My Journey Through the Panama Canal

It all started on Friday.  Some man dropped 12 tires wrapped in black garbage bags and a bunch of ropes next to me on the dock.  Next thing I knew, my Captain was taking them up and putting them on my topside.  What the heck is going on?  

My Crew

I was really happy to see Anna and Christian returning.  Finally, they are home.  They came with Fredrik, who I have gotten to know quite well over the past few weeks, and another man.  Seems he too is Swedish and is working together with Fredrik.  He goes by the name of Johan.  I heard they were a little unsure if they would get to Shelter Bay on time or not.  The situation with the strikes and demonstrations in Panama were changing by the minute.   A taxi from Colon was traveling to Panama City to take passengers to the airport, so he was quite happy to take my crew back to Shelter Bay with them.  It turned out to be an uneventful journey.  Thank goodness, because from what I hear we have quite a busy couple of days ahead of us.

Dinner was served on board and I’m proud to say my Captain made a delicious meal of pork loin, rice and beans in a nice gravy sauce.  I could smell it and even though I much prefer diesel fuel, I just know it would have been delicious.  At least the crew thought it was.

After breakfast my Captain gave everyone a briefing about what was going to happen today.  There could be three different scenarios going through the locks, he says.  Two of the crew should look after the ropes on starboard side and two on port side.  When we go through the locks, we may either be tied up to a tugboat, rafted up with other sailboats or we may go through on our own.  So it’s important to know who is responsible for which ropes to make sure we are well secured.  Then he took everyone on deck and gave lessons on throwing ropes.  He had the team a little frightened last night when he explained that it was critical to throw and catch the ropes without missing since we won’t have time for a second try.  He told them the canal workers will throw what they call a “monkey fist” down to us and then we have to secure that to our rope, which they then pull up to the canal wall and secure to a post.  The “monkey fist” is a big knot at the end of a rope with a steel ball in the middle to give it weight.  After a few practice sessions, I am so happy to see that we have some good rope throwers with us.  I’m sure I’ll be in good hands.

Before you know it, we’re saying good-bye to Shelter Bay Marina for one last time and heading out to an area in front of the canal called “the Flats”.  Two other boats are already there and I don’t feel so embarrassed any more because they too have these ugly tires tied to the side of the hull.  Now we’re waiting for the advisor to come on board.  It was originally scheduled for 14:30 but the time drifts by and they inform us that now the advisor will board at 18:30 and we will transit the canal in the dark.  Lucky for us there is nearly a full moon tonight and the sky is clear.

Hector, our advisor for this leg of the journey, shows up in a large boat which comes a little too close to me for comfort, but it seems they have done this many times and he jumps across onto my forward deck starboard side.  He introduces himself to us and we find out he has worked for the canal for 22 years.  He’s a really nice guy, calm and polite. 

We don’t waste any time and we lift anchor and make our way to the first locks in the canal.  Hector tells us we will be rafted with two other sailboats.  I’ll be in the middle since I’m the largest of the three boats.  My Captain will be responsible for steering and it will be my engine that propels us through the three locks.   Just as we reach the first of the locks, one sailboat comes alongside my starboard side and we tie bow and stern ropes to each other and then put two spring ropes from the center of my hull to their bow and stern.  Now, as you realize, I was not happy when my Captain put the tires on me, but at this point, I’m very happy to have them.  He only did it to protect my hull, which as you recall has just been polished and my teak work lacquered.  I have been looking very snazzy and getting lots of compliments from the other boats and their owners.  I think I even got a few winks from a fishing boat.  Hummph … as if I would be interested in a fishing boat.  I have my standards!  I actually had my eye on this sleek yacht that was at Shelter Bay in the spring.  She goes by the name of Dragonfly.  What a beauty!  I hope I come across her again somewhere.

The sailboat rafted to us on our port side.

Anyway, I digress.  Back to my recent adventure.  Now that the first sailboat is safely secured to my starboard side, the other sailboat comes up to the port side and the same procedure with the ropes takes place.  We are the center of the raft.  It looks a little strange but I guess this is the best way to do it.  As we move into the canal area the canal workers throw the Monkey Fists to the rope handlers on the two outside boats.  My crew has done their work and can now just enjoy the transit through the three locks.

