Diesel Duck arrived at the Shelter Bay Marina by the Panama Canal on April 24th. I noticed two other power boats tied to the docks that were flying their SSCA flags and we went to say hello. The "Two by Sea" from Palm Beach Gardens, FL and the "Serena Ray" from Blaine, WA. Very nice!
Since we were here last, three years ago, the place has changed a bit. The long-time stored boats on the hard are now all fenced in and are gated. Boats in the yard that need work are parked separate and the owners are encouraged to rent a room at the duration of haul-out at the onsite hotel (upstairs in the main building) at market price. If the owners opt to sleep onboard while hauled, a surcharge of $10/night is applied. Also if the boat had a slip to which it will return, the slip charge is applied on top of the haul-out charges. A swimming pool and hot tub were added to the premises as well as additional shower/washrooms. A gym with very nice equipment, but also of course for a user-fee was built for the enjoyment of the cruisers. The nicest addition, I think, is the large air-conditioned lounge upstairs with comfortable leather sofas, tables, chairs, Internet stations and a flat screen TV with DVD player. The marina premises now also sport a mini market and a small ship's chandlery with limited supplies, but at least it's something.
This morning the free marina shuttle bus to the "4Altos Mall" in Colon didn't arrive because there was a problem at the Panama Canal Bridge which got hit by a freighter and no traffic could pass. The bus also brings in the marina employees. Coincidently, the power went off at the marina docks at around 8 a.m. (it was off also for several hours on Sunday) and apparently the people who could fix the problem were on the bus! Naturally, today the weather is overcast, so our solar panels are not much help to keep up the charge for the house batteries. Even the boats with wind generators are out of luck as there is not a whiff of wind in the air. And yes, Benno and I removed our old generator last Sunday, so if the power doesn't come back on, we'll have to run the main engine to charge the batteries to keep the fridge and freezer going. Thank goodness we didn't have to do that as the hydro was restored in the afternoon and the canal brigde got fixed.