Some Concerns ?

[RFallon]

About 5 months back i responded to a crew add on this site, someone looking for a crew member to join them for a 10 month sailing voyage starting in panama and ending in australia. Well the time to embark on the voyage is near, about 3 weeks away.

I actually can not wait to get started on this voyage but during my last email correspondence with this person i asked where in colon panama they would like to meet me. The answer i got was rather vauge. Like check your email when you get there and i'll let you know and we don't even know where we will be anchored at.

I found this rather strange but then i have seen some bizzare, strange things in my days. I trust this person, as he seems genuine and honest and i did check him out and his rep (via) the internet.

My question is: Is this normal ?

I have been on 2 other sailing voyages and this never happened. The people knew exactly where they were going to be and meet me on a specific date.

[JeanneP]

This is not to excuse the fellow, but it sounds to me that he hasn't been to Colon before and doesn't know how to arrange things.

Some people are pretty casual, but Colon is the only place we've been where neither Peter nor I would consider my walking anyplace alone - there is that much crime. Colon is not a nice place, so you don't want to be wandering around looking lost. The only place I've been where there were armed guards in the grocery stores - one every other aisle!

Where is this boat right now? Are you sure he's going to be there when you arrive? If so, you tell him to meet you at some shore spot - the yacht club (if it still exists - anybody know for sure?) There are places where being casual is okay, but I don't think Colon is one of them.

You can quote me if you write to him. Here's the link to Watermelon's logs to reassure him that I'm not an amateur. www.cruiser.co.za/hostmelon.asp

Fair winds,

Jeanne

[RFallon]

Jeanne thanks for the reply and info. I did do some research and found out colon is literally considered the (rectum) of panama. Hence the name colon. I found out it is very dangerous for someone alone especially a woman.

I know peter is in Bequia, St Vincent and heading for Colon, Panama soon and should be there on the 15th of feb as we discussed.

I plan of flying into Panama City and taking the Panama Canal railroad the morning of the 15th to colon.

PM me his email address.

[Jack Tyler]

Rachel, this doesn't strike me as that uncommon and I agree with Jeanne that this fellow is a) unfamiliar with the area but perhaps also hasn't bothered to research the arrival that closely. He will most likely arrive in the Flats and there is a facility there (old YC building? certainly a bar) where the taxis congregate, because there are so many yachties who are looking for safe transport into town from there (provisioning, visiting Canal Commission offices, etc.).

While Peter may be a great guy and honest as the day is long, I would encourage you to consider the possibility he may not be there when he says he will (weather problem, broken boat system) and make your own secure arrangements on a place to stay, at the very least for the night after your arrival. If he has arrived, this would also allow you a place to leave your things while visiting the boat and insuring that both it and the general 'vibes' of the crew feel good to you; alternatively, it would help you say 'No, thanks...' and be able to walk away and look for passage with another boat.

Good luck to you and please let us know that things have resolved themselves on your behalf, if you can.

Jack

[RFallon]

Hello Jack,

Thanks for the advise and your concern. I plan on getting a hotel room when i arrive in colon and i will suggest we meet at the YC in colon. I have been corisponding with Peter (via) email and am confident we will get along well. I basiclly get along with everyone.

PS: Admin... please email me

rachel.fallon@usa.com

[RFallon]

Update:

I found out that the YC in colon (Cristobal) is still open i called them.

[JeanneP]

Colón is named for Christopher Columbus. His name in Portuguese is Cristóbal Colón. Unfortunately it's English meaning suits the modern city.

Keep us informed of your situation.

Fair winds,

Jeanne

[RFallon]

Hi Jeanne,

I just heard form Peter the owner of the yatch. He agreed to meet me at the (YC) in colon and escort me back to the yatch. This makes me feel sooooo much better. I was having nightmares of being mugged or worst while in colon.

Now all i have to do is look forward to riding waves and fair winds.

[JeanneP]

The S. Pacific is so-o-o-o wonderful. The Marquesas are okay for a short stop, but try to spend as much time as you can in the Tuomotus and Society Islands. If I had known then what I know now, I would have tried to find a way to spend two years in French Polynesia.

Fair winds and following seas.

Jeanne

[RFallon]

Jeanne.... I know, I am sooooo excited to be going on this once in a life time voyage. Here is our itinerary.....and i use that term loosely.

02/15/2006 - Leave Colon/Panama/Canal/West - Begining of Voyage

03/20/2006 - Leave Galapagos Islands

05/01/2006 - Leave Marquises Islands

06/05/2006 - Leave Tahiti

07/31/2006 - Leave Tonga

08/21/2006 - Leave Fiji

09/18/2006 - Leave Vanuatu

10/09/2006 - Leave New Caledonia

11/06/2006 - Leave Brisbane

11/27/2006 - Arrive Sydney - End of Voyage

Total Voyage Days: 316

[JeanneP]

Before you leave, here are a few of my logs you might be interested in:

http://www.cruiser.co.za/hostmelon13.asp

that's a short one on Fiji.

http://www.cruiser.co.za/hostmelon14.asp - Musket Cove Regatta. Read this at least.

http://www.cruiser.co.za/hostmelon15.asp - Tanna, Vanuatu to New Caledonia. You're going very quickly across the Pacific, so some things will be cut short. I liked Fiji better than Tonga, though Tonga was nice. I LOVED Vanuatu. Friends still live there - Gary and Ingrid Vasconcellos ("Gary Vas") in Vila, sv Obsession. Say hi if you meet them.

Find a way to go to Tanna for a few days before heading to New Caledonia. And.

Our first trip from Vanuatua to New Caledonia the weather was perfect. Two years later Peter and a friend took Watermelon from Vanuatu to New Caledonia and the weather was HORRIBLE, and they took shelter for almost a week in an anchorage before going through the pass to Noumea. The weather then on to Australia was also pretty bad. Just make sure that your schedule doesn't rule you and make you ignore bad weather to keep to a schedule.

Have a ball.