Approaching Panama City from the water, you are first struck by the incredible number of freighters and cruise ships anchored for miles around the entrance to the Panama Canal, all waiting for their turn to either transit the Canal or proceed a short way into the Canal entrance to Panama City/Balboa's commercial docks. Everything you see is so large, you lose your ability to judge distance, proportion and speed. And your AIS shows so many targets, it goes into seizure.
On our first approach, we aimed for the Balboa Yacht Club where we stayed for 4 days. I'd recommend it - not so much for the amenities, as there aren't that many within walking distance - at least not when we were there at the end of December. But it's the experience of scooting up the entrance to the Panama Canal, taking your turn amongst the giant cargo ships coming and going, to grab a mooring buoy just
outside the channel that makes the Balboa Yacht Club a worthwhile destination. The Bridge of the Americas is almost overhead, and the views of all the world's commerce coming and going just a few yards from your boat, is part of the romance of cruising to distant ports. Here's a sunset view from our mooring at the Balboa Yacht Club looking back southwest out to sea, toward the freighters' commercial anchorage. They go to thehorizon and beyond.
And, here's a view of the Bridge of the Americas in the distance, taken from the (free) Las Brisas municipal anchorage on the other side of the causeway and a couple miles from the Balboa Yacht Club, looking west back toward the Balboa Yacht Club's location.
Looking north from the Las Brisas anchorage, here's a view of 
the Panama City skyline. It's even prettier at night. Right now, in February, the Balboa Yacht Club's 80 mooring buoys are mostly occupied, and there are about 60 boats anchored in Las Brisas. There are more in the smaller anchorage of La Playita across the causeway to the south. This area is truly an international gateway; there seem to be as many German and French sailboats here as there are Panamanian, American and Canadian. The distance-cruising season is ramping up and the early-bird boats have already started their journey to the Galapagos and eventually, the South Pacific.
Views like these - and the outfitting opportunities that a big city offers in a location like this - overcome the heat and humidity, the rain squalls and lightning, and make a cruiser think about spending some quality time here before moving on...
m
I'm actually about to be in your neck of the woods! I got a gig playing on a cruise ship starting in early March, and I meet the boat in Colon (can't figure out how to add the accent mark).
It's a pretty long gig, but if you need an extra crewmember for a little while starting sometime after September, let me know!
Posted by: David McW | February 06, 2011 at 07:13 PM
WOOT!That's great, David - hope you negotiated free buffet food as part of the gig - we hear the cruise-ship cuisine is pretty lavish. By the time you board the ship in Colon, we may actually BE THERE OR NEARBY - close enough, that if we find a way to sneak aboard your cruise ship, we'll masquerade as a couple of chubby middle-aged white people who only want to hear "Margaritaville"...WE WILL BE IN TOUCH.
Posted by: sailnmuffin | February 08, 2011 at 04:15 PM
Ahoy SV Gallant Fox,
I am a SF bay area sailor and pilot who will be in Panama Mar 29 thru April 1 looking for someone in need of line handlers for a transit. My copilot and I would love to crew for a sailboat in transit if you happen to know if anyone or how I can contact someone in need. Thanks and Fair winds...
Posted by: The Mumf (aka Ken Mumford) | March 20, 2011 at 01:20 PM
Hi Ken - we just bounced in to Isla Linton anchorage on the Caribbean side of Panama & caught up w/yer email.
Line handling? Off the top of my head, I'd suggest contacting the folks at Shelter Bay Marina (on the Colon side), www.shelterbaymarina.com, email = info@shelterbaymarina.com; and/or the Balboa Yacht Club or the La Playita Marina (on the Balboa side) - sorry, you'll have to Google their websites & email. Any one or all of them might be able to connect you with someone who's transiting. You could also try looking up two Yahoo groups - the Cruisers' Network Online (Caribbean side) & the Southbound Group (Pacific side) - follow the online instructions for joining, & then post a message about line handling. If none of that works & you're in the Canal area anyway from 3/29 on, swing by the Balboa Yacht Club in Balboa/Panama City, introduce yourself to the marina manager,& ask to post your notice on their bulletin boards. You could do the same thing at Shelter Bay Marina if you happen to be on the Colon side.
Hope this helps - it's truly the experience of a lifetime, to go thru the Canal on a small boat!
Kind regards,
m
Posted by: sailnmuffin | March 24, 2011 at 02:46 PM