What Ever Happened to Pedro Miguel?
©2011 Latitude 38 Media, LLC
After operating for nearly 70 years as a favorite stopover for world cruisers transiting the Panama Canal, the nonprofit Pedro Miquel Boat Club was forcibly closed down several years ago by the Panama Canal Authority. Buildings were boarded up and surrounding fences were chained shut. The club lay just a stone’s throw from the Canal’s Pedro Miguel Locks, and former tenants were told that the Authority had important plans for the site which precluded the continued operation of the club and its adjacent boatyard.
©2011 Latitude 38 Media, LLC
On our recent trip to Panama we checked out the property to see what progressive new developments were taking place. Sadly, we found that no improvements have been made. Instead, the formerly vibrant facilities are being silently decomposed by tropical decay.
It’s obvious to the local boaters we interviewed that the shutdown was more political than practical. Apparently the closure was simply an effort to purge yet another remnant of the U.S.’s control of the Canal Zone — a process that’s been ongoing ever since President Jimmy Carter transfered ownership of the Zone back to the Panamanian government (by way of General Torrijos) in 1977.
©2011 Latitude 38 Media, LLC
Since the mid-’30s the club had been a friendly place for world cruisers to work on their boats, and tenants had actively supported charitable causes within the Panamanian community. The closure marked the end of an era which is not likely to be replicated anywhere else along The Ditch. So today, as the crumbling buildings and a few abandoned boats slowly fade away, all that remains of value are the many happy memories held by sailors all over the world.
©2011 Latitude 38 Media, LLC
Used to sail Sunfish there when stationed at Ft Clayton ..,.it was very picturesque and full of sea farin’ characters. Sad to see it go…a part of Old Panama
I saw your comments. Nice memories. Good health to you and your family. Retired now, serving a church and a first responder in NH.
I had wonderful memories learning how to use the Sunfish at the PMYC while stationed at Ft. Clayton in the 1990’s. There were some colorful characters who lived full time on their boats and frequented the club facilities.
I was there for six weeks in 1999 a few weeks before the handover. We had started out in Baja Ha Ha VI with two dogs on a Gemini catamaran called Miki G.
The club members were promising to put a fight to keep the club open. Now in 2023 there’s a sewage plant on the site. I don’t think the canal is improved by that.
My late husband Dennis and I were there during the handover in 1999/2000. We left Seattle in August of 1997 aboard Golondrina, a Kelly Peterson 44. We truly enjoyed the cruising experience, slow pace and the people we met, cruisers and locals alike. We didn’t go back to Seattle until 2006.