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| Our transit through the Panama Canal was exciting and interesting. First, you call the admeasurer for an appointment. After he inspects your boat and fills out a ream of paperwork, you visit the bank to pay the fee ($550), then call the scheduler for a transit date. Ours was the 11th of April, but we had to delay because of a broken gear box on First Star. So we got the gear box fixed and were rescheduled for the 25th. Lucky for us, we called on the 22nd to confirm....because they had moved us up to the 23rd! Panic time! Now we had less than twenty-four hours to get ready. Again luck was with us. Our friends (Nick on Wind Chaser and Ralph and Joanna on En Sueno) volunteered to help Leigh as our line handlers (yachts are required to have four). On the day of our transit, we picked up our crew and met our advisor at the Balboa Yacht Club at the entrance to the canal. Our advisor (all boats have an advisor or pilot) was very experienced, and brought along a trainee. Now we have seven people on First Star. Manuel, the advisor, and Edward, the trainee, were really great. They actually did much of the line handling for us. Edward and Nick worked the foredeck while Ralph, Manuel and Joanne handled the lines aft. Leigh took great care of all aboard. We approached the first lock (Miraflores) anxiously. There was a big ship in front of us, already in the lock chamber. Behind the ship were two tugboats. We tied up next to a tug, then the gate closed and the water came in. There was some turbulance while the water rushed in, but the worst was yet to come. After the lock was full, the next gate opened and the big ship took off! His propwash made it very rough for us, so Manuel called the ship and asked them to slow down next time, and they did. The next lock, Pedro Miguel, was less than a mile away, and after going through this one we had to motor around 30 miles through a pretty wilderness area to the last one at Gatun. It took almost 5 hours to reach the Gatun lock, so we had a chance to relax and refresh. When we reached the Gatun lock, the big ship and tugs were waiting for us, and this time we went in first. In this lock, we went center chamber instead of side tying to a tug. We were in the middle, with four long lines, two on each side, attaching us to the land. This time the water flooded out of the locks instead of into them. This is where you can first see the Atlantic. After "locking down" they opened the gates and we headed for the Panama Canal Yacht Club. As we approached the area, we had to drop off Manuel and Edward. A big pilot boat came up to us to pick them up, but it was too choppy so Manuel made them follow us another half mile to calmer waters. We tied up at the yacht club and had a drink with our crew before they caught a taxi back to Panama City. We slept like babies that night. |
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