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Below are the complete Cruising Notes published in Zihuatanejo. It is a document of 113 pages, published as a Word document and as an HTML file. S/V “SIESTA” Edited Notes on
Central America, Ecuador, the Galapagos, and the Western Caribbean January 18, 2003
Zihuatanejo,
Mexico – January 2003 1. Introduction from the Editors IMPORTANT!
READ CAREFULLY! None of the contributors
to this compilation of cruising notes, nor its editors, assume any
responsibility for the accuracy of the information. USE THIS INFORMATION AT YOUR
OWN RISK! We hope you find these notes useful as you head south from
Zihuatanejo. We have compiled the information in these notes from many sources.
Virtually all the material comes from letters and emails from cruisers who have
recently explored the Pacific Central American and Western Caribbean waters.
Some also contributed their experiences in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands, as
well. The idea for these compiled notes came to us as we sat here
at anchor in beautiful Zihuatanejo Bay, aboard ¨SIESTA” (our CSY 44
center-cockpit cutter), preparing for our trip south to the Panamá Canal and on
to our home in the Florida Keys. We felt we needed current information.
Conditions can change quickly in these waters.
We wanted access to fresh, recent information from other cruisers like
us, to supplement the many excellent cruising guides that already exist. And we
wanted this information organized in such a way that it could be referenced
easily. Yet we wanted to do a minimum of editing, to keep the scope of work
manageable to a reasonable period of time. We give our thanks to the many cruisers who have contributed
to these notes. For example, Anne, from the ketch MICHAELANNE, came on the VHF
in Zihuatanejo and offered her own cruising notes and those of other
Southbounders she had compiled on diskette. Other cruisers currently in Central
America were contacted via email and immediately started sending very useful
information about places they visited. And we already had a file of cruising
notes of our own, received from many cruising friends and owners of other CSY
44’s. We are particularly grateful to Don and Gwen on TACKLESS II, and Dave
and Stacey on SOGGY PAWS for their many detailed cruising notes. But there are
many, many others. So thanks to all of you, you know who you are, and your names
all all over these notes, using as much detail as we could find! The emails, logs and letters included in these edited notes
in many cases were not meant to be included in a cruising
“guide” type of format. We have done very little, if any, editing on
these letters. As such, they include a number of illustrative, anecdotal,
sometimes even quasi-personal observations, that we feel best colors and
exemplify the best of the cruising life. As
a result, you will find very different styles and types of information
intertwined into a cruiser’s “patch quilt”. We hope that all these genuine
stories and sketches will help you get into the frame of mind of a cruiser about
to enter the beautiful waters of Pacific Central America and the Western
Caribbean. We also found some other excellent sources on Central
America, which we recommend reading. In the spring of last year, 2002, the
Southbounders in Puerto Vallarta put together an excellent set of cruising
notes, and published them as the SOUTHBOUND CRUISERS RESOURCE DIRECTORY
2002/2003, on both paper and CDROM media. Rick
offered us a copy from Rick’s Bar’s files. We have added this document to
the Zihuatanejo CDROM as well. Also, Walt made available his file of paper
documents kept at the Zihuatanejo Yacht Club, from previous Zihuatanejo
Southbounders. We selectively copied small portions of these paper documents for
our own use, but could not include this information, since the text was not in
machine-readable form, and could not easily be added to the CDROM. We welcome comments and future articles and emails from the
readers of these notes. We will publish what we receive on our web site, along
with these original notes, to enable future Southbounders to benefit from your
new experiences and adventures. We wish fair winds and following seas to all the
Southbounders from Zihuatanejo! ¡Qué
tengan todos una aventura maravillosa por Centro America! Ed and Daisy Marill Zihuatanejo, Mexico January 18, 2003 These cruising notes
were made available to cruisers in Zihuatanejo, in CDROM media form, both as a
Microsoft Word document, and as an HTML file, viewable by any web browser,
without the need for Microsoft Word. These notes were distributed via CDROM
during the 2003 Zihua Sailfest Event, for the modest contribution of $10US to
benefit the local Indian school. Printed copies of this CDROM were not made
available, although they could easily be produced from the CDROM. Copies of this
disk will be left at Rick’s Bar and at the Zihuatanejo Yacht Club, for the use
of future Southbounders who come here to prepare for the journey south. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction
from the Editors
3.
The Zihuatanejo "Southbounders" Class of 2003
4.
General comments about cruising Central America:
4.1
From Slainte (Allan and Liz, 2002)
4.2
From John and Anne aboard the Morgan OI 41’ Chula Mula, summer, 2002)
5.1
From Anne and Michael aboard the Whitby 42’ ketch MICHAELANNE (2002):
5.2
From Gwen and Don on the CSY 44 cutter TACKLESS II,
Spring 2002:
6.
Notes on Weather in Central America:
6.1
Weather Wisdom from Don, of s/v SUMMER PASSAGE
7.
