THROUGH THE PANAMA CANAL Dick Gelfond First off let me say that the following is copied from my log/journal that I keep during any trip. A lot of the sentences of phrases are short and possibly not grammatically correct. If you find this so please stand in line in back of Trina who constantly reminds me of such transgressions. The trip was made at the request of the Captain/owner of the SV Takes Me Away a 43ft. Beneteau located in Curacao NA. She wanted crew to take it to Panama and later to be laid up for the summer (hurricane) months in Bocas del Toro. I joined her on March 13. Two others joined several days later. We finally left Curacao on March 20. If we would follow the rhomb line the trip would be about 700 nm. Unfortunately they were seeing winds of 45 knots with high seas off the Columbia coast so we went as far north as 14 degrees and 30", and then went generally along that line to 76 west. From there in a general SW direction to Colon, Panama. The total trip was then about 1000 nm. So begins the log. 3/26-Tuesday It was a rolling night with nothing but the engine on. Sort of disappointing since we had winds of 15-25 kn on the quarter since we left. We had been standing 3-hour watches but changed this routine so Dianne (captain) would be up when we approached Colon. Couldn't sleep so I relieved her at 6. Two ships were heading in but they were far off. Surprised how worried the others are about ships. Keep telling them that we on the Bay see them all the time and just take a hard right or left to get out of their way-doesn't do any good to tell them though. At 6:30 we approach the breakwater outside Colon. It is a line of rocks about 2 miles long in a "V" shape with towers on either side of opening. We go in a smaller opening to avoid the ships. Once inside it is a large bay with 15 ships at anchor. The holding area could hold 75 and there would still be room. Port apparatus all around, i.e. cranes, warehouses, etc. The whole place is huge and busy looking. We continue sailing toward the Panama Canal Yacht Club. On the way we pass "The Flats" where there are about 20 sailboats anchored waiting to get measured or for their day to go thru the Canal. There is very limited space at the YC. Hopefully we continue toward it and, there is a space if we can back in. Fortunately there are friends here who can help. With a lot of words and hand waving she gets in and tied aft with old, hard as rock 5/8 line while on the bow there is 3/8 string. Equipment is not her strong suite. It's been 6 hot, long days but we are finally here. The champagne is brought out and we have a little relaxation. The PCYC is a collection of anything from beautiful boats to junkers sitting at dock as permanent residences. On these there are barnacles an inch high on their anchor chains. One even has built a TV dish support. The daily cost is $.50 a foot or $8.00 a foot per month. Under roof are a bar and a restaurant-air conditioned! We almost froze but still wanted a beer and fish and chips. First bit of new information: they use USD only but have Balboa coins in the 5-10-25 & 50 cent levels exactly the same size as ours and are interchangeable with US. The captain and another crewmember are off to immigrations while the other is doing laundry. I'm off looking for a boat that will take me through the Panama Canal. SV Takes Me Away was not to go thru the Canal but down to the San Blas islands before laying up. For several reasons I wanted off and go thru the Canal so I started looking for that boat as soon as we docked. Boats doing so must first get measured, length and beam. The boat I left with was a 40-foot catamaran but they include the small bowsprit and the dink mounted on the stern. The total came to 47 feet, which translated to $750. If it were 50.6 feet the cost would be several hundred dollars more. It takes several days to get an appointment for measurement and many more to get on the list of transients. So, you could be at the YC for several weeks. In addition to being told which boats are ready to go thru, they are easily identified by the tires hanging from their sides as fenders. We had 8 on a side. The tires are wrapped in black plastic and secured with brown mailing tape. There may be piles of them at each end or if not you can buy them at $3.00 each. Found several boats with tires but they weren't going for several days. Finally got on channel 72 (YC and "The Flats" local) and asked for any names-got two and took off immediately to try my luck. SV Lady Starlight is a 40-foot Peter Dean catamaran built in South Africa. With great hopes went and talked to the lady of the boat and was told that I might go with them but first "can you handle lines?" Yes, I think so. "Then you have to give the "boys" a bribe". What would that be? "Snicker Bars". Where do you get them? "At the store". Where is the store? "In town" Where is that? "Take a taxi". End of conversation. To Colon by taxi for a buck. Everyone is warned not to walk to or go through town. The store is a real supermercado. They have it all including ice cream, a huge scoop for $.50. Had two. Also, found a packet of Snicker bars for the offering. Back to the YC. When you see Colon you realize why you don't walk thru. It is grim, dirty, hard looking and the sort of place you might expect a knife in your back. The bribe was accepted and was told to be at dockside the next morning at 4:30 AM. Dinner on board Takes Me Away was a little strained but we managed to muddle through. 