Panama Canal Info

[Ainsley]

Hi I looking for info on transitting the Panama Canal..( West to East). I arrive in Panama City in about 20 days..can anyone recommend a good agent ( do I need one ???) any info would be appreciated. I am sailing a 46ft cat down from California, I will only be online for about another 3 days...Many thanks for any info..Smooth Sailing

[flink]

Erick Galvez - Centenario Consulting seems to have the best reputation from everything I've read/researched.

Check out Noonsite: The global site for cruising sailors then go to "countries" then click "Panama".

Check out the links on the left.

The quality and integrity as well as the costs ofthe agents down there tend to vary widely. Erick Galvez seems to be the most solid lead I've found.

Hope this helps. Good luck and happy sailing.

[flink]

oops, sorry, the links on the right of the page, not left.

"starboard"

[jeremiason]

Just a quick correction.... You will be traveling from SOUTH to NORTH during your Canal Transit from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean.

As a Left Coast guy, it took me a while to wrap my head around the fact the Panama Canal doesn't run east-west and the locals will let you know it.

Hiring an Agent makes life a lot easier... Agents will not only handle your Canal Transit, they will also get you checked into the Country and handle all the Immigration and Port Captain paperwork.

On the other hand, many cruisers do-it-themselves and save the $300-500 dollars in Agents fees.

We are transiting the Canal this Thursday and are using Pete Stevens as our Agent. We are very happy with his services.