General Information about Central America:
7.1
Hauling Out in Panamá – Pacific Side - from SUN DAZZLER, Spring, 2002
7.2
Hauling Information from s/v SLAINTE (2002):
7.3
Other General Information (from Michael and Anne aboard MICHAELANNE, Spring
2002):
8.
Notes on Zihuatanejo to Mexico Border:
8.1
Acapulco report from Mark aboard TONDELAYO on 1/3/2003:
8.2
Acapulco report from Jutta and Ferdy aboard the Endeavour 40 PIPE DREAM, Spring
2002:
8.3
From Jim and Suzy aboard s/v SPARTA, Fall
2002:
8.4
Anchorages around Huatulco, Mexico, from Gwen and Don on the CSY 44 cutter
TACKLESS II, 2002:
8.6
From Jim and Suzy aboard s/v SPARTA, Fall
2002:
9.
Notes on Mexican Border to Guatemala:
9.1
From Diane on WINBIRD, from Bahia del Sol, in El Salvador, Jan 1, 2003:
9.2
From Jutta and Ferdy aboard the Endeavour 40’ Pipe Dream, Spring 2002:
10.1
From Michael and Anne aboard the Whitby 42’ ketch MICHAEL ANNE, spring 2002:
10.2
From John and Anne aboard the Morgan 41 OI CHULA MULA, August 2002:
10.3
From Jutta and Ferdy aboard PIPE DREAM, Spring 2002:
10.4
From Diane on WINDBIRD, from Bahia del Sol in El Salvador (2003):
10.5
From Matt aboard ELSEWHERE, received in Zihuatanejo via Winlink on January 1,
2003:
10.6
From John and Anne aboard the Morgan OI 41’ CHULA MULA,
Spring 2002:
10.7
From MICHAELANNE and TACKLESS II:
10.8
From Jim and Suzy aboard s/v SPARTA, Fall
2002:
10.9
s/v RAGTIME--January, 2002
11.1
From Gwen and Don on the CSY 44 cutter TACKLESS II,
2002:
11.2
From Michael and Anne aboard the Whitby 42’ ketch MICHAELANNE—April, 2002
11.4
From Jim and Suzy aboard s/v SPARTA,
Fall 2002:
12.1
From Michael and Anne aboard the Whitby 42 ketch MICHAELANNE, Spring 2002:
12.2
From Allan and Liz aboard SLAINTE, 2002:
12.3
From Greg and Meg aboard the motoryacht WET
BAR, December 2002:
12.4
From Pete aboard s/y NEENER 3-- June, 2002
12.5
From Gwen and Don on the CSY 44 cutter TACKLESS II,
2002:
12.6
From Jutta and Ferdy aboard PIPE DREAM, Spring 2002:
12.7
From Jim and Suzy aboard s/v SPARTA,
Fall 2002:
13.
Notes on Pacific Coast of Panama:
13.1
From Gwen and Don on the CSY 44 cutter TACKLESS II,
2002:
13.2
s/y RAGTIME--February, 2002
13.3
s/y AKAUAHELO--June, 2002
13.4
From Tom and Kathy on the s/y TAI-TAM--spring and summer, 2002
13.5
Three Anchorages on the Way to Punta Mala, Panama—from Tai-Tam
13.6
From John and Anne aboard the Morgan OI 41’ CHULA MULA:
13.7
From Gwen and Don on the CSY 44 cutter TACKLESS II,
2002:
13.8
From Jim and Suzy aboard s/v SPARTA, Fall
2002:
13.9
From Beverly and Paul on the 40’ Manta Cat TOUCH’N GO (February 2002):
14.
Notes on Transiting the Panama Canal:
14.2
From Greg and Meg aboard the motorboat WET BAR, December 2002
14.3
Tai-Tam on Preparing to Transit the Canal
14.4
From Brent and Susan on the s/y AKAUAHUELO--July, 2002:
14.5
s/y NEENER 3--Summer, 2002
14.6
From Katherine & Craig Briggs aboard the Amel Santorin 46 Ketch SANGARIS
(2002):
15.
Notes on Colon and Portobelo:
15.1
From Gwen and Don on the CSY 44 cutter TACKLESS II,
2002:
15.2
From Katherine & Craig Briggs aboard the Amel Santorin 46 Ketch SANGARIS
(2002):
16.
Notes on the San Blas Islands:
16.1
From Gwen and Don on the CSY 44 cutter TACKLESS II,
2002:
16.2
Dave and Stacey on the CSY 44 Cutter SOGGY
PAWS, 2002:
16.3
From John and Anne aboard the Morgan OI 41’ CHULA MULA, Spring 2002:
16.4
From Katherine & Craig Briggs aboard the Amel Santorin 46 Ketch SANGARIS,
2002:
17. Notes
on Cartagena, Colombia:
17.1 From Dave and Stacey aboard the CSY 44 cutter SOGGY PAWS, December 2000: |