3/27 Wednesday Up at 3:51 already packed and off to my new home-for a day anyway. All sorts of activity happening on the Lady. Got off at 4:30 to pick up the anchor. Chris, the oldest son at 15 years, was on the bow with two of us when he shouts " Stop, Dad, We have a Problem!" Gene says keep it short, so I'll continue next month-if he lets me. THROUGH THE PANAMA CANAL CONTINUED 3/27 Wednesday (con't) "Stop, Dad, we have a problem" Sounds like Apollo 13, but it was serious to us. Jim, the captain, came running up and we all stared down at the rode. The outer braid of the line had completely broken off. There was no chain. Frank, another line handler (who owned a 52 foot Irwin) tied another line to the lower part but the anchor was straight down and it didn't hold. We wandered around trying to get a better purchase but to no avail-the inner braid broke. "No problem" says the captain. "I'll come back tomorrow and get it". There is an express, air-conditioned bus to and from Panama City daily for $2. He would borrow tanks and go down to get it. We powered out in the darkness, past "The Flats" to a lighted buoy. At 6:15 AM the pilot boat came to us-6" from us that is, and our pilot came aboard. His name-Manuel, about 35 years old and a professional tug captain learning this trade too. Much to Kelcey's pleasure he wasn't wearing black boots that they favor and usually covered with grease. Much to my surprise the boat owners don't like crew or visitors wearing shoes on their boat. Barefoot is the rule. A little different than we favor. You can wear dedicated boat shoes, which I have to do. Manuel will pilot us all the way to the Pacific. As we approach the first Gatun lock Kelcey tells us breakfast is ready. Coffee, pineapple, yogurt, cereal, banana bread, cold cuts, etc., a real spread. I feel a little guilty since I think they are doing me a favor taking me to Panama City. I had brought bread, an orange and some cookies to last me the day. It all becomes clear when Henry comes alongside us. He is a single-hander in a 36-foot Island Packet heading for the South Pacific. Lady Starlight is taking 3-4 years to go around the world (Calvert School for the kids). Henry ties up to our port side putting to good use all those tires we both have. In addition to the Panamanian pilot he has four (4) big Panamanian line handlers. They are gotten from an agent since all small boats are required to have at least 4 line handlers. In addition 4-150 foot heavy (5/8) lines are necessary for tying to the sides of the locks. Each local line handler costs $100 so if you can find fellow sailors to do the job you are ahead $400, but you feed them and, as it turned out, all the way through the Canal, and feed them well. Each lock here is 110' wide and 1050' long. There are three at the Gatun Locks wherein you are raised about 25 feet in each. At the start walls are ~35feet of green, slimy concrete from which you want to stay as far away as possible. In front of us (by about 200 feet) is a car carrier who has no trouble with the width-he has about 1 foot clearance on each side. Large ships are attended by 3 "mules" or locomotives on each side. The ones in front pull him along while the two others in front and the two in the stern act as spring lines and keep him in the middle of the lock. These mules will take him thru all the 3 Gatun Locks. We, on the other hand, have a little cruder system and it's called "line-handlers". Two locals are on each side of us but walking on the walls (with black, greasy boots). Each one heaves a line with a monkey fist on the end. This is no little feat since he is up 35' and out about 60'. Like a fool I one handed the monkey fist and we quickly tie our heavy bow line to it (bowline is the only acceptable knot). Our two lines and Henry's two are quickly adjusted to keep us in the middle. We are all set Mr. Gatun. Do your damnedest to us. And did he ever! As mentioned the lock is 110 X 1050 feet. I figured that the water came in at the rate of 1 foot every 12 seconds. Or, to put it another way almost 4.5 million gallons a minute! It came in and we started to twist and turn as it boiled up at least a foot above water level. At the height of it the bow line on Henry's boat got away from the line-handler so we started to swing, like fury, towards the concrete wall. Our stern line was pulled in fast to counteract it. I'm not sure how they stopped the port bow line but they did and not any too soon. We were about ten feet away and then they had to grind us back to center. It took several of them to do that. The lock finally filled and the bell rang for the car carrier to go ahead. The mules could not do it alone so he started his engines and pulled away. Again, the water boiled. All in a day's work but to me it was as exciting as, well, let's not go into that. With the exception of the port bowline fiasco, the next two Gatun locks were about the same; tense but handled well. After the third lock we were in Gatun Lake. The Lake is man-made with the dam being close by. It is fresh water and serves as the medium to fill the locks on both ends of the Canal. The topography is similar to the Chesapeake Bay area, i.e. a lot of fingers of water up the tributary streams and creeks. The jungle comes completely down to the water. In one instance we did see a monkey hanging from a tree. I think I saw a Caiman-an alligator-like animal. The sub I served on back in 1947/8 was named after it. The entire lake is buoyed with many areas