Panama Canal Transit

This is a severely delayed post, but still worth a post no matter how late it arrives. I've found that my experiences worth posting about in Panama occur so often that I have to pick and choose what to write about!

Our transit of the Panama Canal began on January 27th, 2010. The first step in the process is to receive your adviser, a canal official who boards your vessel near Colon. It's an impressive and rapid boarding, as they bring the adviser out on a work boat, which comes just close enough for the adviser to jump onto your boat and they immediatly leave. Our adviser was a man of few words, who had done over 400 canal transits and was himself a tug captain.
We approached the first lock chamber after sundown. Approaching the immense chamber at night in your small yacht is a humbling experience. It's akin to entering a cathedral.

Entering the first chamber of Gatun Lock

The water that fills the chamber enters through holes in the floor of the chamber, so when they fill the lock the water suddenly boils as hundreds of gallons of water flood the lock.

Gatun Locks enormous riveted doors

After making it through 3 chambers, we arrived at Gatun Lake. We were guided to a large fiberglass mooring ball where we would be moored for the night. Gatun Lake is teeming with life, from Howler Monkeys and sloths to Harpy Eagles and Crocodiles. Fishing is not permitted in this lake.

Dredging out the Canal

Impressive terrain inside the Canal

Centennial Bridge

The tropical shoreline of Miraflores Lake

Approaching The Bridge of the Americas

The Pacific and Panama City Skyline

The transit is many things to sailors. A transition, a big step toward the world of the Pacific. The gateway to a whole new coastline for many, and perhaps the hundreds of islands of the Pacific itself. Just crossing the Pacific itself is a huge move forward, as many find themselves unable to make that move out of the Caribbean and onto even bigger adventures. For us this is one step closer to our homeland.