Shelter Bay Marina: May-Nov 2025

Rainbows were frequent during the rainy season at Shelter Bay Marina.

I’m finally getting to my most procrastinated blog post yet! Beagle Spirit spent several months in Shelter Bay Marina during the off season.  Getting her ready to be stored safely and getting several boat projects done while she was out of the water and before the start of our next cruising season was a lot of work, work, work.  Perhaps I needed to be reminded why we are doing this cruising thing to drum up the enthusiasm to write about it. Writing today from the stunning Cocos Banderos Islands in the San Blas Archipelago does just that—the setting is gorgeous, the smooth and breezy sailing is a dream, and the Guna culture is fascinating. All that work was definitely worth it!

We had arrived at Shelter Bay after transiting the Panama Canal on May 19, and we were immediately struck by the cruising crossroads that is Shelter Bay.  Boats and cruisers from all over the world pass through going east or west through the canal.  Chatting with such intrepid cruisers who have covered so many miles under their keel was very inspiring.

Meanwhile, we had 10 days until we were scheduled to fly back to Idaho.  Scary stories were heard often about mold, pest infestations, lightning, UV damage from the searing sun and water damage from the torrential rain that falls during Panama’s rainy season.   Hoping to prevent any of those unpleasant problems, we had a long list of things to do to prep the boat for the off-season break. 

To help prevent mildew, we put everything on the boat that was fabric or paper into large vacuum sealed bags.  In the end, we packed up 25 jumbo bags filled with clothes, linens, books, manuals, bags, décor, games, shoes, rigging lines.  We sprayed down every surface with dilute vinegar—all the floors, upholstery, cabinets, ceilings, doors, and wood interior. On the exterior, we treated the entire teak deck with borocol, an antimicrobial and protective solution.  To avoid leaks, we covered all the hatches with plastic as an extra layer of defense and made sure to leave open the lowest thru-hull in the bilge for water to drain in case we did get a leak. 

To keep pests away, we removed every speck of food from the boat. The frig and freezer were cleared, cleaned and left open to the air.  Roach traps were set and ant bait placed around the thru hulls (we kept a careful list of where we put these so we could be sure to remove them once we returned).  We learned that dryer sheets and bay leaves were deterrents also, so we placed those in all the cabinets.  As a final defense, we plugged all open thru-hulls with stainless steel scouring pads which would allow for drainage but keep bugs out.

The sails were removed and placed inside the boat along with the cockpit cushions, paddleboards and bikes.  Almost all the running rigging was removed so it would not suffer UV damage.  The matresses, floorboards, and cushions were all tipped to allow ventilation into storage areas within the boat.  The diesel tank was filled to full to prevent moisture condensation and bacterial growth. The water tanks and heads were emptied dry. A large dehumidifier was placed in the galley that would run continuously on shore power.  Electronics were disconnected if possible and jumper cables were run from our spreaders to the jack stands supporting the boat, hoping this would give lightning an easy path to the ground. Exhausted, hot, and ready for a break we whispered good-bye and good luck to Beagle Spirit once she was tucked into Shelter Bay’s secure storage.  

Beagle Spirit tucked away in secure storage.

Our summer break was great, and we appreciated the opportunity to be active and reconnect with friends and family.  We had our own space with a long-term Airbnb in Boise. We enjoyed lots of lake time in McCall and took a few trips to visit our kids. I was lucky to spend 2 weeks guiding my parents on an east coast road trip to visit several of their grandchildren and Brett had some good mountain time with the guys.  The time passed quickly and before we knew it, it was October and time to return to the boat!

Our boat watch service had sent us periodic pictures of the boat while we were away which looked promising. Indeed, when we returned, we found that all that work done in May had been worthwhile. The interior was pristine—just as we left it. One of the windows on the hard dodger had shattered and would need to be replaced and the exterior needed a thorough scrubbing, but Beagle Spirit largely made it through the break in good shape.  Several boats around ours in secure storage sustained electronics damage from lightning, but we had no impact, so we dodged a bullet there.

