth deal in the history of the world.

[Paul L]

Of course you will pay the standard transit fees for hand-line vessels. About usd$800 for your boat. You rent lines and tires for another $100 or so. You do not need an agent, you can do all the setup yourself. You will need a phone if you do it yourself. It is easy to setup other cruisers as line handlers. It is best if you line handle through the Canal on someone else's boat before bringing yours through. You will learn a lot from it.
Don't confuse the Canal Authority with customs, immigration and port captains. They are separate and you need to deal with them to enter the country. The Canal transit itself is a bargain.

[pdenton]

You sound like an optimist. But that's a good thing. I looked up your blog and it brought back memories of 1980 when we got hit by a buster just approaching the Bundaberg River. 65 foot gaff rigged cutter with everything up bent the steel boom in half.
But now I am returning to those wonderful days of yesteryear. Where in your blog do you describe the transit?
Are there any other sites which might describe the procedure?

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by pdenton

You sound like an optimist. But that's a good thing. I looked up your blog and it brought back memories of 1980 when we got hit by a buster just approaching the Bundaberg River. 65 foot gaff rigged cutter with everything up bent the steel boom in half.
But now I am returning to those wonderful days of yesteryear. Where in your blog do you describe the transit?
Are there any other sites which might describe the procedure?

You can use the Google Search bar on the blog to find the various Transit entries.

Here's an article I wrote on setting up the transit without an agent. It's pretty detailed:
We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Agents | Blue Water Sailing
And here's one about prepping your vessel and safely taking it through.
We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Agents, part 2 | Blue Water Sailing

Hope they help.

[belizesailor]

This subject comes up pretty frequently. Link to a recent duscussion below, which includes links to official rates documents.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...d.php?t=180640

Ive been thru a few times. Most recently I helped friends transit earlier this year, after the new locks were open, link to pics from that trip below:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/3sjr4w8rz...2Pq4QXd4a?dl=0

Man, NUEVO PANAMAX class ships are BIG!