Sunday 31 January 2016.
Steve and I were up early to join experienced bird watchers David and Sally Batten and Anthony and Venitia from another ARC yacht. We see a number of wood peckers, many yellow breasted fly catchers, some euphonia, hawks and the ever present vultures circling high above. On our walk we also came across a three toed sloth and her baby clinging to her. Also in the trees we saw small black spider monkeys, some with young. Lastly we first heard this very loud and rather eerie howling and finally saw a small group of Howler monkeys before returning for breakfast.
Since we did not need to be back on Lydia before midday as in any case like all yachts going through the canal that day we were to be fumigated and we had to be off the yachts when that took place, I decided to explore what remained of Fort Sherman that once guarded the canal entrance and was also a Jungle Warfare school. I went off in the direction of the five large barrack blocks lining the Canal which we had seen when we first entered the marina.
Immediately behind the line of barrack block which seemed in good condition ran the small airstrip with a block house at the end of the runway nearest the entrance to the marina entitled Kilpatrick Battery. I explored but could not discover where the guns had been placed presumably to guard the Canal entrance and the airstrip. I wandered over to the line of barrack blocks to see in what condition they were when a young Panamanian soldier ambled out of one of the huts near the water and by his gesticulations I inferred the place was still used by the military and since I was too old for pressed service I should return from whence I came. This I did.
The ARC had decided to split the fleet into two waves, (a Lock's worth each) with the first wave of which Lydia was part would start their transit of the Canal that evening while the second wave of yachts would transit two days later. At 2.30 our group left the marina for Area F, a location on the other side of the Canal main channel to the west of the busy port of Colon and about a couple of miles from the entrance to the first of the three Gatun Locks. We anchored as a group to await to the arrival of each yacht's pilot who would guide us throughout our transit of the canal. In order to fit all 17 yachts into one lock it had been decided we should raft up in threes apart from the last two yachts who rafted together and each raft would enter the lock following the raft in front. At about 5pm two launches appeared with our pilots who duly boarded. We expected that they would only speak Spanish but in our case we were lucky since Alvaro was Spanish and Donald was fluent in the language. As it happened our pilot spoke American as well as Spanish so we had not problems. At a given signal we all weighed anchor and started for the lock seeking out yachts in our raft and rafting up with them. In Lydia's case she was the ham in the sandwich between a large Swiss catamaran and small catamaran from Jersey with three very boisterous young boys on board. We duly met up and tied on as a three yacht raft and approached the entrance to the first lock. The two outside yachts had already been loaned two large fenders each and two strong long warps which in due course would be put on bollards on the sides of the lock to secure the raft bow and stern. Once we entered the lock the Canal warp handlers on the sides threw down heaving lines to which the outside yachts attached their strong controlling warps. The Canal warp handlers walked along the sides of the lock in pace with the raft as it gently motored up the middle. In due course our raft arrived at is selected place in the lock and Canal handlers took up their heaving lines and then put our strong warps attached on the designated bollards. By now it was almost dark so our progress was floodlit. The next stage was more complicated than it first appeared. As the great lock gates closed behind us and water began to well up into the lock to raise us to the next level, the warp handlers on either side on the outer yachts were meant to ensure that the raft remained central and pointing forward by pulling in their lines or holding them as the water rose. They were meant to be helped by the skippers on the outer yachts using their engines either in reverse of forward to stop the whole raft skewing round and hitting the lock sides.
Alas there was a certain lack of co-ordination by the pilots and skippers.
Unfortunately our raft skewed and it took much effort in preventing the smaller starboard catamaran from hitting the side as we rose in the turbulent water. In due course however the lock was filled and the great gates in front of us majestically opened to allow us all to proceed into the second lock. It was now some time after 7pm and Steve had cooked a good dinner of seafood and rice. Unfortunately it turned out that our pilot did not like seafood so Steve gallantly cooked another dinner for him of corned beef, beans, mash and tomatoes.
The second lock with more experience was less of a trial and although we did skew a bit it was not so serious. There was a web cam on the second lock to which people could gain access via the internet so many families had been warned in advance so much waving took place. When the gates opened for us all to enter the final lock,, ahead of us we saw towering over us a large tanker patiently waiting to take our place the moment we were out. In the meantime the Canal handlers followed us up with our lines and put them on bollards at our selected place. The final rushing in of the waters did not cause the same difficulties as previously as we rose up to the level of the Gatun Lake. Once the lock gates opened for the final time we unrafted and went out in single file since it was a tight fit to squeeze in between the waiting tanker and the lock entrance wall. Once we were out into the Gatun Lake we saw a number of big ships at anchor awaiting their turns to go down the locks to the Caribbean. In our case since there was no question of yachts continuing the transit at night, we moved over to two large buoys about a mile from the entrance on which all the first wave ARC yachts rafted up together. Once done two launches came out to take off our pilots so they could go home for the night. Ours said he would be driving back to his home in Panama a journey he said would take him half an hour at that time of night approaching 9pm.
Monday 1 February 2016.
