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Feature: Marinas & Channels - Panama to San Diego

Discussion in 'Marinas & Waypoints' started by YachtForums, Apr 1, 2006.

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  1. Marinas & Channels: Panama to San Diego
    by Capt. David Reams​


    Balboa, Panama: Prior to your arrival in Panama, I strongly suggest contacting Pete Stevens (Agencia Delphino, 011-507-613-1134) to make arrangements for your canal transit. It is possible to transit without the use of an agent but the problems encountered are not worth the money saved. Pete will do an excellent job of arranging customs and immigration, canal fees, transit times, linehandlers and the myriad of other details involved in a transit. We generally call Pete a month before we arrive in Panama and then confirm again about 5 days before our arrival.

    Rodman Fuel Dock: located approx. ¾ of a mile north of the Bridge of the Americas. Fuel can be arranged (we used Global Fuels (954-462-6050) and ship’s agent Pete Stevens (011-507-613-1134)) at this commercial wharf. It is difficult for a yacht with 19-foot tides and huge Yokahama fenders, but if you are taking a lot of fuel (over 5000 gallons) it is worth the trouble.

    Balboa Yacht Club: located approx. ½ mile south of the Bridge of the Americas the club has moorings and a small floating fuel dock. Fuel is a bit more expensive than at Rodman but for smaller quantities worth the ease of access. Don’t trust the mooring; leave a watch onboard.

    Flamenco Yacht Club: located on Flamenco Island upon entering the ship channel at Balboa. Fuel is available as is a floating dock and nearby restaurants. Marina is a bit out of town but a nice place to wait for your transit.

    Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica: 08 20.32N, 83 13.97W. Our first stop out of Panama is usually Golfito located about half way up Golfo Dulce. Use radar and visual bearings as the chart Lat and Lon do not match up with GPS readouts. I have tried several datums in the GPS but they do not match.

    Golfito, Costa Rica: 08 36.6N, 83 12.5W. Again, use radar and visual bearings, do not enter at night. Golfito is a great little village, nice people and beautiful jungle. Banana Bay Boat Club (011-506-775-0838) is located approx. 8/10s of a mile SE of the commercial wharf. Bruce Blevens is the manager and will provide clearance paperwork assistance and fuel at the marina. The best hamburgers in Costa Rica are served at the marina snack bar.

    Los Suenos Resort and Marina: 09 38.2N 84 40.7W. Located at the eastern end of Bahia Herradura, approximately 26 mile south of Puntarenas, Costa Rica. This is a luxury resort and marina recently completed and opened to the public. Floating docks, fuel and oil, provisions and restaurants are all available in the marina/resort complex. The nearby town of Jaco caters to surfers and tourists with local crafts and arts and surf shops. For guests flying into to meet the boat this is an excellent alternative to either Puntarenas (rather rough and dirty) or Golfito (about an 8 hour cab ride from San Jose airport).

    Golfo de Papagayo: is located on the northern border of Costa Rica. This is a break in the mountain ranges to the north and south allowing very high winds to funnel through the gulf. Stay near shore (it is safe to pass between the mainland and the reef to the east of Isla Santa Catalina) to avoid the wind waves that build quite suddenly. On the positive side the gulf is only about 37 miles wide and the wind drops off quickly once to the north or south of the gulf.

    Barillas Marina Club, El Salvador: 13 07.018N, 88 25.165W. Torn by violent civil war from 1978 until 1992, El Salvador is now rebuilding and attempting to encourage tourism as an environmentally friendly industry. Completed in 2000 Club Barillas, under the direction of owner Juan Wright and manager Heriberto Pineda, is a shinning example of how well this can be accomplished. Call on the telephone (011-503632-1802 or 011-503-871-1738or http://informacion@barillasmarina.com) for reservations or on channel 16 approximately one hour before reaching the waypoint shown above. An English-speaking radio operator will request information about your vessel and your ETA to the waypoint so that a pilot panga will be waiting for your arrival. Follow the panga around the sandbar and about nine miles up the estuary to the beautiful marina grounds. A mooring (at a very reasonable daily rate) entitles you to membership privileges and complete use of club facilities. These include swimming pool, restaurant, snack bar, convenience store, internet access (either with your laptop or one of 10 computers in the computer room), hammocks under the shade trees, free shuttle bus to town, port clearance, and access to a private landing strip and heliport. A most welcome and friendly stop on the long leg from Acapulco to Los Suenos, Costa Rica.

