First an introduction to the crew aboard Hiatus for the Panama Canal transit -
1/2 . Kent and Heather.
3. Glenn, from Portland who sailed with us from Costa Rica to Ecuador.
4. Bob, also from Portland who sailed from Astoria, OR to Port Townsend, WA with us.
5. Dan, from s/v Zephyrus who we have traveled with since Ecuador. Zephyrus will transit the canal in January and Dan wanted to know what he'd be up against.
5. Gene, from s/v Moody Blues who we traveled with for many months in Southern Mexico and Central America.

Transit day. We all awoke early at 6:30am, including our guest, Rob from s/v Triple Stars who had been aboard the past few days and having his windlass (a motor that assists in bringing and lowering the chain and anchor) repaired in Panama City. As soon as we said goodbye to Rob we were hailed over the radio and told to get ready to meet the ACP boat and receive our Transit Advisor. At 8:15am Victor jumped aboard and were excited to be on our way! Finishing breakfast, we at the Miraflores lock an hour ahead of schedule. Things were looking good for us to transit the canal in one day. After an attempt to slide into an earlier time slot we settled for our scheduled 9:40am lock entrance and took the center tied position behind a large freighter, tug and 100 year old motor sailboat. Being center tied means we would have 4 lines tied to the canal walls (2 forward and 2 aft) and we would float solo in the middle of the lock. We felt and looked small in the giant 100 ft wide lock. For us this was a much preferred method to being tied to a tug or another vessel. Before we knew it the lock was sealed and water was being pumped in. Victor guided our ascent, letting Gene, Glenn, Bob and Dan know when to pull in the slack on the lines which would ensure we stayed straight in the lock.

Going through the locks is pretty amazing. It is a bit hard to describe so we will post pictures in the Photo Album section and try to detail what is going on in each photo instead of here in the blog.

After exiting the second lock with ease we enjoyed lunch and the serenity of the canal. That sense of calm lasted until exactly 1pm when the engine temperature drastically raised. Kent jumped below, opened the engine compartment and encountered the biggest plume of steam I have ever seen come from such a small space. The engine was immediately stopped and Kent realized our water pump had again come apart (same issue we had when leaving Bahia, Ecuador). Under normal sea conditions this wouldn't be too big a deal to fix underway, but in the Panama Canal we found ourselves without an engine and a large cruise ship quickly bearing down on us. Thanks to quick thinking, Dan grabbed the wheel, Bob and Glenn got the jib up and Gene and I raised the mizzen. We jibed back and forth in the narrow canal for approximately 10 minutes (although it felt much longer) while Kent worked on the water pump. Our Transit Advisor Victor was a bit in shock, he had never had anything like this situation happen before during his transits. With the water pump back in place and secure Kent went to start the engine. Nothing. Tried again with our spare key. Nothing. Gene jumped down below and hotwired the engine to get it running. Phew. We were now under motor again and able to stay out of the way of the large ships.

An hour later Kent and Gene went below to check on the water pump and noticed a fuel leak. You have got to be kidding, of all days! Not much could be done with the engine running so they wrapped the line with a towel to slow the leak. With a fuel leak we had reduced power. Add in a nice headwind and there was no chance we were going to make it to the next lock by the required time, we would be spending the night on the lake and transiting the final lock on Saturday. Our Transit Advisor let us know that we would not be responsible for the extra charge that can be incurred if you don't make it to each lock on time. That was good news because the charge can be between $450-500. We said goodbye to Victor, enjoyed a spaghetti dinner and then turned in early, it had been a long day for all.

Saturday we were again up at 6:30am as we were not exactly sure when the Transit Advisor would be hailing us. Turns out they didn't arrive at the boat until 11:15am but that was ok, we had a nice relaxing morning. The final lock, the Gatun lock was a breeze with Francisco our Transit Advisor for the day. Again, we were center tied but this time we had a large freighter 150 feet behind us (instead of in front of us as in the first lock - the Miraflores lock). These ships barely squeeze into the locks, while we had 45 feet on either side free.

For now we are tied up to a slip in Shelter Bay marina, on the northern and Atlantic side of the canal. We plan to here for a few days to get the fuel leak repaired and do some major provisioning for the San Blas Islands as there is nothing out there. Dan will return to Panama City and his boat, Gene to Moody Blues, which happens to be a few slips ways from us and Glenn and Bob will remain with us for the next few weeks. While our transit did not go as smoothly as we would have liked it was still a big highlight to have gone through the canal in our own boat and to now be on the Atlantic side.

Thank you s/v Solstice for the above picture of us going through the Miraflores lock - we are the little white speck of a sailboat on the far lock, and boat closest to the camera.