Catching up with Captain Tim of Coronado Fishing Club

By Jennie and Tim Earll

We recently caught up with Jenni and Tim Earll of Coronado Fishing Club to ask them about living in Panama and about their boat tour business. Here’s what they had to say.

Jenni and I had been working corporate jobs in Seattle Washington USA for some time and we were looking for a way to escape the rat race and try on a slower-paced Central American lifestyle. We initially had been looking at Mexico, somewhere on the Yucatan Peninsula and that was our 5 year plan. That plan was interrupted when we received a call from one of Jenni’s high school friends telling us they had this property in San Carlos, Panama and they weren’t satisfied with the way it was being taken care of. After some discussion we decided to give it a try and 3 months later we had sold our Seattle home and pretty much everything else and here we are. Fortunately we had already spent some time in Panama a few years earlier so we had some notion of what to expect.

Panama is one of a few countries that has relatively soft immigration policies so it’s easy to get your foot in the door so to speak. We’ve spent our first year and a half living here on tourist visas but have begun the process to gain full time residency. It’s also nice they use the U.S. dollar, that and the canal offer a baseline stability not found in other Latin American countries. Add to that the lovely Panamanian people and culture and it makes for a great place to live!

We knew retirement wasn’t in our near future and we had to come up a way to supplement our earnings from property management/caretaking plus we had limited savings and assets to work with. I’m a lifelong sailor and being on the water is in my blood so having another boat was kinda baked into the cake as they say. We’ve been out on boats in almost every country we’ve visited and found there was a real lack of access to waterborne activities in the Playa Coronado area. After investigating many different business opportunities in the area, we decided to give this boat tourism thing a whirl. It also helps that a brand new marina at Vista Mar had just opened so we saw the potential there and went for it.

One of the biggest challenges we faced was evaluating the water tourism market in the area and developing a successful business model that hits a price point tourists and residents can afford. Every traveling angler knows there’s excellent fishing 6 hours away on the Azuero Peninsula but the average tourist is probably not willing to make that trip and pay thousands of dollars for the experience. We specialize in accessibility for traveling families and local residents and we have a lot of fun doing it!

We love being outdoors year round and the unique perspective one can only get by living in another country and culture. We love the Panamanian people and their attitudes on life and how to live it. Lastly, we love the great community of like minded ex-pats who weren’t afraid to take a chance on a new adventure.

There are going to be challenges that are not “as advertised”, these challenges will vary based on your own expectations and comfort levels. Check out the local blogs and facebook groups like Coronado Concierge Panama and ask questions of the folks who live here. Strive for perfection, embrace the chaos!

Coronado Fishing Club offers fishing, snorkeling, sightseeing, whale watching and cocktail cruises in the Playa Coronado, Panama area. Check out their website at www.coronadofishingclub.com or contact them at [email protected] for more information or to book a trip.