    Puerto Madero, Mexico: 14 41.64N, 92 24.87W. This is a commercial port with no yacht facilities. Fuel is available and it is a place to stop and wait out a Tehauntepecker if need be.

    Golfo de Tehauntepec: This is the place with the potential for the worst weather of the entire voyage from Panama to San Diego. Another break between mountain ranges, winds build to truly scary velocities in a very short time. Vessels have recorded the wind increasing from 8 knots to over 75 knots in less than 20 minutes! Angle in towards shore as you approach the border of Mexico from Guatemala (14 28.91N, 92 17.25W), watch your depth sounder and parallel the beach in 40 to 60 feet of water. There are no underwater hazards and should the wind come up you will have only sheets of spray to deal with, no huge wind waves. The winds are a result of high pressure over the Gulf of Mexico and can be forecast with pretty good accuracy but don’t short cut across the gulf.

    Salina Cruz: 16 08.65N, 95 11.4W. This is another commercial port to the north of the Gulf of Tehauntepec. Fuel is available and there is an anchorage outside the port.

    Acapulco: 16 48.55N, 99 53.58W. Once the playground of the jet set Acapulco has seen hard times in the last 10 to 15 years. Not one of my favorite stops in Mexico, however, the Club de Yates de Acapulco remains one of my favorite yacht clubs (call club on ch.16 upon entering harbor). Very simple with med moorings available to a concrete dock. The office staff will do your clearance paperwork for a very small fee and fuel is available. Acapulco proper is a long cab ride from the yacht club but once in town you will find all of your shopping needs met. Sam’s Club, Walmart, Office Depot, Costco as well as Gigante and Commercial (Mexican grocery chain stores) are all in the downtown area.

    Lazaro Cardenas: 17 54.8N, 102 08.9W. This is another commercial port with limited yacht use. It is now the pickup and drop off harbor for Dock Express on the west coast of Mexico so there may be some new yacht facilities.

    Manzanillo: 19 03.8N, 104 18.7W. The bay of Manzanillo is a commercial harbor with shipyards, tuna seiners, Navy. The Pemex (Mexican national fuel producer) dock is all the way in the back bay. (As of 2003 the fuel dock at Manzanillo no longer sells fuel to yachts at the commercial price. It is the same price at Gran Bay Marina fuel dock so there is little or no point to going into Manzanillo harbor.) Follow the channel past the dry docks to a large concrete wharf near the tuna fleet at the end of the bay. Be patient they either pump through 4-inch hose or 1 ½ inch (slow) hose but the fuel is clean and cheap. Bring Mexican pesos; the attendant cannot accept credit cards or US dollars.

    Across the large bay before the entrance to the harbor is the famous Las Hadas hotel (the Dudley Moore movie “10” was filmed here). Don’t attempt to enter the Las Hadas basin with a yacht larger than 80 feet. It is all med mooring and a tangle of lines with a terrible surge into the concrete docks. The anchorage just outside the basin is beautiful with good holding and you can pay a fee to dock the dinghy and use the hotel pool and facilities.

    Barra de Navidad: 19 11.96N, 104 42.17W. Once you enter the bay head towards the beach at the southern end. You will see a small jetty and channel that leads to the Gran Bay Hotel and Resort (011-52-335-55-050); this is a beautiful hotel and marina. Ian van der Watt rates it as one of the top 10 marinas in the world in his book. It is our favorite marina on either coast from Canada to Canada. Call on the radio and ask for the condition of the channel and dock assignments. You and your owners will not be disappointed with this stop. A must do for Mexico. The Gran Bay Marina now has a fuel dock in the lagoon adjacent to the marina. This has clean fuel at about the same price as the rest of Mexico (prices set by the Gov’t. owned Pemex refinery).

    Puerto Vallarta: 20 39.13N, 105 16.92W. The waypoint will put you near the entrance to the ship basin. You will see a small jetty and a small Naval base directly ahead. The yacht basin is at the end of a small channel to your port after entering the ship basin. Call “Paperman” on channel 16 for a ships agent to do your clearance. Marina Vallarta (011-52-322-22-10-275) is under “new” management and there have been problems with slip assignments. Call to confirm and then call several more times to be sure. Town is about five miles to the southeast from the marina (about a $5.00 USD taxi ride); this is our favorite town in Mexico with nice restaurants, good shopping (a Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart is opposite the navy base on the road to town) and lots of art galleries and shops.

