Panama Canal Crossing

January 25-26th 2015

10 months ago today, we were getting on a plane in Calgary, setting off on this big adventure, and today, January 25th, we entered the historic Panama Canal, leaving the Atlantic in our wake and looking towards to the cooler, less salty and much larger Pacific Ocean !

We were all very excited (and a little bit apprehensive) about what the day would bring us. We had heard stories about potential damage to boats, amongst other potentially stressful moments in the enormous locks. Luckily, Mark had jumped onboard SV Perry only a few days before, as one of their linesmen, and he had gained some experience as to what exactly was in store for us. 

The Preparation: We had booked a date a few weeks before the 25th, having contacted an agent to get all the paper work and the measurements done. (This is called the “ad-measuring”; a process by which a Canal rep. comes on board and measures Amelie IV from end to end and also checks that the boat meets all the requirements i.e. : that the engine has enough power to propel forward even within turbulence, that the head have a holding tank etc..). Once that was done and the fee was paid, the agent booked a date for us. We then proceeded to rent out lines and bumpers from him. The Locks require that we carry 400 feet of line onboard which is much more than we normally have, and the bumpers are to protect our hull from any damage while in the locks or while attached (“rafted”) to other boats. 

Linesmen: 

We then had to find our three extra linesmen before the 25th, The Canal authority requires that we have 4 linesmen in addition to the captain. The Captain cannot act as a linesman. Each boat is also assigned an advisor. This is a Panama Canal employee who crosses onboard with us. Some people opt to hire Panama Canal linesmen, some people have friends and family join them from home to be linesmen, and some people, like us, are lucky to find fellow cruisers who want to help out and gain experience for when it's their turn to cross. This is how we ended up with our extra crew made up of Matt (from SV Perry), Tim from SV Hooligan and Menno from SV Kairo.These three guys turned out to be the best linesmen anyone could hope for ! We were very lucky to have them with us !

Our excellent linesmen consisted of of Matt (SV Perry), Tim (SV Hooligan) and Menno (SV Kairo).

How it all works: 

The way it is set up now for sailboats like ours, crossing of the Canal takes about two days: The Canal really operates only  for the large cargo ships (some having been designed specifically to fit the locks of the canal), so when ‘wee little boats” like ours request a crossing, they fit us in where they can, but we do not have priority !  The schedule they have been following lately is that they fit a maximum of three sailboats per day, and all three sailboats go in together, sometime in the late afternoon or early evening.

Map of the Panama Canal/ Atlantic-Pacific

The boats (which are rafted up together), enter the first set of locks (which, when entering from the Atlantic side, are called The Gatun Locks) and sometimes, like us, they share the ride with a large cargo ship. The Gatun Locks take you UP three sets of locks. Then you spend the night in Gatun Lake ( a beautiful large man made lake which is at a higher altitude than sea level) and the next morning you cross the lake (3-4 hours motoring as you are not allowed to sail!), to got to the second set of locks (called Pedro Miguel). This is where you go DOWN a step and then after the short crossing of Miraflores lake, you get to the final set of locks, the Miraflores locks,which take you DOWN two more steps (back to sea level)l by mid- afternoon, and into the Pacific Ocean before dinner ! For those of you who tried to follow us along via the Live Webcams, you would have seen a large cargo ship in front of us, and two sailboats (one on either side of us) tied to Amelie IV on the night of the 25th in the Gatun Locks. On the 26th you would have seen us in the same rafting position with the same two sailboats, but this time we had a cargo ship behind us ! 

The view as we approach the first set of locks at night

Entering the first locks (Gatun) 

Rafted up and ready in the first set of locks !

Rafting up !

The rafting up can be a hairy affair !  I mean; essentially you are trying to get three sailboats-each equipped with their own rigging of lines, large cables (‘stays”), masts and spreaders, and each unique in shape and heights- tied together while drifting in a narrow canal !  It  is not as easy as you may think !!!  But with our excellent advisor onboard, Mark’s extremely calm and steady hand at the helm and three wise linesmen onboard (plus MC acting as the fourth “linesman”) it all went very smoothly ! Since we were the longest boat of the three, we were placed in the middle, with a catamaran on one side of us and a monohull on the other side. 

The two other boats’ job was to catch the lines thrown from the men on either side of the locks and tie up to them s quickly as possible. Our job as the middle boat, was to provide the power (Forward) for all three sailboats.This is where Marks calm and confidence at the helm was a real asset and he did beautifully!  A Real Pro ! 

