We will be transiting the Panama Canal on April 29, hopefully. There are several web-cams positioned in the canal, and so if you are interested in watching us go through, you can visit this link. That link will take you to the Panama Canal Multimedia page, from which you can see the Miraflores Locks, Gatun Locks, Centennial bridge, and the Gatun Locks expansion. We will probably stay overnight in Gatun Lake, and so we will go through Miraflores Locks on April 30. On both transits we will probably be going through just after noon Eastern time.

Peter here. Hope one or two of you can see us waving to y'all!! They bumped up our transit date from May 2 to Apr. 29. Sue will still miss the transit, but Jerry and Laura will be able to experience going through the locks. Ruth, Will and I have some experience going through the Chittenden Locks in Seattle, but this is just a wee bit bigger!! Like 100 times bigger!

For you history buffs, the Canal started in 1855 as the Panama Railway ushering gold seekers across the Isthmus as a faster route than going around the Horn. At that time Columbia owned this stretch of land. In the late 1800s they commissioned the French to build them a canal. But a couple of failed attempts got Columbia bored with the whole thing.

So in 1903 Panama declared its independence from Columbia and shortly thereafter entered into a contract with Teddy Roosevelt and the USofA to build what is now known as the Panama Canal. It was built ahead of schedule and under budget. How about that one!

Jimmy Carter gave it over to the Panamanians effective Dec. 31, 1999 to own and operate. The Canal has been operating 24/7 ever since it opened on Aug. 15, 1914 -- a feat that few projects of this magnitude can remotely match!

They are presently building a third ditch (the orignal canal has two ditches -- one in each direction). This third ditch will be much wider to accommodate the modern supertankers. Tankers and oil are a big part of the Canal's revenue, which account for 51% of Panama's GNP!!

To go through the Canal, we got an agent who (for a price) ran through the bureaucracy for us. I sort of wish I had done it myself. But now that Jerry and Laura will be able to join us on the transit, I am glad I got an agent cuz I think that helped us get bumped up in the schedule.

Basically the agent ordered an AdMeasurer to come out and measure our boat. (No doubt to make sure we fit!) Then we answered a bunch of the agent's questions and he put us in for a date. Originally we had a 16-day wait, which was the longest we had heard of this year.

The agent will supply us with tires wrapped in plastic to use as fenders to protect the boat. He will also provide 4 lines 7/8" diameter to be used for securing us. Most of the private yachts go into the locks rafted up 3 or 4 wide and centered in the lock. Travelling south from the Atlantic to the Pacific, we will transit the Gatun Locks Friday afternoon and immediately take a mooring in Lake Gatun. The following morning we will motor across the lake to the Miraflores Locks and complete our transit around 1430 on Sat.

The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) will run an Advisor out to our boat both days to assist us with the transit (ncluded in the price and required). We have to feed and water him while he is on the boat. Once we are through we will provision and skedaddle up north.