Maureen spent the morning on the internet updating the blog with photos. Gale and Jim worked on regular boat maintenance while Mark and Diane carried on with other chores. By noon, we were all ready for some pool time. As we relaxed by the pool, we called our kids and our parents to let them know we would be starting our journey through the Panama Canal this afternoon and to tell them about the live web cam focused on the locks. We hoped that someone might be able to see us pass through.
At 3:30 pm, Dracula and his friend, Rudy, joined us as crew and we left the marina to anchor out in the harbor and wait for the authorization to proceed. To transit the canal, every boat is required to have four line handlers so Mark and Gale along with Dracula and Rudy would handle the lines. Every boat is also required to hire a Canal pilot or advisor who provides communication with the locks and guidance through the canal. Our pilot was brought out to our vessel at 6 pm and we made our way to Gatun Locks.
The Panama Canal is 50 miles long from deep water in the Atlantic to deep water in the Pacific. It requires about 9 hours for an average ship to transit the Canal and its principal physical features are the two terminal ports, the three sets of twin locks, Gatun Lake and Gaillard Cut. Gatun Lake, through which the ships travel for 23.5 miles from Gatun Locks to the north end of Gaillard Cut, is one of the largest artificial bodies of water in the world.
Gatun Locks is a set of three locks that raise vessels a total of 85 feet up to the level of Gatun Lake. Before entering the lock, we tied up to another pleasure craft, a sport fishing boat, and the two boats traveled through together. The sun was just beginning to set as we entered the first lock and by the time we cleared the third lock at 8 pm, it was quite dark. Because of the late hour and darkness, we were instructed to tie up to one of the mooring buoys provided for the large ships and wait until morning to continue our passage. Trying to tie off to the mooring buoy was quite an event in itself, but we were able to secure the boat for the night with the help of our hired hands. The pilot was picked up by the Canal authority boat but Dracula and Rudy remained with us for the entire trip. We enjoyed learning about Panama and its history from our guests as we shared a terrific meal of grilled hamburgers, baked beans, chips and salads.
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