 Bird's eye view of Amelie from the webcam at Miraflores locks -Amelie is the middle of the three sailboats

A different view from the Miraflores locks, as we look back  towards our BIG friend behind us 

The other two boats’ job was to catch the lines thrown from the linesmen on either side of the locks and tie up to them as quickly as possible. 

Menno getting ready to raft up with SV Double Trouble

Captain Mark stays focussed throughout the entire operation

Rafting up takes many hands on deck

All three boats rafted together at night

Meg and Menno become fast friends

The LOCKS!

So after the initial flurry of activity getting us properly rafted and when everything was under control, we were able to enjoy the process !  First, the Canal linemen throw their Monkey's Fists at us. A monkey's fist is traditionally a type of knot which makes a line into a hard ball- and easy to catch- are just lines wrapped around a piece of lead to give them more weight. Once the lines have been caught by the linesmen onboard the two outside boats, they are quickly secured on to the sailboats and then the Canal linesmen walk along side the locks, holding the lines, like if they were walking a dog, until Mark powered us all to the spot in the locks where he was told, by the advisor, to stop. Seeing the enormous doors behind (or in front) of us open and close, and the rush of water which changes the water levels in the locks SO FAST, was all very exciting !  On the way UP, we start very low with the large doors towering above us, and the water rushes in causing whirlpools and currents all around, we end up at the top, looking down towards the sea or the other locks behind us as we go ! 

On our way down, we enter full locks, feeling like we are on the edge of the world, about to tip over when they “pull the plug” and the water disappears (again so quickly it only takes a few minutes for the millions of gallons to move out!). We are left floating behind giant doors, impatiently waiting to have them open in front of us to get us to the next level ! Matthew was fascinated by the locks !  He could see the next levels and he was always expecting a wild ride (like a log ride at an amusement park) He would call out :”READY-SET-...GO!” when we were at the edge of a lock door, before running away in nervous anticipation of what was coming next ! Meghan was thrilled too ! We were all so happy to have the chance to experience this !

Canal linesmen getting ready to throw the lines to our two outer boats.

Close up of the Monkeys Fist at the end of the line

Canal linesmen walk along side the locks, holding the lines

Our BIG friend: I won’t lie to you, it felt a ‘tad bit’ intimidating to have such a giant cargo ship following us into the lock on the second day. As he inched his way closer to us, we were all just hoping someone would remember to apply the brakes before pushing us over the edge !  But is was cool to watch the process with these gigantic ships. In their case, they do not turn on their engines (As it would cause way too much turmoil!). So instead, they are pulled across by the “Mules”. (Electric engines which tie on either side of them and run on tracks along side the locks).

A  'Mule'

Cargo ship being pulled by a Mule

Gatun Lake sitings !

On our crossing of Gatun lake we saw a crocodile !  It was sunning itself, mouth wide open, on he shore !  Our advisor told us it was waiting for a capybara (large rodent) to come down to the water so it could eat it ! He was far away, but to me, he seemed very big !

The crocodile spotted on the banks of Gatun Lake

Meg standing on the giant buoy we moored on overnight in Gatun Lake

We picked up a few hitchhikers on the way across

Centennial Bridge in the steep Culabre Pass

Passing a ship in Gatun Lake

Canadian cargo ship seen on the crossing

The cute little tug boats, they went "Tuut Tuut"

Island in Gatun Lake

When we got to the last set of locks on the 26th, excitement on board was growing !  We knew that we were only two doors away from the Pacific ! The Miraflores locks has an interpretation centre with a viewing gallery. When we got there, the balconies were packed full of spectators, watching us (and the huge cargo ship) coming in !  We also had been told that there was a live Webcam here. Since we had told quite a few of you to watch us online, Meg and I went up on the foredeck to wave to you all, the camera was behind the spectators, so they thought we were waving at them and kept waving back, it was funny. I am not sure what they thought when Meg and I broke into the “chicken dance”, we hope that it was worth the price of admission ! 

How LOW can you GO ?

Meg and her mom doing the "Chicken Dance" for the webcam

Viewing galleries at Miraflores

What's behind door No.3 ? The Pacific ! 

By the time the last door opened up, we were all exhilarated to see the Pacific in front of us and relieved that everything had gone so smoothly ! We are now anchored just outside Panama City, at La Payita anchorage, with our friends SV Perry, Kazaio and Mandala who have all made it across ! We are enjoying visiting this side of Panama and all it has to offer. We will be here for another 3-4 days before heading south to the Islands called Las Perlas.