S/V Imagines transit of the Panama Canal 2/05/10

Here we go again, Shelia has tried to post this 3 times. We will try once more!

We departed Shelter Bay at 3PM to arrive in the Flats by 4 PM so the advisor can come on board & take us thru the canal. We have 5 additional crew members on board, Bob and Jeannie from M/V Island Dreamin, Jim and Betsy Long M/V 2bySea and Jon a young spanish man, going around the world before he begins his profession as an attorney.



The advisior arrived at 5PM and he was ready to go, we pulled the hook and off we went. We are to raft up to a HR 46, Peter Pan from Holland. He is in the Bluewater rally that goes around the world in 22 months. We rafted up at 3 Knots, never done that before. We entered the 1st lock at Gatun behind a large container ship. The massive gates began to close and the water began filling at a rate of 1' every 18 seconds. We went from 37' to 69' in 5 minutes. Bob, Jim, and Jon are acting as our line handlers which means they secure our 125' lines to a 'monkey fist' thrown to them by the Canal handlers from the top of the lock. A monkey fist is a ball of line about as large as a "monkey's fist" hence the name and is quite heavy so you learn quickly to stay out of its path. It is then secured to a bollard and we are centered in the middle of the canal. Peter Pan has a bow thruster which makes this very easy.

We are all very excited as we approach each lock and congratulate ourselves on a good crossing. We feed the advisor a spaghetti meat sauce and penne dinner which he eats and asks for seconds. He is very thin and jokes that we are trying to fatten him up. These first locks let fresh water in to bring us up to the level of Gatun Lake which is a little over 90'.



These locks were completed in 1914 by the United States and have worked 24/7 ever since. Quite a feat! We Americans on board are so proud! We have car tires on both sides of our boat to protect her against the steel edges of the lock just in case we get to close; but we don't, thanks to Peter Pan's bow thrusters which keeps us in the center of the canal. Each lock is 1000' long and 100' wide. They are building 2 new locks which are to be completed by the 100th year anniversary 2014 that will measure 1800' X 350'. Oh, no, even larger ships for us cruisers to navigate around. The canal is lit up like daylight and our advisor keeps us all busy as we secure and tighten lines through all 3 locks.

Finally the 3rd gate opens and we motor out into Gatun Lake where we will tie up to a mooring ball. These are huge balls that hold 6 boats at a time; since we are only 2 this evening we each take a separate ball. Stuart elects Jon (being the youngest crew member at 29 and the most agile) to jump onto the ball and secure our lines bow and stern. He does it beautifully and with a good sense of humor. While we are waiting for the pilot boat that will pick up Victor the rest of us finally eat. We are exhausted and hungry but still hyper from all the excitement of the Canal. It truly is an amazing experience. We wish all our friends could travel through it! The pilot boat appears after 1/2 hour and the rest of us get ready for bed. Another advisor will be here by 6am and we will transit Pedro Miguel and Mira Flores locks.

Goodnight and GOD BLESS AMERICA!

PHOTO GALLERY:

Jon on duty

Rafted up going through locks

Ship loading behind us

US Military ship in canal channel

Flying flags overhead

La Playita Anchorage

Panama City

Imagine Rafted up to Peter Pan

Opening to the Pacific