Sailin'

Mr. Hollywood says on Sep 12, 2004, 06:04:

Carribean coast? I'm guessing you want the Carribean coast? Cartagena has a nice sailing scene and, I believe, some charter (bareboat) operations. Never sailed there myself but with the Islas del Rosario so close it seems like a great base of operations. The main pleasure marina is, I think, club nautico. It's run by English speaking expats so you should call them.

http://www.clubnauticocartagena.com/

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gunn44 says on Sep 12, 2004, 17:28:

Sailin' Thanks, Mr. H. As a practical matter, the Carribean coast makes sense. I was also curious about the Pacific side. The Club Nautico site was great...thanks. Do you know of similar facilities on the Pacific side? Or, a good place to look on the net for just general conditions info on either side?

I did a lot of Pacific fishing offshore Salinas/Punta Carnera Ecuador a few years back and was really impressed.

Thanks again for your kind response -gunner

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Sam Salmon says on Sep 12, 2004, 17:51:

I haven't sailed the Pacific The Caribbean side as you get closer to Panama very lumpy with most afternoons blowing up and making some of the vast shallow bays quite uncomfortable.
It looked deeper around CTG so naturally would make for better sailing.

I haven't sailed the Pacific side but I have fished it from a skiff-a very wet place-this from someone who lives in Vancouver.
Gorgeous though and relatively unpeopled as well as dirt poor.

I've been to Salinas as well-the scenery is much nicer in Colombia.
I remember the Santa Elena peninsula being as flat as a Japanese woman's ass and about as interesting.

' a la orden!'

' a la orden!'

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gunn44 says on Sep 14, 2004, 00:01:

Sailin' There has been little positive said about sailboat facilities on the Pacific side of CO. I was not really impressed with the facilities in Ecuador, either. Club Nautico CTG looks as good as anything I've seen in America Latina.

I loved the fishing out of Punta Carnera...had 6 billfish up and got 2 blue marlin boated. The threasher sharks were jumping all over the place! I asked the capitan and he said there are rivers of bait fish...didn't qet the Spanish word for the type of fish...and the threashers put on the aeriel display to stun the fish and eat 'em up. Spectacular!

Thanks for the response -gunner

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Chuck says on Sep 14, 2004, 21:56:

Feel free to sail between Cartagena and San Blas Islands Yes.. Club Nautico in Cartagena is your best choice... if you want to sail west then your trip should include Islas del Rosario, Islas de San Bernardo.. (ask for conch meat,excellent!). Continue to Isla Fuerte (sorry, the water is muddy because the Sinu River is nearby)... then all the way to the Colombian - Panama Border. The Zapsurro bay is awesome and Capurgana, a small town just a mile south is an incredible place to relax with excellent and cheap 3 star hotels. If the Colombian army is present (most of the time is), you should walk to "EL CIELO" (Heaven), about an hour walk into the middle of the jungle. Then you may continue and visit the San Blas ISlands, remember to stop at Puerto Obaldia and clear papers with the Panamanian authorities.

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gunn44 says on Sep 17, 2004, 09:15:

Sailin" Thanks. Appreciate the response. I'll take your advice.

What do you think about the local market for sailboats in the 10-12 metre range? Would Panama be a better place to find one? Are there any classifieds for CO sailboats? I've got some time before I have to start looking.

Regards -gunner

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