where ships are at anchor. We followed the main channel but took shortcuts when available. The water was a muddy brown a major contrast to the Caribbean Sea. It took several hours to go through the Lake so I'll get some odds and ends down: " Chris was looking down at one of the pontoons and noticed we were lower. He was about to call his Dad about a major leak when it was mentioned that we were now in fresh water, less dense so we ride lower. " To go through the Canal the boat must be able to power itself. If you breakdown and can't make it on your assigned day you are fined $250. If you can get to Gamboa they have yacht facilities and a small marina. If you need a tugboat to get through a the locks it's $1150/hour! There is no minimum speed limit now but it has been proposed that it is to be 8 knots. It will cost $400 if you can't keep up. " When I agreed to help on the trip from Curacao to Panama the Captain agreed to supply the food during the sea passage. It ended up that we all shared the expense. In talking to these folks while going thru the Canal it turns out that the general rule is that short term crew pays from $7 to $8 per day for food. In some instances $35 per day has been requested. The crewmember on Lady Starlight is a Belgian named Isabelle. She has been on several boats and she is a very good person to have around and knows exactly what to do on the boat. Her agreement is that instead of the food cost she will teach the boys French and help in the galley two days a week. They are all pleased with those arrangements. We continued traveling through the Lake passing Gamboa and it's small marina . There were possibly 20 sailboats there. It looked pretty shabby but any port in a storm. There is also a nature preserve near the area. Lots of preserves throughout Panama especially in the Darian or the southern area of the country. Ahead in what's called The Flamingo Anchorage there were 6 sailboatsanchored including one about 85 ' from France. We did likewise. Manuel was on his cellphone and consulting his schedule. He was told to stay there until further notice. About the schedule-everything is computerized and timed to within minutes. The Panamanian officials do a great job. All the other boats left and we remained there for a perfectly great lunch. Kelcey and Isabelle did a great Job. Off again in 30 minutes to the Pedro Miguel Lock. Now we will be on the down side-lowering into the Pacific. At this lock we will be rafted to a tug-big and ugly. Out come two large round, red fenders that turned out to be needed. The tug was against the wall so no need for long lines. A very gentle drop was made and we were off again through the "cut". In places the "cut" looks like the C & D Canal with tiered sides having been cut. Here, though, they had to go through lava on both sides. In order to keep pieces from falling down they put a coating of concrete over the whole face. At the end of the "cut" we had to go through the last two locks-the Mira Flores. Good news, we would be tying to both sides of the lock. By ourselves this time not including the huge car carrier right in back of us by about 150'. You have no idea how big they look when you are staring up 5 stories right at their bow. All were manning their lines, mine port bow, all ready for anything. Nothing-nothing happened! We very gently went down. Lines were let out just a tad and that was all. At the second Mira Flores lock they had a TV camera mounted on top of a tourist-viewing stand. They were taking pictures of us and even mentioned Lady Starlight's name but we didn't know how to get to their address. After I got home Don Guhr gave me their address and when I contacted them I saw the Canal with a ship in it but they told me that I couldn't get a picture of a past event. The Canal's address is: The Canal All through the passage, Nick the youngest son was up standing on the lower spreaders almost dancing, taking pictures of all the excitement Hopefully some will be sent along to me. After the last lock's gate opened we were through the Canal and entering the salt waters of the Pacific. There was one traditional act to perform. Ahead was the American Bridge. It is part of the Inter American Highway. The custom is to drink a glass of chanpagne and throw two pennies into the sea when under it in celebration of going from Atlantic to Pacific. The champagne was drunk, one penny was tossed overboard to thank the Canal god and the other penny was tossed after making a wish. We passed by the famous Balboa Yacht Club and dropped our hook in a bay just beyond it. The water in the Canal was 83 degrees while here in the Pacific it was 69 degrees. Manuel was picked up by another pilot boat before anchoring. Five of us went ashore for dinner. Jim and Kelcey went back to the boat while Frank, LeeAnn and I went to the Lisboa Hotel; they to go back to Colon after visiting the Canal Museum the next day while I made arrangements to get back to the States. I wrote this log mainly for myself. The Canal passage was a thrill of a lifetime that really defies writing. I was very fortunate to have been privileged to be with such great people. I have been in contact with them writing this and there may be an opportunity to be with them again somewhere in the world. I certainly hope so!

Home | History | Sailing Location | Fleets | Officers | Courseboard | Calendar Bulletin Board | Membership | Photos | Links | Sitemap
	All contents are copyright Glenmar Sailing Association 2004