CRUISING THE GULF OF PANAMA
Panama is truly the crossroads of the world, bridging the North and South American continents, with the Caribbean and Europe to the east and Asia and the Pacific to the west. We’d already crossed the Pacific aboard Distant Drummer, our Liberty 458 sloop, and after spending three years cruising south from Alaska to Central America, were looking forward to exploring the nearby Pearl Islands before transiting the canal to the Caribbean.
Many cruisers westward-bound for the Galapagos and Marquesas make only a brief stop in this cruising ground. However, with a dozen major islands and scores of uninhabited islets, not to mention the uncharted rivers and mangrove swamps of Darien Province on the mainland, several weeks can be spent happily cruising there. In all we spent a full five months exploring this fascinating corner of the world.
PANAMA CITY
In Panama City moorings are available at the Balboa Yacht Club, which lies on the east side of the Pacific entrance to the canal and just south of the Bridge of the Americas. The nearby marinas at Isla Perico and Isla Flamenco are mostly full of luxurious motor yachts, but have space for other visiting boats as well. The two main anchorages on either side of Isla Perico (Las Brisas on the north side and La Playita to the south) provide a choice of shelters depending upon the prevailing winds. They also both have dinghy docks with easy access ashore.
The dry season, between December and May, is the best time for cruising the Gulf of Panama. (We were fortunate in having arrived in early January.) The reason for this is the strong easterly trade winds of the southern Caribbean that typically spill through the low points in the Central American isthmus providing a consistent northerly. Most of the anchorages in the Pearl