We were up early to watch dawn come up over this amazing lake. Next to the locks we had come out of the previous evening we saw the dam and sliuce gates which originally created the Gatun Lake a century before. At 7am two launches appeared and we took our pilot again on board. We offered our pilot a full English breakfast but fortunately he only wanted some cereal and fruit. We unrafted from the friendly catamaran Two Fish and under our pilot's direction set out to "buoy hop" along the edge of the main dredged Canal channel across the vast Gatun Lake. We passed the Banana Channel which is apparently normally used by yachts and small craft which is narrow but ends up shortly before the famous Culebra Cut where it rejoins the main Canal channel. The aim was to keep small craft out of the way of the huge ocean going container ships. In our case the pilots felt that with 17 yachts in line it would be better to follow the main channel across the lake albeit on the very edge. The Gatun Lake covers a vast area and is as stated previously continously fed by the Chagres River. The pilot explained that although the lake looked most inviting to explore and to view the little bays and islands, all uninhabited, it was quite dangerous to venture outside the marked dredged channels owing to tree tops just under the water and other solid submerged objects. In fact as we passed little inlets we could see the tops of dead trees. He explained that no pleasure or private craft were allowed on the Lake unless they were doing the full transit. That said we did see a couple of small motorboats by a distant shore which our pilot thought were probably bird watchers with special permission. The dredged channel across the lake was marked by buoys on either side and at the end of each stretch where a slight change of course was required there were leading lights and shapes to help ships line up on the correct new course. The pilot said that when the Americans owned and ran the Canal the enterprise was not aimed at making vast profits but to cover all its running costs.
Preventative maintenance was key so things and issues were addressed before they broke down or became a problem. The pilots were well paid. Since Panama took over Canal operations in 1999, he said successive governments were out to make as much profit from the Canal as possible so only 50% of the revenue was devoted to new work such as the new locks for Super Panamaxs and maintenance was only carried out when something actually broke. Pilots now got barely adequate pay. We had previously been told that the cost of the new locks and the widening and deepening of the Culebra Cut was costing the equivalent of the GDP for a whole for Panama. This is a gamble since with the world trade and oil prices currently in the doldrums it may take some time for sufficient Super Panamaxs to bring in the revenue bonanza for which Panama is hoping.
By midday we had reached the beginning of the famous Culebra Cut which had proved such a challenge to both the engineers and rescources of the French and later the Americans later. It was awe inspiring to see how the Canal had literally been cut through small mountains covered with jungle. It was narrow and had steep sides. We had already seen ships approaching us across the Gatun Lake having come up from the Pacific now we were to see similar ships approaching us but all this time with a large tug attached to their sterns. The pilot explained that this was needed as the tugs helped to steer the large ships through this narrow Cut where the wind and small alterations of course could so easily cause them to hit the sides. Eventually we reached the end of the Cut and were confronted by the double fan of the Centenial Bridge built in 2003. In the distance we could see the start of the single Pedro Miguel lock and its associated dam and sluice gates to the side. To the right of this lock we could see the work going on to create the parallel much larger locks for the Super Panamax ships of the future.
We duly arrived outside the lock and began to raft up again. However since the previous evening's incidents the pilots had got together and agreed that Lydia would become the outer port side yacht with the big Swiss catamaran in the middle. The pilot on the centre Swiss catamaran would take over all charge requesting the three skippers to alter course, forward or reverse their engines in order to help the bow and stern line handlers on the outer yachts. Having rafted up in the new order we moved confidently into the Pedro Miguel Lock with the Canal line handlers putting our warps on the appropriate bollard. When the water ran out of the lock and we did not have the same problems of skewing and all went well. When the gates opened at the far end in due course we could see the Miraflores second set of locks ahead of us. We duly entered these and with better co-ordination and team work had no problems moving down these last two locks and with much waving from spectators on the special spectators building overlooking the locks. When the lock gates opened for the final time we unrafted and motored on our way into the Pacific at last. To one side we came across the huge Titan crane which had lifted a lock gate out of its place for routine maintenance to take place. Ahead of us there appeared the vast span of the famous Bridge of the Americas built by the US in 1962. Once we were under it we were nearing the end of the Panama Canal channel and into the Pacific properly. To our left we began to see the amazing sight of the Panama City skyline which was possibly more awe inspiring than New York Most of the sky scrappers we were later told over 20 stories and now up to 100 had been built since 1990.
We followed a causeway on our port side parallel to the Canal main channel which had been built from the rocks and earth removed while creating the Culebra Cut. The marina, La Playita where we were to spend the next few days came into view at the end of the causeway where it connected to an island.
We duly anchored outside the marina that evening as we were not due to go onto a finger pontoon in the marina proper until the following day. We had completed the transit of the Panama Canal which so many people have dreamed of doing and we had just done. It called for celebratory drinks all round finished off by an excellent vegetable omlette with salad supper cooked expertly by Andrew. It had been a most memorable couple of days and we all went to bed early and a deep sleep.
With all good wishes from the crew of Lydia, Nigel