1) Costalegre, MX

Chamela, December 23, 2018. Anchored at 19 35. 081 N & 105 07. 885 W in twenty feet. A small amount or roll during a S. W. swell.
Tenacatita,
December 26, 2018. Anchored at 19 18. 072 N & 104 50. 086 W. in twenty five feet. Good holding, slightly rolly. About 26 boats there but a large anchorage with much room.
Santiago, December 29, 2018. Anchored at 19 06. 597 N & 104 23. 673 W. This was just West of the wreck noted in the cruising guide. There is a 2nd wreck marked by buoys just South and East of the listed wreck. A large well protected anchorage, good holding, very little swell but would not recommend entering this anchorage in bad visibility conditions. A large amount of tourists in a variety of Personal Water Crafts.
Manzanillo, December 30, 2018, Anchored at Las Hadas anchorage, 19 06. 131 N & 104 20. 695W in 15 feet. Good holding, very little swell. The cruising Guide advised we could dinghy into the marina and tie up at the dinghy dock. We did so but the charge to do this is 250 pesos. We went ashore one night using a mix of bus and taxi. Both very affordable. On page 166 of the crushing guide they have a photo of the Bar Social which looked interesting. After a long search we found it had closed up about four years ago. There are many small boats here pulling water skiers along with a lot of tourists on jet skis making the anchorage a little rough and loud. That’s all we have for now.

Jim & Laura

NILAYA
 

2) Tehuantepec, MX

We had a very good trip crossing the Gulf of Tehuantepec. In the last night, 1/1, we anchored out just along the shore. It was a beautiful evening, quiet weather. We enjoyed it very much. We did not want to enter Chiapas in the dark. Anchored at 14 59.97 N 92 47.82 W in 8.1 m depth, good holding in sand. Near La Encrucyado. Next morning fishermen came to check if we had problems! Very attentive.

As soon as Rolf from the marina heard us calling the port captain on the VHF to ask permission to enter the harbor, he called us on the VHF and said he had a slip waiting for us and men on the dock to take our lines. The day before we had sent Memo an email to tell him we were on our way to his marina. We felt very welcome! Same night we met Luis and today we did the Chocolate tour with him. We like him and he is very enthusiastic. So we arranged the 5day Palenque tour with him for next week, very much looking forward to that! We are enjoying Mexico very much and the Posse really ads to it, because of all the information and the back up.
Thanks for that! Kind regards,

Huib & Maaike

MADELEINE

3) LINE updates & Check ins !
Weekly PanamaPosse group call on Mondays at 16:00 UTC and the chatroom is open 24/7


Sirena – Tenecatita, MX

Mai Tai – Barra de Navidad, MX

Sea Glub –  Barra de Navidad, MX

Sans Cles – Zihuatanejo, MX

Wine n Down  Chiapas, MX

Madeleine – Chiapas, MX

Coquette – Bahia Del Sol, El Salvador
Sprezzatura – Bahia Del Sol, El Salvador

Xenia – Las Perlas, El Salvador

Carinthia – Vista Mar Marina, Panama

Knot Right – Vista Mar Marina, Panama

4) Medical / Vaccinations
Jan & I met with an infectious disease specialist in early Dec at the Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans to address vaccination needs related to our travels. Bottom line – no Yellow Fever in the parts of Panama and CR that we plan to visit -coastal areas and San Blas. The guidance document provided for Panama Yellow Fever says: Vaccination “recommended for travelers aged >= 9 months; all mainland areas east of the Canal Zone. Transmission does not occur on the San Blas Islands, but it is necessary to transit areas with known transmission risk en route to the islands. Daytime insect precautions are essential for unvaccinated travelers.” I take that to presume travel by land to San Blas. The document further says, “Not recommended: itineraries limited to Panama City, the Canal Zone, areas west of the Canal Zone (see map) or the Pearl Islands.” I presume (with all associated risks) that YF west of the Canal Zone would likely extend into CR.
For what it is worth – we were advised to use anti-Malarial meds during our planned visit to San Blas Islands. I can provide the document citations if anyone is interested.

FIGMENT
Don & Jan

(note:  each country’s requirement and relevant statistics has been diligently compiled for review on the official Panama Posse website by Tammy from SV RAVEN ) 

https://panamaposse.com/mexico
https://panamaposse.com/guatemala
https://panamaposse.com/el-salvador
https://panamaposse.com/honduras
https://panamaposse.com/nicaragua
https://panamaposse.com/costa-rica
https://panamaposse.com/panama

5) Oaxaca, MX 

Music festivals  in Guerrero, Oaxaca – source mexiconewsdaily.com

Tequila Blues Explosion is in Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo and Blues on the Beach is in Huatulco It will soon be festival time in two Pacific coast resort destinations, both of which will celebrate blues and other music.

The second annual Tequila Blues Explosion Festival returns to Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo after a successful start in January last year.

The festival’s purpose is to build community and provide a world-class experience for tourists, visitors and locals alike.
This year, the festival will be a fundraising event for the Talita Cumi orphanage near Zihuatanejo by helping to give them better facilities to enable them to serve more children.

