The Panamaw Canal

[maru657]

Anyone with recent information and advice on transiting the canal?

[camaraderie]

This and the links on the page may be of some help.
http://www.noonsite.com/Countries/Panama
also...
SSCA Discussion Board :: View topic - Panama Latest
SSCA Discussion Board :: View topic - Through Panama Canal

[hphoen]

From Yachting Monthly:

"More than 150 yachts are in a marine 'traffic jam' on the Caribbean side of the Panama Canal, awaiting transit to the Pacific Ocean. Many have been told it will be 'weeks' - in one case two months - before they will be able to get through."

Bottleneck at Panama Canal

[killarney_sailor]

It would seem to me that there would be enough demand from smaller and mid-sized boats for someone to offer a trucking service across the country. Would seem to me that it would be cost effective since you also could get bottom-painting done and do mast-out maintenance. Also would be faster than waiting for your turn when they don't really care about getting you through.

If anyone likes the idea and goes into business - reserve one free trucking job for my boat when I come there.

[BENEVOLENTJOURNIES]

There is a truck that now crosses Guatamala at the Rio Dulce to the other side at Puerto Quetzal since 2004. I found info on them in the "Cruising Ports the Central American Route" by Capt. Pat Rains, pg 183.

Rio Dulce Boat Transport. It's very interesting and we've been thinking about it as an alternative to the canal. His # (Per this book) is 502-5240-9104 (cell)

[Valiente]

This has been an ongoing topic at noonsite.com:

http://www.noonsite.com/Members/doina/R2008-05-01-1

[bobwebster]

How long is the wait on the Pacific side?

[artbyjody]

Originally Posted by bobwebster

How long is the wait on the Pacific side?

From the reads of things - its a two month delay...

I really like how it is explained that it takes 30 minutes or more to get yachts rafted together. So is one to assume a tanker or commercial shipping vessel ties up in 2 minutes ?

There is also the piracy deal going on in the western side Panama - I wonder if that actually has anything to do with. However, when said and done - this is the issue that happens when a "third world" country, inherits the rights of passage as designed by a leading country. Carter never should of relinguished the control over so quickly (Carter or was it Reagan?).

[bobwebster]

Originally Posted by artbyjody

From the reads of things - its a two month delay...

I really like how it is explained that it takes 30 minutes or more to get yachts rafted together.

I think two months is the wait on the Caribbean side. The Pacific side's wait is probably less.

Even if it does take 30 minutes to raft up (which it doesn't), it does not delay the ship much. You raft up, wait on a ship to go in, then pull the rafted boats in behind the ship.

Water moves, the ship leaves, then the rafted boats move together into the next lock behind the ship. There is not much delay at all (unless someone makes a mistake.)

After the last lock of the group, the ship goes on and then the boats unraft and go on independently.

[killarney_sailor]

Originally Posted by artbyjody

Carter never should of relinguished the control over so quickly (Carter or was it Reagan?).

It was Jimmy. I was in Panama a couple of years ago and he is much loved there. They are, of course, rebuilding the canal for larger ships but are very worried about the impact of global warming - travel through the Arctic will be shorter and cheaper and could have a big impact on the Canal's traffic - would cut wait times though.