Getting Ready For Transit...

Since our journey began nearly a year ago, we have casually been telling people when they asked our plans that we are "heading down to Mexico, Costa Rica and then to Panama and going through the canal."  For the first 340 days of our trip it was just a plan, but once we got to Panama City and began to experience a city that is thriving an growing at a rate not seen in other Central American countries, it started to sink in. Oh, and there were also abut 50 huge cargo ships anchored within 7 miles of us, and constant shipping traffic.

For a small pleasure vessel like Ketching Up the process is pretty straightforward, however if you following the cruising guides they seem to make it sound so difficult that its pretty daunting up until you actually jump in and start. Many perifferal businesses have flourished because of the canal, one niche has been filled by some business-minded taxi drivers who have learned english and who have listened and learned to cruisers and know what they need. Paperwork--where to take us; Line handlers-professionals who speak english/spanish and quite literally, 'know the ropes'; Accessories--not handbags and shoes, but tires that hang from the boats to protect them during transit from each other and the walls, and also lines, 600 feet of them which can all be rented saving cruisers lots of $$$$; Provisioning--to market we go, after running low in the western islands, hitting a huge grocery store is like Christmas! So the Taxi drivers are able to transport cruisers around to get he paperwork, people, lines & tires, and provisioning done for a very modest fee. Next stop, admeasure. Someone from the ACP comes to the boat and literally measure it from bow to stern and counts every little inch that pokes out. For us, we're a 45, but we measured at 49.2 because of the bowsprit and the mizzen boom which pokes out a ilttle. If we went over 50 then it would cost us more to transit. Whew. After admeasure we take our document to the bank, pay our $1500 fee to transit and then wait to be scheduled. We had requested a date and were able to get the very next one, so with our crew booked, food ready, lines and tires secured it was a big day of hurry up and wait.

Transit Day, August 9th 2008

6:00-Oh My God are we really taking Ketching Up through the canal??????? The sun is out and it looks like we'll have fair weather at least to start off, a good omen!

6:30-Meet Tony on the dock with Junior (the Senior Linehandler) and Luis (a stand in for Tony's son who flaked and didn't show up) He was awesome by the way and makes as many as 5 transits a week during the busy season

7:00-Delfin Solo arrives and we all get settled and ready to leave the marina

9:00-Our Transit Advisor Moses is launched out to our boat and I find it a great relief that we have a Moses with us as we go through parted waters. :)

9:30-Ashe serves up a full breakfast and our crew goes into comfort food comas as we push forward toward the Miraflores Locks. M/V Jenny is ahead of us, we will be nesting with them in two of the locks.

10:00-We go under the beautiful and symbolic Bridge of the Americas, the bridge that links North America and South America.

11:15-We have made it to the locks and people from the museum are watching as we get tied to Jenny and proceed into the chamber. They wave down at us just as we did other boats when we visited the museum. Its rainy, but nothing can dampen our excitement as the water starts rushing into the locks and we start to go up, up, up. For the next hour we transit the three locks, tied alongside Jenny while Dave motors us through since they are the boat with the horsepower. Its all still a little surreal, and at the time it was hard to believe that after all the talk, the planning and the expectation, we were finally doing it.

1:00-Out of the locks, untied from Jenny and time to haul @$$ to get across the Gatun Lake in time for the last locks. When we completed our paperwork we had to say that we could go 8 knots, otherwise our transit would automatically become a 2 day transit, which means more money, an overnight with 4 line-handlers, an advisor, and our crew of 5--sleeping arrangments for all of them, plus food.  So, along with every other sailboat who averages 6 knots, we said, of course we can go 8 knots. And, we pretty much averaged 7 knots the whole way across the lake.

3:00-Moses at the helm gives Noel a break and steers us through some 'Advisor' shortcuts which include hugging the buoys so close I'm sure we have new stripes on the side of the boat. A few massive container ships pass by, but we're from Astoria so its really not the least bit intimidating and is kind of like the Columbia river now that its raining and hilly.

4:00-Final shortcuts past Monkey Island and low and behold, we see some monkey business going on as big howler monkeys are swinging from the trees as if on cue. Then, Banana Split another quick one that helps to shave precious time off our passage. And then, and then........we make it! But this is the canal and now it seems that the ship in front of us is waiting for its pilot, so now we wait. Whew.

6:00-We raft back up with Jenny and begin our transit into the final set of locks. All tied up, and across the locks we see the top of an unidentifiable dark ship, as we go down, they come up and get bigger and bigger and bigger. Turns out its one of 3 US  Navy warships that are transiting the canal. Cooper proudly points to his American Flag t-shirt and yells, "Don't shoot!".

7:00-The last lock opens up and Caribean water rushes in and christens our boat as Ketching Up enters a new phase, a new ocean and a new year of cruisiing.

7:15-Who turned out the lights? All of a sudden away from the blinding lights in the canal, its now dark as pitch and hard to get our night vision. Good thing the rain came just as we could finally see, now at least we can see the blurry lighrs of the huge container ships ahead of us. Junior is the man and guides us across the channel and then Noel gets us into Shelter Bay Marina as the torrential downpour blinds our visability. Thankfully the kids have long since crashed, even as a participant the day is stressful and very busy.

9:00-All tied up, our tired crew stuffed into Tony's van to head back to Panama City, lines and tires packed away and Noel and I celebrate with a bottle of champage on the dock. Its been a long, exhausting and yet exilerating day made even more special by notes from all our friends who watched our transit, took pictures and videos and shared them with us.