Colón, Panama

January 18, 2001

We were notified that our Canal Advisor would board Limerence at 5:45am on Wednesday morning. We were well prepared with four 125-foot transit lines on the deck, fourteen plastic wrapped tires hanging neatly around the hull of Limerence, and all gear stowed or secure on deck. The days before our Transit were filled with paying port fees, submitting passports, crew lists, vessel documentation, and paying the $550 transit fee along with the $800 refundable buffer or security deposit fee. It is required to have four line handlers aboard, plus the Captain and Canal Advisor.

Our intention was to transit the Canal, rest a day or two in Port Cristobal on the Caribbean coast, then push on to Portobelo and finally the San Blas Islands. Hopefully all would go well. There are plenty of stories about accidents occurring in the Canal as a result of strong winds, rough concrete walls designed for steel ships, or the heavy turbulence caused as locks fill. Our line handlers Gregg and Cynthia Rose from the vessel Blue Ribbon came aboard the night before. We also had son Drew visiting us and helping as a line handler. No one slept well Tuesday night as we anticipated the next day.

As one prepares for a transit of the Canal, the tension builds because of the many details to take care of and the historical significance of the Canal itself. At the time of the opening of the Canal in 1914, the construction represented the largest and most costly single construction effort mounted anywhere on earth. It affected thousands of people and was a complex political, engineering, and governmental effort. The novel by David McCullough, "The Path Between the Seas", tells the fascinating story. The Southern Cross hung low in the sky and morning air felt brisk as we sat in the cockpit sipping coffee and nervously awaiting our Canal Advisor. We got the radio call at 5:45 am that he would board within fifteen minutes. Suddenly a launch roared up to Limerence and our Advisor leaped aboard. Rodrick was a pleasant fellow with five years of service under his belt. Each Advisor is an experienced tugboat Captain in training to become a Canal Pilot. They come up through the ranks over a period of many years. Once Rodrick boarded us, we departed immediately and motored under the Bridge of the Americans and approached the first lock.

The Miraflores Locks consists of four chambers, and two lanes (east and west) of two locks in series. Our large transit lines were flaked and ready in each corner of Limerence. Our first position was center chamber tie (alone in the middle of the lock) and behind a huge ship. The PCA line handlers on the walls of the lock heaved down four lines with a monkey fist knot on the end. We quickly grabbed each monkey fist and tied an overhand knot around the loop on each line, and the PCA handlers pulled our lines back up and secured them to bollards fore and aft. We cleated our lines and they became taunt as we were in a spider web in the middle of the Miraflores chamber.

We watched in awe as the chamber filled with water, and we – along with the ship – were lifted up to the level of the next chamber. The ship moved out first, and then our lines were dropped down to us and we motored into the next lock. Our Advisor communicated with the Lockmaster who is in charge of operating the locks and trouble shoots the spacing of vessels and the rate of incoming water.

We repeated the drill for the next lock, and then approached the Pedro Miguel Locks. They are two chambers, side by side and are negotiated just like the Miraflores Locks. There is a Marina at the Locks called the Pedro Miguel Boat Club. Many cruisers abort their transit here, and spend months enjoying the services of the PMBC. It is a safe place to leave your boat for inland travel and has the ambience of a funky tropical Marina. When ready to proceed the rest of the way through the Canal, one just calls the scheduler and sets an appointment to finish the transit. To continue our transit, we were tied to a pusher launch for the Pedro Miguel Locks, which is like pulling up to a fuel dock. Throw the launch crew the lines, and let them do the rest! After exiting the locks, we entered the Gaillard Cut. The seven mile long Galliard Cut is truly a ditch though the rocks and shale. Fifty trainloads of rock and soil were removed every day during the height of the excavation through the Continental Divide. It was just after 9am when we entered the Galliard Cut. Time for breakfast!! After coffee and rolls earlier, scrambled eggs and sausage sure tasted great! We were on our way now. . .only Gatun Lake and three more down locks to go! The sun was brilliant and we motored along passing all sorts of interesting vessels. . ships, yachts, sailboats, and Canal service boats. Lake Gatun is a beautiful fresh water lake surrounded by dense jungle. We passed part of the original route of the Panama Railroad. Built between 1850 and 1858, it was a popular route for the Forty-Niners traveling to and from the California Gold Rush, and later played an important role in the construction of the Canal. Thousands of men died during the construction from the oppressive heat and the disease malaria. We motored through the 20 mile Lake and took a little short cut through Banana Channel which was more picturesque. We saw black howler monkeys and many tropical birds. We had a two-hour delay waiting for a position in the Gatun Locks, so we tied to a buoy and rested just outside the entrance.

The Gatun Locks consist of six chambers in two lanes going down to the Caribbean. We tied up to two tugboats, so the ride was relatively easy. Captain Doug had to be careful to motor quickly away from the tugs after each lock to avoid the turbulence from their powerful engines. This time we also had a huge ship for company in the lock, but they were directly behind us. As we exited the final lock the seawater surged in to meet the freshwater, and Doug struggled to maintain steerage in the swirling current. Twenty knots of wind on the nose greeted us as we entered the Caribbean and a full brilliant rainbow arched over the harbor.

The Canal Transit was a success and we motored into the Port of Cristobal by 5pm. We off loaded our advisor, Rodrick and friends Cynthia and Gregg Rose at the Panama Canal Yacht Club, and proceeded to the anchorage just outside. Rested and organized after our transit, we are planning to sail to Portobelo, Panama within a few days.

Fair winds friends, Doug and Judy and Drew Decker

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