Your destiny, is a result of your actions.
Live by a code of conduct that will secure supreme hapiness
and worldy joys; which are usually the little things.
Well, as you know, we left the San Blas on January 10th. We spent two nights in Portobelo and then made our way to Shelter Bay Marina on the 12th.
This is a picture of all of the AIS hits on our chart plotter as we were approaching the breakwater of the Atlantic entrance to the Canal. That's a lot of boats!!!
We had hired an agent to handle all of the necessary paperwork involved with our transit. We were required to come to Shelter Bay to get measured. We were very surprised to hear that we measured 58'???? On paper we are a Sunward 48; however, this does not include our bow and stern pulpits or the davits. Unfortunately, that put Karma in the price class of 50 to 68 foot boats $$$$$$ for canal tolls.
We were measured on Tuesday and secured a date to transit that Friday, the 17th. The whole process went very quickly; at the height of the season for cruisers, you can wait a week or two before transiting.
In addition to the paperwork, our agent provided the extra lines and fenders needed for the transit.
Our type of transit is considered a "hand-line" transit. We were required to have four line-handlers (me being one of them), a captain (Clint), and an Advisor (provided by the Panama Canal Authority) aboard for the transit. Our good friends on Gilana (that we left back in the San Blas) happened to have very good friends flying in to Panama from Majorca, Spain for a visit and coincidently we arranged to have them line-handle for us through the canal.
We couldn't have asked for better help. Nuria and Mikel live with their teenage children Inaki and Sarah on one of the oldest registered sailing ships in Spain which they operate as a charter vessel. Aside from being extremely knowledgeable sailors, they are really cool people that we can't wait to visit in Majorca.
Friday afternoon we left Shelter Bay and staged in the Flats Anchorage to wait for our advisor and begin our trip to the Pacific. Our Advisor, "Hector the Protector", joined us at 5pm and we slowly began our 5 nm approach to the Gatun Locks.
There are three separate sets of locks in the Panama Canal. There are a total of 6 chambers that lifted us a total of 84 feet and then dropped us back down close to the same amount (dependent on the tide) to get us into the Pacific.
By the time we got to the entrance of the locks at 7pm it was dark.
The Gatun Locks is a set of three locks connected to each other. In the Gatun Locks we were raised a total of 84 feet. Each chamber is 110 feet wide and 1000 feet long. The entire Gatun Lock system is 1.08 nautical miles long. It took us two hours from the time we entered the first chamber till we exited the third.
Look at the water level as the gates close on the first chamber.
Now look at the water level.
There are several ways a small (less than 85') private vessel can transit the canal. You can transit center chamber with all four lines tied to the lock chamber walls and tended, rafted where you are rafted to two similar vessels, or side-tied to a barge or work boat that then is tied the wall of the lock chamber.
We were tied to the port side of a motor-sailor. We tended the lines to the walls of the lock from our port side and our Swedish friends on Mira Mis were tied to the starboard side of the motor-sailor tending the lines attached to the starboard side of the lock. The motor-sailor was responsible for driving us.
We exited the Gatun Locks into Gatun Lake. Gatun Lake is a man-made lake covering 116.64 square nautical miles. It was formed when the Chagres River was dammed for the creation of the Canal.
We spent the night in Gatun Lake tied to a large floating buoy. Our friends aboard Mira Mis were also tied to the buoy.
We were told that our new advisor would join us at 6:30 ("more or less") the following morning. We were up bright an early waiting for our advisor.
The other two vessels we had travelled with the day before had their advisors on board by 8:30 am and had already embarked on the final leg of the canal before our advisor, Moses, showed up at 9:30 am.
As soon as Moses boarded we untied from the buoy and began the 20.4 nautical mile trip in Gatun Lake to Gaillard Cut.
The majority of the Canal excavation took place in the 7.4 nautical mile Gaillard Cut. It is carved through rock and shale of the Continental Divide. The Cut was originally 300 feet wide, it is currently 500 feet wide and they are in the process of even further widening to 630 feet in the straight sections and 728 feet in the curves. In addition to the widening of the Cut, the whole Canal is undergoing an expansion. The Gaillard Cut is still only wide enough for one way traffic.
The Puente del Centenario Bridge in the Gaillard Cut.
Just past the bridge are the Pedro Miguel Locks.
The Pedro Miguel Locks are a single set of locks that lowered us 29.5 feet from the level of Gatun Lake to that of Miraflores Lake.
Here you can see the level of the water when we entered the lock,
and here you can see the difference before we exit.
In the Gatun Locks we were rafted with two other boats behind a large container ship. In the Pedro Miguel Locks and the Miraflores Locks we were center tied (meaning that all four of our lines were tied to the lock wall and tended to from our boat). We were also the first boat into the locks with the large container ship behind us; where as in the Gatun Locks we were behind a large container ship.
We exited the Pedro Miguel Locks into Miraflores Lake, a small artificial lake that separates the two sets of Pacific Locks.
From the Miraflores Lake you enter the last set of locks, the Miraflores Locks.
The Canal Musuem and Visitor Center is at the Miraflores Locks.
The live camera feed at the Mira Flores Locks is the only camera that can actually be operated at the locks. Our advisor called ahead and asked them to put the camera on us. Our family back home and friends in the San Blas (thanks Tom, Linda, and Gilana) were able to watch capture us online.
The Miraflores Locks is a set of two chambers that covers .86 nautical miles. The final height you are lowered varies due to the tides. The tidal range of the Pacific in this area is about 16 feet. Due to this extreme tidal range, the gates in the Miraflores Locks are the Canal's tallest.
We can just make out the Pacific!
Our trip through the canal was uneventful; this is always a good thing. Unfortunately this was not the case for Mira Mis or for a couple of boats that followed us a few days later.
Mira Mis in the adjoining lock rafted to the motor-sailor.
There can be quite a bit of turbulence in the Miraflores Locks. The freshwater of the lakes mixing with the saltwater of the Pacific can cause some extreme torrents. Another big issue, is the bow wake from the large ship behind you exiting the lock; especially when they start moving before you do, that is a lot of water being displaced in a very small confined area.
Transiting the Panama Canal was a biggie for us. Entering the last lock and seeing the Pacific on the horizon was very emotional. We are proud of how far we have come and looking forward to the continued adventure....
We've been working towards this for almost 10 years. It has been a dream with many challenges, all of which have made it more worth while. We are so grateful and excited to start this next chapter!
Extra:
Twenty years fom now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the things that you did do. So sail away from the safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails,
EXPLORE, DREAM, DISCOVER.
-Mark Twain
Getting ready for the big day! We moved Karma from her home of two years (WPB mooring) to Sunset Bay Marina in Stuart. Packed up the rest of our "crap", the stuff not coming with us & took it to Texas. After a nice visit with Reina's parents it was back to Stuart to get down & dirty & get Karma ready...
Your destiny, is a result of your actions.
Live by a code of conduct that will secure supreme hapiness
and worldy joys; which are usually the little things.