Photo shows Saraoni heading for the Bridge of Americas after completing the Panama Canal Transit in fine fettle. We are now in the Pacific!

We are now safely anchored at the bumpy La Playita anchorage on the Pacific side of the Panamanian isthmus after a successful and comparatively smooth canal transit.

The day before this unpredictable adventure started we had to pick up 8 old car tyres covered in rubbish bags, plus 4 extra strong and long ropes that would stretch from the top of the lock wall down to the yacht. These came courtesy of taxi driver Tito, who is making plenty of money at the moment ferrying the items all over the place as well as supplying "fumigation certificates" of dubious legality for the Galapagos!

We also had to pick up CB and Taun, from the U.S boat Palarran, who had volunteered to be line handlers for a transit they were unlikely to be doing any time soon in their own boat (except for their eventual return after a circumnavigation?). With Geoff and Sue, this made up the compulsory 4 linehandlers needed by the Panama Canal Authority for each transit, despite the fact that 2 are usually superfluous because the yacht is likely to be rafted up to at least one other.

CB and Taun had left Palarran at La Playita and all we needed to do was drop them off at their boat once we arrived. Some rather interesting manoeuvres were required for this epic journey. The first of these was rafting up with a catamaran and a traditional ketch before entering each lock. Once in each lock those of us on the two side boats had to tie the ropes on to lines thrown to us from the shore. The catamaran was in the centre, so did most of the steering under power, while each side boat supplied forward or reverse when needed. The three boat raft was quite difficult to orientate at times in the Gatun locks, especially with the amount of turbulence coming from the large Panamanian registered ship in front of us, as well as the spurts of water as the lock filled.

At one point in the first chamber, Saraoni was squeezed against the port side wall, but no damage was done. The rest of the up locking through the three chambers went quite smoothly. We managed to get through to Gatun Lake in the daylight and tied up at one of the two large buoys in the lee of the shore - again tied up to other yachts - 6 in total by 10 pm. Three other yachts came through just after us.

The next day was the motoring stint across Gatun Lake, following the channel through numerous islands left behind when the area was flooded during the canal construction. This was a lovely area, seemingly completely pristine with no evidence that it was an artificial creation. We eventually passed the familiar town of Gamboa and the point where the Chagres River enters the lake and then went along the 7 mile Gaillard Cut, which is the part of the canal which had to be dug out of solid land. The down locks of San Miguel and the two Miraflores locks were by this time a piece of cake and we were spat out into the Pacific at around 2.30 pm.



Capn Al steers the boat through Gatun lake



Linehandler at San Pedro Miguel lock



Centennial Bridge at the end of the Gaillard Cut



Viktor, the second adviser, flashes a golden smile near Gamboa.



Sue handles the bow rope in the Miraflores Lock



Up, up and away!



Open sesame!