A lineup of performers from Canada, the United States and Mexico, including two local bands, will present blues, blues-rock, jazz and reggae at the three-day festival, which kicks off January 10 with concerts at the Ixtapa Event Center.
A Blues Brothers Tribute Show kicks things off on the first day, bringing two hours of soul, rhythm and blues and blues music and comedy all based on the 1980 cult status movie The Blues Brothers.

To close off the weekend, the festival will present the Blues Kruise 4Kids Blues At Sea fundraising cruise on the catamaran Picante on Sunday, with festival performers entertaining on board and all-inclusive food and beverages.

Farther south, Blues On The Beach returns to Huatulco, Oaxaca, for its ninth year with concerts on January 17 and February 14.
Dawn Tyler Watson, dubbed Montreal’s “Queen of the Blues,” and Toronto harmonica player David Rotundo are the headliners at the January show; Rotundo will return with harmonica legend Lee Oskar for the second event.

Like last year, both shows will be held at Chahue beach but at a new, larger venue called the Sea Soul beach club.

The festival is a fundraiser for Un Nuevo Amanecer (UNA), a charity that helps disabled children.

The organization receives little government funding and most families of the 100 children who benefit can ill afford to pay for the help they receive.

Rob & Debra

AVANAT

6)  Electricity – tech request – please reply

Here in Mexico we often see wide differences in voltage when in the marinas.

Currently the marina we’re in regularly has voltage in the range of 135-138.

What are some ways we can protect the boat from this ?

Are there devices we can buy to diffuse the voltage somewhat before entering the boat ?

SEAGLUB Chris, Monica & Penny

( note: http://www.electrical-installation.org/enwiki/Connection_of_Surge_Protection_Device )

7) Acapulco, MX A large fire at the yacht club in Acapulco, Mexico broke out on Saturday (Dec 29, 2018) morning, injuring two men with second- and third-degree burns.
Authorities say that both men, who were also bruised in the incident, are being treated at a local hospital.

A statement from the Secretary of Civil Protection for Guerrero revealed that the fire, which started at 8 a.m. local time was caused when fuel sparked after one of the boats refueled without turning on their blowers –   The fire then spread to a neighboring boat and a fuel pump.

(note – Diesel pump was not affected and things a are cleaned up as of  Jan 3rd, 2019 )

8) Herradura Bay, Costa Rica

– Marine Electronics – propane info  from last season

Carinthia met with CR Marine Supply  – nice chandlery walk-able from the bus stop
Kensy Chaves +506 2637 7419 Ocean Plaza 50m North of los Suenos  kensey.chaves@grupomontecristo.com

International Marine Electronics – Kerry Monteleone can get parts from Florida – +506 6011 – 2300 email: international.me.cr@gmail.com

. Bus stop at  09 38.873 N  084 39.3760 W  where you will hang out for bus to Jaco ( 240 colones ) 
– or up the street to the auto supermercado and Laundry lady
 
– visit the local bar with a new Jersey bartender



and get propane picked up  and delivered by this guy !
Jaco Gas and he will meet you at the Bus off the main beach
stop and fill your tanks ( takes ~ 3 days ) call +506 2637 6161
2 tanks for 8000 Colones





note – USE A STERN ANCHOR in HERRADURA BAY – point the bow of your vessel SW – SSW – lot’s of swell here.


Rick & Brenda

DAD’S DREAM

9) Additional long term planning dates


Mayan Adventures & Pot Lucks                               Marina Chiapas  MX (Dec-Apr)
Bar Crossing Celebrations                                       Bahia del Sol, El Salvador (Dec-Apr)
Flor de Caña Rum Tours                                          Puesta del Sol, Nicaragua – (Dec-Apr)
Papagayo Survivors Party                                        Coconutz , Playa Cocos, CR (Early Feb’19)
Golfito Marina Village an IGY Destination              Golfito, Costa Rica May 1st ’19)
Rally Completion Award Event                                Vista Mar Panama (mid May’19)

Suzanne toasting @ Golfito Marina Village an IGY Destination – Costa Rica

10)  FREE GOOD NAUTICAL MEMBERSHIP 

All of last season’s knowledge and fleet updates have been compiled into
Good Nautical the official 501(c)3 non-profit umbrella organization.

All Fleet Update contributors will of course  have access to all the shared data from Mexico through Panama.
Fuel docks, Anchorages, Marinas, National Parks, Routes, a.m.o.
Please email us to get your free login credentials and tutorial.

11) PANAMA POSSE HOWLER MONKEY MARKETING and PROMOTIONPlease help us promote the Panama Posse with sailors, marinas, yachtclubs and chandleries
– if you are currently near a marina  please print out this PDF in color and post it on the wall.
For extra fun (we did this last year) print it out and take a selfie with it on your vessel !


http://route.panamaposse.com/artwork/NOTICE_OF_A_RALLY_l.pdf


The Official Panama Posse Press Release – please forward it to your contacts and friends in the media 

https://panamaposse.com/for-immediate-release-2018

12) Please reply to this email with any updates – your vessel location –
contenders for picture of the week – your favorite song for our list –
and we’ll include it in the next Fleet Update

Dietmar & Suzanne
SV Carinthia


13) opt-out from the Fleet Updates simply reply with “REMOVE