The Panama Canal
Sailing across the Continental Divide. [1]
We are in a third world country about to embark on an all-day adventure. We have our permit from the canal authorities, paid our $186 transit fee, been assigned an advisor and given a departure time.
I have transited the Canal four times—once on a cruise ship and three times in the most interesting way, on my own yacht where I am responsible. Since the fee is based on tonnage, they lose money on yachts as the fee includes the advisor’s pay.
We need four line-handlers on board and four links of rope at least 125 feet long. From our close-knit yachting community, we soon have our four volunteer, line-handlers and the additional required rope. The line handlers take their stations, one on each side of the bow and one on each side of the stern. Minutes later, our advisor arrives by water taxi, and we are on our way to an adventure that only a select few yachts experience.
Named one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1994, the Panama Canal opened in 1914, 10 years after the U.S. began construction. The French had started to build the canal in the 1880s but had to give up after encountering engineering and financial problems. The canal is 51 miles long and consists of three locks on both the Atlantic and Pacific sides with Gatun Lake in the center. Amazingly the lake provides all the water to raise the level of the locks at both ends.
It’s 1987 and we are making the transit center lock, which is unusual because it is not taking maximum advantage of the lock space. Attendants on the lock secure each line and the line handlers take in the line as each of the three sequential Gatun locks fill, lifting us to Gatun Lake. As we enter the lake, we are now sailing some 90 feet above sea level.
The 25 miles across the lake, the longest part of the transit, is clearly marked with buoys and is a time to relax. We stop only for a freshwater swim and to clean our propeller. Then we serve our advisor and crew gourmet sandwiches for lunch. The advisor refuses wine or a tip for his services but the rest of us enjoy a glass of wine. As usual, we do not have enough wind to sail, but our engine is fairly quiet, and we distinctly hear the cacophony of sounds from the jungle as we motor along. It sounds like the roar of tigers, but we suspect it is monkeys. Many areas of the jungle are nature preserves where rare tropical birds nest and where the U.S. astronauts take their jungle training. [2]
Whichever way you are transiting, you start with three up locks that take you to Gatun Lake, cross the lake and then enter the three down locks on the other side. Since the lake is freshwater, some boats spend the night there and clean their bottoms. We never did this.
On our second 1987 transit, we were tied to another yacht with three pairs of yachts behind us in each lock. This kept everyone on their toes. We made another transit tied to a tug and one other with a ship. When you enter the locks with a ship, it finally dawns on you how huge they are in comparison. You feel like a mosquito on the back of a rhinoceros!
There is a world of difference between the cities on the opposite ends of the canal. Panama City, on the Pacific side is sophisticated with excellent restaurants and an international Airport. We felt safe leaving our boat at the Anchorage to go ashore for dinner. In contrast, Colon, on the Atlantic side was the armpit of the world. Dirty, riddled with crime and ugly buildings. The good news was that the Panama Canal yacht club had docks, a decent restaurant and was surrounded by a 12-foot fence with barbed wire at the top. When in Colon, everyone always docked at the yacht club.
One night Betty and I and another couple were returning to the yacht club after dining nearby, as we were walking down the road to the club entrance three men came out of the dark and went after us with knives. We ran for our lives and were fortunately saved when a guard at a storage yard came out and fired his gun in the air, scaring the thieves away. I was the slowest runner, and they were so close that the guard asked me if I had been cut! After that we were even more careful. When I went down that same road in broad daylight to find a taxi for departing friends, I took off my watch and wore only short pants and a T-shirt. I even turned the pockets of the pants inside out so a thief could see I wasn't worth robbing.
Transiting the Panama Canal is exciting and an enjoyable adventure everyone should experience.
[1] The Panama Canal lies at a latitude of 9° N, where the North American Continental Divide dips to one of its lowest points.
[2] Panama. Christopher P Blake. National Geographic Books, 2007. Jungle Operations closed in 1999.