Preparations for the Canal Transit 17 March 2024.
We woke at a reasonable time and Joyce made porridge. It was another nice morning and I got a message from our agent that we had to be at the Cristobel anchorage outside our marina where the pilot will meet us at 11.30am and we will do a two day crossing so we will be staying in the Gatun Lake overnight. This was good news and makes the time spent in the San Blas worthwhile.
Mark, Keith, Joyce and Charlie went off to do the shop massiff!! Angus and I stayed behind and I taught Angus to make some bread and we have made two loaves to help us with our crossing etc. We also coiled out the 125-foot lines in the right place and set out our fenders on either side.
What are we about to do.?
In my previous blog I set out some history of the Panama Canal when I went to the canal museum. The US as stated finished the Canal and the first transit was the 15 August 1914. The US controlled the canal until 1999 when the then President Jimmy Carter handed back the canal to Panama in 1999. Panama has only had control and ownership for about 25 years.
Today the canal operates 24 hours a day and it is 44.3 nm long. Generally, most of the Southbound traffic starts in the morning through the Gatun Locks (these are the 3 up locks on the Atlantic side) and the northbound traffic will conversely start their journey through the Miraflores locks (the Pacific side) at the same time. Vessels will cross in the Gatun Lake where there is plenty of space to pass by each other. Essentially the canal transits boats from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and vice versa. The entrance to the canal on the Atlantic side is 22.5nm to the west of the Pacific side. If a boat is travelling from say New York to San Francisco it saves some 7,872 nmiles by going through the canal.
The idea is that we will have a pilot on our boat and we will meet him at roughly 11.30am tomorrow in the anchorage outside. He will guide us and we will then proceed some 2-3 miles to the first set of locks – the Gatun Locks. These locks raise us 26.5 m (87 feet) over there locks in the space of 1.2 nm. This is where my 4 line handlers -Mark, Angus, Keith and Charlie will have to handle the 125 foot lines with the canal workmen. I will be on the helm with the pilot and Joyce will keep a co-ordinating eye and feed the pilot!! We may have to raft (go alongside other boats as they try and fit three boats together or we may go alongside a tug or other passenger type boat. If so we will tie alongside them before we enter the locks and we move together through the locks. Once through we will untie and we then move from here to Gatun Lake where we will moor to a buoy for the night and the pilot will get off. We cannot swim due to crocodiles and we cannot anchor due to the tree roots. It should be fun and different.
The following morning another pilot will come -probably about 7.00am and then take us on from the Gatun Lake which is 15nm long. We then go 5.3nm along the Chagres River and then 7.8nm along the infamous Culebra Cut passing under the Centennial Bridge. We then go through the first Pacific lock called the Pedro Miguel lock which takes us down 9.5m (31 feet). We then proceed across the artificial 1.1nm -Lake Miraflores which is 16.5m (54 feet) above sea level. We then enter the two Miraflores locks which takes us down the final 16.5m at mid-tide. The tidal range on the Pacific side is 5m whereas here in Colon it is about 90cm!!. We will then come out the other side into the Pacific where there are various marinas to stop at and some anchorages. This is the theory as to what should happen. Let’s see how we get on.
Apparently, Gauguin, the French Impressionist painter, worked on the canal in 1887. It is the only canal where warships have to handover control when transiting the canal. Panama is the only city in the world where you can see the sun rise in the Pacific and set on the Atlantic. The Chagres River is the only river in the world that empties into two oceans.
There are a number of webcams so you may be able to see us come through if you have time and cannot sleep!!. The website address is below.
www.multimedia.panama-canal.com
You scroll down and it should show you the different webcams to use. If not look for live cams or webcams. If this does not work, then google Panama Canal webcams. The Gatun locks are the first we will go through and my guess is this will be about 1.00-2.00pm our time – 6.00pm-7.00pm UK time. The Pedro Miguel and Miraflores locks will be on the 19th March 2024 and my guess is probably about 11.00am – 1.00pm our time so 4.00pm to 6.00pm UK time.
If you see us – take a screenshot or two and send me an email.
The canal consists of 17 lakes, several improved and artificial channels and three sets of locks. It is a freshwater canal and relies on the supply of fresh water which is becoming an issue as water levels have dropped and it has been in the press recently.
The guys returned with the massif shop and quite a lot of bags. It took us some hours to pack stuff away and to sort out the meat and to freeze it. The freezer was full to the brim and at the end of it all we were a bit shattered.
I suggested a break and a swim and then we would meet again to do the next briefing. We then went through the boat inside and then did the safety procedures. The man with the outboards came back and they were put back on the outboard holders on the back of the boat. We then covered the solar panels at the back with cardboard to protect from the rope and monkey’s fist.
We had a great spaghetti bolognaise supper cooked by Mark and Joyce. They also made enough for a few more meals. The boat next door is leaving at 3.00am which will no doubt wake us up.
We decided to have an early night.
Opportunity for any Readers/Sailors.
In late May 2024 we shall be in the Marquesas in French Polynesia and we will then move through to the Tuomoto’s before getting to Tahiti about the end of July 2024. There may be some space on Stormbird during this period should any sailor/reader be interested in joining for this period or part of it in what must be one of the most distant and beautiful places in the world. If there is any interest do email me at hine.nick9@gmail.com
The blog will continue as we head off to Panama and beyond.
If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com I can only upload one picture a day and visit our website www.stormbirdgoesglobal.co.uk