Boaters Protest Loss of Panama Canal Yacht Club Docks
PANAMA (thelog.com) -- “They’re all gone,” said Russ Gudgeon, director general of Shelter Bay Marina in Panama, located across the harbor from the ill-fated Panama Canal Yacht Club. Despite an ongoing court battle, Panama Canal YC facilities were suddenly demolished last month by Panama Ports Co.
“The docks are gone, the boats are gone, everything over there is just gone. The last 12 boats from Panama Canal Yacht Club just came in here this week,” Gudgeon said.
In February, a surprise attack by bulldozers at dawn destroyed the tiny 81-year-old marina located at the Caribbean end of the Panama Canal -- an important staging dock for yachts preparing for transit.
Panama Ports Co. (PPC) used its cranes to blockade the marina’s land entrance with three 40-foot containers, and PPC workers fenced off the marina’s shoreline. Frightened boaters still berthed in slips on the docks were ordered by PPC workers to get out by April 1, although the yacht club staffers were still operating out of a small shed on the isolated property.
“It was totally illegal,” said a Panama Canal YC board member, who asked not to be identified by name because of fear for his family’s safety. “The Panama Ports Company knew that the court administrator had tied their hands, but they destroyed (the clubhouse) anyway,” he said, pointing to rubble where the clubhouse had stood.
Members of the yacht club vowed to fight on in court.
“The PPC doesn’t want to deal with yachts anymore,” said the Panama Canal YC official. “They only want cargo, because that’s where the money is.
“Yachts are no longer welcome in Panama, but we’re still fighting them in court,” concluded the board member.
Hundreds of cruising boaters worldwide have written letters of support for the club to be spared or be rebuilt in a safer location. Interested boaters can convey their own messages of support for the club via The Log Newspaper, by e-mailing eston@thelog.com.
Meanwhile, yachts entering Colon Harbor can find refuge at Shelter Bay Marina, which has 88 full-service slips. For more information on Shelter Bay Marina, visit www.shelterbaymarina.com.
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Original Source: thelog.com
Date Retrieved: April 25, 2009.
