Panama To New Zealand

[landandsea]

Hello everyone,

Finally I have made it down to Panama, right around the time when, according to the "Hitchhiking the Oceans as Sailing Crew" most boats are leaving towards the South Pacific, Australia, and to my destination, New Zealand. The time seems to be perfect too, as the heavy rains have just stopped, and the weather is stabilizing.

On the other hand, I keep hearing that I should wait a few more moths. In fact, the best time to leave Panama for the South Pacific would be April, since that's when the cyclone season ends. Makes sense. But now I'd just like to hear what you guys have to say about this.

Thanks to anyone for any input,

David

(landandsea)

[redbopeep]

Originally Posted by landandsea

Hello everyone,

Finally I have made it down to Panama, right around the time when, according to the "Hitchhiking the Oceans as Sailing Crew" most boats are leaving towards the South Pacific, Australia, and to my destination, New Zealand. The time seems to be perfect too, as the heavy rains have just stopped, and the weather is stabilizing.

On the other hand, I keep hearing that I should wait a few more moths. In fact, the best time to leave Panama for the South Pacific would be April, since that's when the cyclone season ends. Makes sense. But now I'd just like to hear what you guys have to say about this.

Thanks to anyone for any input,

David

(landandsea)

Hi, David,

Congrats for making it down to Panama where you should be able to link up with some cruisers! I'm sure a more knowledgeable cruiser will come along to give an opinion...In the meanwhile, I must say that I would be tempted to take a little bit of side tripping into the Caribbean ---just seeing what comes up.

You'd likely find your way back to Panama before April. But, if your goal is to get to NZ, then by all means, find a ride with a cruising boat that seems a good match for you--now or later. In the meanwhile, If you already have ANY boating experience that could prove useful to the task, I hope you spend some time volunteering as a line handler for some of the cruisers transiting the Canal, as many backpackers, wannabe cruisers, etc, do. Make a few volunteer trips and you're likely to meet up with "someone who knows someone" going to NZ and you will have had some fun and assisted some other cruisers while you're at it.

Best regards,

Brenda