Panama

[soma]

First of, this is NOT a solicitation for paid work. I am only inquiring if something like this is possible, timing-wise.

My girlfriend and I are both very experienced sailors hoping to hop a ride out of Panama headed west. My big concern is that apparently this is late in the season to look for rides.

With that said, our plan is to bide our time in Panama City, hunting around for jobs in Colon, Shelter Bay Marina, Balboa YC, etc. I am hoping we can network a bit by doing some linehandling for other yachts.

From what I gather there is up to a 6 week delay for boats transiting. I am hoping that that backlog means there are still boats waiting, without crew.

So...what are our chances? We plan to buy RT tickets to hedge our bets, and if nothing pans out we will head up to Boquette or Bocas for some beach time.

I've always dreamt of putting my thumb out at the end of the Panama Canal. Whadayathink?

There are plenty of posts net-wide about folks wanting to do this. There are very few posts talking about the results. I figure the people who really know the answers are the boatowners who have done this trip.

Thanks in advance for your tips and feedback.

[Lighthouse]

As far as the delays in the Panama Canal are concerned I do believe that things have been pretty well back to normal for some time now. See THIS THREAD