Canal Transit
Author: Shirlz
My transit was scheduled for Tuesday, 17th April and I had to provide food and water for the 4 line handlers plus the advisor, all of whom, I had been warned, had hearty appetites. Quite a challenge given my minimalist galley and absence of refrigeration. I decided to cook up a big chicken casserole in the pressure cooker the night before, to be served with rice. Bringing the cooker back up to pressure before serving it the next day would kill any possible microbes. I also had to provide them with drinking water for two days which had to be in sealed plastic bottles this rather went against the grain given the current concern with plastic pollution and the fact that the water in my tanks is filtered and perfectly drinkable.
The long lines needed for locking plus 8 enormous fenders were delivered to the boat the day before while I was out doing the food shopping.
At 1pm on Tuesday the line handlers boarded Speedwell and arranged themselves about the deck as we motored out to the Flats anchorage where the advisor was to join us at 4pm. It was hard going against a strong wind and a choppy sea with the unaccustomed weight on board. We anchored and I was told that they would like their lunch! So I fired up the Primus and dished up 4 hearty servings of chicken and rice which I watched them eat as we waited for the advisor.
He arrived at 5 and we motored up to the waiting area before the first set of locks where we rafted up to ‘Little Fish’ a beautiful and anything but ‘little’, Amel 55. Lots of very big fenders were put to use and we were securely tied together.
Being nested up to a bigger boat meant that all the lines holding us in position in the lock chambers were sent to the big boat and my line handlers had an easy time of it.
It was dark by the time we moved into the first lock chamber and thin messenger lines with heavy monkey fist knots on the end were thrown across to be attached to the strong mooring lines. The boats are then walked along to their position and tied off to wait for the water to flow in as the gates are opened. The line handlers have to keep the lines tensioned as the water level rises
It was an other-worldly scene with the lights reflecting on the water and showing the strong current making whorls and eddies in the water as it rushed in.
Once the water has risen all the way up the gates ahead are opened and we were walked into the next chamber for another step up. Gatun Lock has 3 chambers raising the canal a total of 26 meters.
Now we separated from ‘Big Fish’ and motored about 2 nm to an enormous mooring buoy where we tied up for the night. A launch came to pick up the advisor who would return in the morning at 8:30. I did my thing with the pressure cooker and rice again and kept everyone fueled up. Had a warm beer myself. The others had to stick to bottled water.
It was not a very comfortable night as there simply is not enough space on Speedwell for 5 people to sleep comfortably. But morning arrived, as it usually does, and with it a new advisor for the next leg of the trip.
We now had to cross Gatun Lake which was formed by damming the Chagres River and provides the water to operate the locks. For the first hour or more we had torrential rain with very limited visibility. The line handlers sheltered below. I had to stay carefully out of the way of the big ship traffic by sticking to the edge of the channel. At one point an enormous barge passed us setting up a big wake which created havoc with the passengers down below. Speedwell was easily able to maintain the required minimum speed of 5.5 knots. The good following wind helped us along and the advisor often had to tell me to slow down!
At last the rain stopped and it was a beautiful day. We motored through the narrow and winding Gaillard cut which is about 7nm long and arrived at the Pedro Miguel Lock. Now the water level had to go down, so water rushes out of the lock chamber and eventually into the Pacific. Before entering the lock we again rafted up to ‘Little Fish’.
There was some concern about the strength of the current rushing out of the chamber and possibly overpowering the engine, but this could be avoided by getting the mooring lines properly attached before the gates were opened. We had no problems.
Soon enough we were through and on our own again motoring towards the Bridge of the Americas.
I had to make a stop at the Balboa Yacht Club to wait for a launch to pick up the advisor and another small boat to take the line handlers, fenders and lines off.
Now I was in the Pacific and alone again at last. I carried on motoring past the yacht club and anchored at Playita a sheltered little bay protected from the prevailing North wind. Time to crack the bottle of bubbly.
April 21st, 2018 at 14:27
YAY! Congratulations! And now for the big adventures. Yay!