Now we embarked on the next phase of work, work, work. We had several maintenance and upgrade projects to get done.  While the boat was on the hard, we had Shelter Bay workers sand the bottom paint back to the original gelcoat and reapply new epoxy and anti-fouling paint.  We also had them replace 6 below water thru-hulls that were showing signs of corrosion.  Hoping to maximize our season, we had returned to Panama to work on our projects at the end of the rainy season.  We were dismayed to learn that the rain doesn’t gradually taper off but instead works itself up into a frenzy in November, then quickly dies down in December. Painting between rain squalls was tricky and led to some delays along with the unanticipated 5 national holidays in November. 

While the boat was on the hard, we were staying in the Shelter Bay hotel. I took advantage of the hotel lounge to set up my sewing station and tackled several projects: chaps for our new dinghy, dodger window shades, new shower curtains, and a rain shield for the front hatch. Our room was just big enough to set up our dinghy so I could run back and forth testing the fit as I sewed.  The housekeepers were so kind and curious about the project, patiently working around the huge dinghy in our room. Some cruisers live on their boats on the hard, but we are too soft to live with no A/C, no running water, no frig, no toilet.  I honestly don’t see how they do it.  Beagle Spirit splashed back into the water on November 13, which we celebrated, for we could move back on board, cook for ourselves, and curb the hotel expenses while we continued to get the boat back in order. 

Now that we were in the water, Brett tackled his biggest project which was to install and wire new solar panels. He did a tremendous amount of research over the summer to get the whole schematic designed, including what panels would be best and all the materials required—wires, connectors, charge controllers, circuit breakers, switches—Wow!  We hired Adrian at Shelter Bay to weld up more robust davit supports on the back of our boat to support the larger panels.  With the significant increase in solar power, we no longer had a need for our wind generator, which was producing only a small amount of power and shading our solar panels. It was a little sad to see it go, but we like the cleaner look of the boat’s stern.  

Those were the big projects, but there were many smaller ones also which quickly filled the days.  It seemed every time we crossed one thing off the list another was added. We replaced the broken window, installed a new BBQ, stern anchor, wheels on the new dinghy, replaced zincs, changed oil and fuel filters, replaced joker valves in the heads, unpackaged all those vacuum bags and got the boat looking like home again.  

Learning how to get all those parts and supplies delivered to us was a research project in itself.  We used freight forwarders to ship items via air or sea (depending upon weight, size, and how much we were willing to pay for speed).  In the end, it was not too hard to get things shipped from the US or Sweden (many parts came from Hallberg Rassy in Sweden), but it did take planning and more time than we were accustomed to in the US.  We were able to source some parts in Panama, including the new solar panels, but most had to be imported.

We were grateful to be at Shelter Bay for all these projects.  It was a comfortable place to stay for a while with a very secure marina, a pool which we hit every day at 4pm, a decent hotel and restaurant, a gym, many friendly staff, and a bus that takes you to/from the grocery and hardware store.  Mr Ranger, the bus driver, was especially helpful in getting our propane tank valve replaced and functioning properly.  A local couple selling fresh produce and amazing prawns would arrive twice weekly.  We appreciated having workers on site who could help us get our projects done.  The jungle surrounding the marina had a few roads for interesting and invigorating walks.  The marina is adjacent to a Panamanian Aeronaval base and it was interesting to hear and see the daily activity, including some military helicopter exercises in conjunction with the US Navy.

On the holidays and weekends, we enjoyed a couple excursions to Panama City. We were pleased to befriend Edgar, an Uber driver, who drove the 1.5 hr trip between Shelter Bay and Panama City for us several times. We were especially excited to witness the November Independence Day parades.  Two full days of parades starting in Casco Viejo, where we were staying. It was a jovial and patriotic celebration with large numbers of school bands and marchers, drums and xylophones, fire brigade bands, military displays, and traditional dancers in elaborate costumes.

Although all the items on the boat project list never get crossed off, we were finally close enough to depart the marina and head off to Bocas del Toro on Nov 30.  We were very excited to get back to the fun parts of cruising.  Season 3 on Beagle Spirit was launched!

Thank you Shelter Bay!