  

HR Marion in the Locks ahead of SEGWUN

We are in the lock behind a huge freighter called HR Marion.  She enters the lock first and once she is forward into the lock, we move in behind her.  I suddenly feel very small.  The walls on either side go up about 65 feet.  All the ropes are secured to the sides of the lock and the big doors close behind us. It’s too late to back out now.  A tear comes to my eye as I say goodbye to my beloved Caribbean and Atlantic Ocean where I have spent the first 19 years of my life.  

The Locks Closing

The lock quickly fills with water and we rise up to meet the docks on either side of the canal.  It’s an awesome feeling.  The Canal is soon to celebrate its 100-year anniversary.  The engineering that went into the Panama Canal is incredible.  The canal workers are experienced and everything goes quickly and smoothly.  Hector seems to be the guy in charge when it comes to our raft and tells the advisors on the other boats what to do.  He also signals when it’s time for the canal workers to release our ropes so we can start moving to the next lock.  When all the water has filled the lock, I can see that I have over 75 feet of water under my hull.

The view from the top of the locks back towards the Caribbean

Three locks and three hours later, we have entered Gatun Lake.  We release the two sailboats from our sides and head to a mooring where we’ll spend the night.  A tug comes out to pick Hector up.  On our way to the mooring we could see the construction site for the new canal, which is scheduled to open in 2014.  This is being built to accommodate even larger ships.

It’s now 23:00 and the crew is settled in for the night.  I can relax and enjoy this calm fresh water lake, gaze at the moon and the stars above me and keep a close eye out for crocodiles below me. 

The moorings on Gatun Lake.  My raft buddies had to share a mooring.  I was lucky to get there first and got one for myself. :-)

The boat delivering our Advisor for the second leg of the journey through the Canal

Christian waiting for the advisor on the mooring.

The next morning comes quickly and our new advisor, Francisco arrives at 06:20.  No hanging about as we have to make our way across Gatun Lake and through the waterways to the next set of locks.  It is a journey of about 28 nautical miles.  My Captain takes charge and off we go.

We’ll follow the same procedure and raft up with the other two sailboats.  Thoxa VI is a 38.5 foot Dufour built in 2004 and is being delivered to her new owner in Australia by a crew of two.  They’ll be heading out to sea shortly after we arrive to the Pacific side.  The other boat is called Trifon IV and she is for sale.  I feel a little bad for her because she really looks like she could use some care.  I noticed her engine spews out black smoke and she is a looking a bit rough overall.  

We pass some large ships on the route through the lakes and come to the first set of locks on the Pacific side at about 11:30.  Time to raft up again and make our way into the first lock.  This time, it goes smoothly as we know what to expect.  But we are not longer behind HR Marion.  This time it is only our funny raft of three boats and a tour boat.  We must be quite a strange sight as everyone is taking pictures of us. 

The Miraflores Locks on the Pacific side of the Canal

One last look as the gates close behind us.

The water emptying out of the lock.

And now we are in the lock, and with the doors closed behind, the water starts emptying out and we sink down about 60 feet.  Three sets of locks and we are finally in the Pacific and passing under the Bridge of the Americas.  

Our advisor is picked up; we drop off these awful tires and ropes and take a mooring at the Balboa Yacht Club.  What a day it has been.  The crew has tidied up the deck and now it’s time to take well-deserved rest.  My Captain is enjoying a cold beer while I sit here just thinking and dreaming about the Pacific Ocean and the adventures that are waiting for me.

A view of the Bridge of the Americas from our mooring at the Balboa Yacht Club.

Getting Closer to Getting Ready

The Bow Sprit - newly sanded on the left - with the first coat of lacquer on the right

It has been long, hard and very hot work for the crew of Segwun.  Sanding, sanding, sanding and then more sanding.  The bright work is now getting a few coats of lacquer and is starting to look so very good.  Anna and Christian are tireless workers - on the job at 7AM and finally hanging up the tools at 6PM with only a few short breaks for lunch and an afternoon ice-cream.