    Paradise Village Marina: (011-52-322-22-676-28) is located approx. 5 miles north of the entrance to the ship basin. The channel to Nuevo Vallarta (home of Paradise Village) is separate from the Puerto Vallarta channel. Paradise Village Marina has new slips for yachts over 100 feet; however the channel shoals frequently so ask to speak to the dock master (Dick Markie) for information on channel conditions and reservations.

    Punta de Mita: 20 43.4N, 105 34.75W. This is the northern most point in Bahia Banderas (the large bay that holds Puerto Vallarta). It is safe to pass between the point and the three small islands (Tres Marritas) as you proceed north. A rhumb line from Punta de Mita to Cabo San Lucas takes you very near the Tres Marias islands. The largest of these islands is a penal colony and there is a 20-mile exclusion zone around all of the islands. Do not venture too near these islands; the navy is very serious about the exclusion zone. Pass to the east of the island towards San Blas and then arc across the Sea of Cortez towards Cabo San Lucas. This will make for a much more comfortable crossing than doing a rhumb line from the north end of the Tres Marias exclusion zone.

    Cabo San Lucas: 22 52.8N, 109 53.2W. This will bring you to the outer harbor, mooring are available but the Cabo Isla Marina in the inner harbor can handle yachts to about 150 feet. Cabo is beautiful; the desert meets the sea but has really turned into a party town in the past decade. Fuel is available at a floating fuel dock on the west side of the inner harbor entrance and sometimes at the Cabo Isle Marina.

    Bahia Magdalena (Mag Bay): 24 29.9N, 112 04.1W. The entrance to this bay is safe in most conditions, proceed north around the first point to Belchers anchorage (three miles up the bay) or continue another mile or so to Man of War cove. There is a port captain at Man of War and you will have to clear papers, not so at Belchers.

    Bahia Santa Maria: 24 43.7N, 112 14.51W. This is a nice cove well protected from the north but open to the southwest. Tuck into the northern corner to avoid the swell refraction into the bay. This cove is a favorite with sport fishermen who use it as a base to fish the offshore banks located nearby.

    Turtle Bay: 27 39.17N, 114 53.69W. The only really protected bay on the coast of Baja. Favor the northwest side of the entrance as kelp covers a rock at the south side of the channel. Fuel may be found here but with some difficulty, no services. The town is very small and pretty depressed as the cannery pulled out a few years ago.

    As you depart Turtle Bay you may use the Canal de Dewey, plenty of water and proceed up the east coast of Cedros Island. If it is blowing hard and lumpy at the north end of Cedros, anchor in the north bite of the island or return to Turtle Bay until conditions improve. It is a bad sign of things to come if you are getting “beat up” at the north end of Cedros.

    San Quintin: 30 21.15N, 115 56.9W. This is a small cove with limited protection and lots of swell refraction. It is the only anchorage between Cedros and Ensenada so in a pinch it will have to do. Head northeast from the point to avoid the shoal extending out from the mouth of the river. Anchor in 4 to 5 fathoms and keep anchor watch. Not a really pleasant stop but better than none.

    Ensenada: 31 50.22N, 116 37.7W. Destination of the “World’s Largest International Sailing Yacht Race”. Each spring the Newport to Ensenada race draws 550 to 600+ boats for the 125-mile race down the coast. The harbor is commercial and you are sure to have oil and tar along the waterline for some time to come. Baja Naval is a full service yacht yard located on the northeast side of the bay. Hussongs Cantina and numerous other bars and hotels await your arrival.

    It is only 66 miles north to San Diego bay from Ensenada. The Coronados Islands lie just south of the border. There is no landing permitted on the islands and the Mexican navy does patrol the area to make sure of this. It is safe to pass to the east of the islands and watch the cities of Tijuana and San Diego come into view. Just south of Tijuana you can see the large ship set for the movie Titanic and you will know when you cross into US waters by the Tijuana bullring which is right on the US Border.

    San Diego: 32 38.2N 117 14.2W. San Diego is a very large natural harbor located about 7.8 nautical miles north of the US-Mexico border. Stay in the main ship channel (the Zuniga jetty, south of the channel, is partially submerged at any tide and has claimed many boats) and proceed past Ballast Point and into the Shelter Island Yacht Basin. Coming from the south you are required to stop and check in at the Harbor Police/Customs dock at the entrance to the yacht basin. After clearing in from the Police dock the first marina on your starboard side is the Kona Kai Marina. Next is Shelter Island Marina Inn (619-223-0301), either of these marinas can accommodate large yachts. On the port side (north side of the basin) is Southwestern Yacht Club followed by San Diego Yacht Club.
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