Yes, money well spent. The paperwork could probably be done without an agent. But arranging experienced line handlers and lines/fenders is really needed.
Interestingly, that's how people save money, by using their own crew and fenders.
Sadly, it wasn't a 100% clean passage. One of the boats in the raft is a good friend who i am buddying with to California. Althea, the Westsail 32 in the video.
Anyway, after we were all done, seperated, advisor and line handlers off, we decide to raft back up to rest and talk about the next leg to Chiapas, Mexico. Big rookie mistake. He pulls beside me and i toss him a line. As we were starting to position the boats, a huge wake hits us, and our rigs hit, hard. Multiple times.
No damage to Eliana. However, the spreader brackets on Althea are screwed to the mast, not welded like the Morgan. The screws on one of the brackets striped and pulled out.
Should be an easy fix with some thread repair inserts(heli coil). Might have to change to a metric size, if we can't find SAE, but that's ok. We went into Panama city today, and supply shops are closed Sunday, but we got a good lead of who sells them. So hopefully tomorrow morning we can get some inserts and get him fixed.