What this guide is
A reference, not a magazine. Each page answers one question a boater in Panama actually asks: how do I register this boat with the AMP, what does a canal transit cost, which marina lets me pick up charter guests, what is a zarpe. Pages are short, in English, and link to the official Spanish-language source so you can check it yourself.
The guide is organised in seven hubs (canal & cruising, buy & sell, ownership, careers, charter business, safety & wildlife, marinas) plus place guides, beginning with Panama City. More regions follow as they are researched.
Who writes it
Fernando Yemail writes and signs off every page. He runs Feeling Yachty, which operates yacht rentals in Panama City as well as in Miami, and holds a USCG OUPV captain's licence. The "Fernando's take" box on each page is his recommendation, labelled as opinion; the rest of the page is sourced from official documents.
Fernando is not a lawyer, a customs broker or a licensed Panamanian maritime agent. Where a question needs one, the page says so.
How pages are researched and reviewed
Every Panama page follows the site's editorial policy and review process:
- Rules and fees are taken from the responsible agency's own publications: the Autoridad Marítima de Panamá (AMP), Autoridad del Canal de Panamá (ACP), Autoridad de Turismo de Panamá (ATP), Autoridad de los Recursos Acuáticos de Panamá (ARAP), Servicio Nacional Aeronaval (SENAN), MiAmbiente, Migración and Aduanas, plus marina operators' official pages. Sources are listed at the bottom of each page.
- Where a fee or requirement cannot be confirmed from an official page, the page says "confirm with the agency" rather than printing a number.
- Fernando reviews each page for how things work on the dock before it publishes, and the page shows a reviewed date.
- Corrections are welcome and logged at corrections.
How it relates to the Florida guide
Yachty Guide started in Miami. The Florida section covers US rules (USCG, FWC, FLHSMV) and the Panama section uses the same structure so a reader moving between the two can find the equivalent page. Florida pages that are country-neutral, such as weather go/no-go decisions, pre-departure briefings and life jackets, are linked from Panama pages instead of being rewritten. Where Panama differs, the Panama page says so plainly.
Feeling Yachty and this guide
Feeling Yachty operates yacht rentals in Panama City. That is why the Panama guide starts in Panama City and why the marina and charter pages are specific. The guide does not sell charters; it explains how things work for everyone, including competitors and people who will never book a boat. Read the ownership disclosure and about Feeling Yachty for how the business and the guide are kept separate.