The Panama Guide: A Complete Guide to Cruising Panama and Transiting the Panama Canal

The Panama Guide is the most comprehensive guide written about the extraordinarily beautiful waters of the Caribbean and Pacific Coasts of Panama. It contains vital information for planning waterborne adventures along these fascinating shores. With 187 detailed chartlets The Panama Guide travels through the 365 islands of San Blas, explores the protected bays of Bocas del Toro, the green shores of the Las Perlas archipelago, the intriguing rivers leading into the tropical forest as well as the spectacular Panama Canal. This book includes explicit piloting instructions, GPS waypoints, lists of navigational aids, local services, customs regulations and recommendations for onshore activities. Nancy Schwalbe Zydler and Tom Zydler are long time contributors to nautical publications throughout the U.S. and Europe including Cruising World, Yachting, Boating International, Sailing, Sail, Yachting World, Yachting Monthly, Classic Boat, Southern Boating as well as Le Chasse Maree, Zagle and Nautique. Nancy and Tom spent three years sailing their yawl Mollymawk throughout Panama to write this guide and have personally visited every area described. Beautiful photos throughout featuring Tom Zydler's photography depicts the splendor and panorama of cruising in Panama. This tropical country boasts some of the most beautiful, colorful and wild natural scenery anywhere. The Panama Guide will show you the way to one of the world's most fascinating, yet virtually unspoiled cruising grounds.• "What makes this book exciting is the enthusiasm the authors show for the tucked-away anchorages, ...every inch of the coast has been meticulously researched by the authors ..." Yachting• " ... a glorious full-colour centre spread packed with Tom's superb photos of the people, boats and breathtaking scenery." Classic Boat• "The first truly complete cruising guide to Panama." Sail• "While conducting research for Lonely Planet Panama, I came across this incredible work by Nancy Schwalbe Zydler and Tom Zydler. Their attention to detail is remarkable. The history and description they provide is right on and well put. Much of the information that appears on the islands they comment upon you won't find anywhere else. For cruising sailors and Panama buffs alike, The Panama Guide is an excellent read and a vast source of knowledge." Scott Doggett, Author, Lonely Planet Panama

Nancy Schwalbe Zydler

The tidal creek twisting through a maze of marshland behind her home in Savannah, Georgia introduced Nancy to the enjoyment of exploring the currents and shifting sands in a coastal environment. The family’s sloop and weekly Lightning and Penguin class sailing at the Savannah Yacht Club led to sailing adventures in inshore as well as offshore waters. Later, at the University of Georgia, she studied fine arts. Her paintings of tropical plant life have been exhibited at the Cheekwood Botanical Gardens and Art Museum in Tennessee, at the Hilton Head Museum of Art in South Carolina, and at galleries in South Carolina and South Florida.

In 1975, Nancy married and sailed away with Tom Zydler. Since that time, they have voyaged from the Great Lakes to Brazil, from Faeroe Islands to the Galapagos, and are still pursuing a life at sea. She has written articles about sailing for Cruising World, Sailing, Sail, Yachting Monthly, and Southern Boating. She holds a US Coast Guard 100 Ton Captains License.

Tom Zydler started racing dinghies at the age of 12 in his native Poland. He gradually moved up to ocean racing in the Baltic Sea, eventually becoming the youngest Polish holder of a yacht masters license for all oceans. He graduated from the Merchant Marine College and pursued a professional career at sea until receiving the first mate’s position. Next, he moved ashore to study English Literature at the University of Lodz. After getting his M.A. with a thesis on Joseph Conrad, he stayed to teach English at the University while continuing to sail during the long vacations that academic life permitted. He led sailing expeditions as far as Iceland, Jan Mayen, and East Greenland. In 1972, he captained a 45 foot yawl from Poland to Cape Horn rounding it from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Next he served as a deck officer on German ships and in 1974, immigrated to the United States where he skippered large private and charter yachts after obtaining a US Coast Guard 500 Ton Masters License for all oceans.

Tom writes for yachting magazines and has been published in Cruising World, Yachting, Sailing, Sail, Southern Boating, Wooden Boat, and Professional Boatbuilder in the US, Classic Boat, Yachting World, and Yachting Monthly in the UK, and in Le Chasse Mareé in France. He markets his marine photography through Stock Newport in Portland, Maine.