Jens has been getting the sails back up and all the rigging installed.  It was much faster work taking them all off and takes a bit more work figuring out where all those ropes have to go.  Just a couple of coats of lacquer more, a couple more sails to raise and we'll be ready to set off.

Oh and not to forget one more trip to the grocery store to stock up and fill our now fully functioning freezer!  Hurrah!   I also will buy more flour and continue on my ambition to start making our own bread.  We have a hard time finding good tasting bread in this part of the world and Pat gave me a recipe that is supposed to be fool proof.  Hummm...  I'm sorry to report the first attempt was a bit weak.  Second attempt coming up soon.  I've not given up yet.  

A little manual labour ... for Jens, a labour of love!

So, we have spent the first couple of days in Panama City, hanging at Fredrik's condo in the sky.  Not so bad; in fact it has been downright comfy.  Anna and Christian were up before dawn two days in a row eager to see as many of the city's sites as possible - up to Ancon hill to catch the sunrise - off to the national park to see the wildlife.  Oh, the energy these young people have.  In the meantime, Jens and I were dashing around the city picking up lacquer for the trim and hunting down new filters for the watermaker.  We made a quick trip to Shelter Bay to have a glimpse of Segwun and to watch her being moved from the secure yard to an area where we could have access to start the work.

After two days of sightseeing, Anna and Christian were whisked away with us to the marina on Thursday morning where we started the job of sanding the bottom of the boat.  For the non boaters out there, our boat has a fiberglass hull and the portion of the boat that is below the level of the water is painted with an antifouling paint.  Actually, regardless of the material, all boats are painted with antifouling paint.  This is a paint designed to discourage barnacles, weeds and other marine animals and plants from clinging to the hull.  This is important as a non-smooth bottom would severely slow us down while at sail and if left too long would corrode the boat.  Before repainting Segwun's bottom, we had to sand it to rough it up a bit and take off any loose bits.  This turned out to be a very messy job as the picture below will prove.  But we were done by noon and had to shower before we could do anything else.  After a good shower, swim in the pool and a little lunch, we started polishing the sides above the water line.  Ah, but it was not to be.  It is still the rainy season here so we were quickly interrupted with a heavy rain which continued for the next hour or two.   We decided to call it a day and head back to Panama City and our home in the sky.

Anna, Christian and Jens in front of Segwun, covered in the paint dust from sanding.  

We came back across to Shelter Bay early this morning to continue the work of polishing even though it was raining pretty heavily when we left Panama City.  It rained most of the way there, but luckily cleared up just as we arrived and we managed to get the boat nicely polished before lunch.  She's starting to look really good.  Tomorrow morning we start painting and I'll take a picture of her once she's freshly painted so you can see the hard work we have been doing.

A quick geography lesson for you :  Panama is a country on a fairly narrow strip of land and it is about 80 kilometres from the Caribbean sea to the Pacific Ocean.  Segwun is at Shelter Bay Marina which is on the Caribbean side, near the city of Colon.  We are currently staying with Fredrik who has a lovely condo on the 26th floor with a fabulous view of the Pacific Ocean in Panama City.  It takes us about 1.15 hours to go from point to point, not accounting for the traffic, which in Panama City is like in any large city - pretty miserable during rush hour!!

Segwun is scheduled to go back into the water early Monday morning.  Fingers crossed!

Today we were able to take SEGWUN out for a short sail.  Jens got to see the new sails, feel how the boat handles and get a little more comfortable with all the rigging.  

Jens at the helm.  The weather has turned a little grey and a little misty with a breeze at about 5 knots.  

 Some shots of the sails as you can see them from the deck.  We have new main and head sails.  As you can see, we are flying the visit flag of USA since we are registered as a Danish boat and fly the Danish flag aft.

This is me at the helm.  We have automatic pilot,  so I can spend my time daydreaming.

John and Jens.  John has been a great help to us in anticipating all of our needs and helping us to get everything we need.  He has really been a great help with his vast knowledge and experience.

This afternoon, the wind has come up quite a bit, gusting at around 40 knots.  We've come across a small problem with the refrigeration unit - we're not sure if it's a small problem or not, but we'll have it checked out on Saturday to be sure.  Our departure is now set for Sunday, which works out well since they are calling for high winds for the next few days.