Report on Panama Canal Transit

Created by doina. Last modified on 2007-08-29 08:26:11
Countries: Panama

From “Moon Dog,” currently in Lima, Peru, August 2007.

We made the Caribbean to Pacific transit in Feb 2007. In our opinion, a cruising yacht does not need to hire an agent. There are several fellows who hang around the Panama Canal Yacht Club that claim to be agents, but they are not actually registered agents in the formal sense of the word. These guys are basically taxi drivers who have learned the system, know where the authorities’ offices are, know what paperwork needs to be done, and can help a cruising yacht skipper work through it. We used Roosevelt who charged us $20 to help us check in with Customs and Immigration, obtain our Cruising Permit ($69 for us, good for 90 days), schedule the “admeasurement” (visit from the authorities who measure your yacht and determine your transit fee), pay our transit fee (can use a credit card or cash at Citibank, including a security deposit equalling your transit fee), and schedule the transit. The $20 fee included his services as a cab driver (Colon City has become so unsafe that it is strongly recommended to take a taxi everywhere). Roosevelt charged about the same price to check out, as yachts are required to get a zarpe (including a visit to Immigration) for the Canal transit from Colon to Panama City. Roosevelt has a somewhat aggressive personality but does know the system and served us well. We also heard good reports from other cruisers who used Stanley who charged a little more. None of the staff in the offices spoke any English so a knowledge of Spanish, or the assistance of someone who does, is essential. Once at Panama City, you must check in with Customs and Immigration. There are cab drivers who frequent the Balboa YC who also know where these offices are located and are familiar with the paperwork.

It is wise to go ahead and get your “admeasurement” done at the same time that you check in to Panama. Once you have been measured, you can take your time scheduling your transit at your convenience. Most yachts were able to go through within 3 days of being measured, but you do not have to go through that soon if you don’t want to. The fee for our boat (53’) was $850 (for boats under 50’ it was $450).

The Canal requires yachts to have 4 line handlers on board, plus the captain, although you probably will only really need 2 line handlers assuming you are rafted with 2 other boats. The line handlers do need to be strong and competent as the lines can get a very strong load at times. Since there are many more yachts and tourists on the Pacific side, it is pretty easy to find someone interested in doing the transit with you. Many of the Pacific side cruisers never transit the Canal and are pleased to go with another yacht for the experience. It is a little harder on the Atlantic side as most of the yachts are transiting quickly so start working on making some new friends as soon as you get there. The bus ride between Colon and Panama City is about $2 so it is easy for crew to return to the other side after doing a transit.

The taxi drivers at PCYC (Roosevelt or Stanley) can provide line handlers for about $60 per day and can rent you the required four 125-foot lines and the recommended additional “fenders” (car tires wrapped in plastic; be sure to double them up as they crush very easily). You can find plenty of abandoned car tire “fenders” on the Pacific side.

Marine Supplies - Look for a very nice little booklet with addresses of all marine supply companies in the area (Cruisers Guide to Panama). A great service is provided by Arturo with Marine Warehouse, (507) 314-1768, website WWW.MARINEWAREHOUSE.NET. He can order anything you need from West Marine or other suppliers with fast delivery and reasonable freight charges. He is located in the YMCA building a few miles N of the Balboa YC.

Panama Crafts – There are two craft market areas in the YMCA building (see above) that have an excellent collection of Panama crafts including high quality examples of the exceptional Darien region baskets. Bargaining is expected.

Sail Repair - Manuel Pretelt in Colon City did a very nice job repairing a sail for us, his fee was extremely reasonable and he even brought it to us on the Pacific side after we transited.

Duty free booze - We bought duty free wine and liquor from Moto in Colon’s Free Zone. The booze was a pretty good deal but the delivery fee was flat $100, so we got four boats to pool their orders into one and we split the $100 delivery fee. We get the impression that the liquor suppliers there don’t really want the yacht business.

John and Ruth Martin, “Moon Dog” Amel Super Maramu 53’ ketch