Trip through the canal

June 27 2013

Greetings,

This morning we took Kay to the dock to head home so we’re back to just the two of us until Wednesday when our next company arrives. We’ll have enough time to get Second Star all tidied up and do some maintenance projects before Phil gets here and we head out to do a little exploring of the Archipielago de las Perlas. 

So, I suppose you want to hear about the canal transit now. Okay, so I left off when we were going to the marina to get ready. Our agent had told us the lines and tires would be delivered to Second Star on the 21st at 1100 hrs and that we were to be in the F anchorage (refered to as the “flats”) by 1300 hrs to pick up our adviser. The next we heard from him, he said we didn’t have to be to the flats until 1400 hrs. At about 1100 we found out that our lines and tires had been delivered to another boat, on the other side of the marina, the day before. And, that we had to be in the fates by 1230. While Johne dealt with the Authorities for our paperwork, our friends Harry and Matilthe, who were going with us on the transit, got a marina cart and moved the 12 tires and 4 very large lines over to Second Star and we hurried to get going. We were told to call the canal authorities on the radio to confirm we would be in the flats at the appointed time, so, as soon as we were underway headed over there, we called and were told that our adviser would be there at 1300 hrs. We got to the flats, tied to a mooring, and, while I made sandwiches, the guys got the tires hung on the sides of the boat. We ate and waited for the adviser to come. There were two other boats, both small sail boats, that were also there getting ready to go through. At about 1340 we saw the pilot boat coming to bring the advisers out. They went to the sail boats first then came to us. Two guys came aboard and we were told we had an adviser and an adviser-in-training. We set off toward the locks and they told us how we’d be rafting with the sail boats. The advisers were nice but we found when we got to the locks that they were either giving too much advice (how to steer the boat) or not enough information (how the lines needed to be prepped before they were tied to the messenger to be pulled up to the wall). Once we had gotten through the first lock, and we understood what needed to happen, the next two locks went very smoothly and the advisers said we did a great job. I responded that if you tell us what we need to do, we had a good crew and we could do it.
The little boats being tied to us made a little extra challenge. It changed the  steering dynamics, especially when they were trying to “help” steer so I was fighting their rudders. But Second Star is strong enough to do the job.
After we got though the locks it was a short trip to the mooring  in lake Gatun where we would spend the night. We got tied up, sent the advisers on there way and had an awesome lobster dinner to celebrate the solstice and to thank our crew for there hard work in getting that far. We talked over dinner about the next day and our plan for the rest of the trip. 
The day would start early. The adviser(s) would be coming at about 0600. It is 28 miles from the mooring to the next lock, and since we cruise so much faster than the sail boats, we thought it would make sense to let them get a head start and have a bit more leisurely morning. 
We saw the pilot boat coming at 0615 but after they drop off the advisers on the sail boats, they came and told us our adviser would be there soon. No problem. As I said, we wanted to leave later anyway. At about 0630 we saw another pilot boat coming. Again, we got two advisers. The not-in-training adviser said we should get underway. We explained our thinking as far as catching up with the sail boats. He said we were supposed to be at the locks by 1000 and we should go. Johne ask if we were going though with the sail boats because they wouldn’t be there by 1000. The adviser said he wasn’t sure if we’d have to wait for them or not, and we should go ahead. So, we fired up the engines and headed out. After a little more than an hour, we passed the sail boats and Johne reiterated that if we would be waiting for them, we’d need a place to tie up so we weren’t idling in circles for an hour. So when we got to the lock, sure enough, we were going to have to wait for a tourist cruise boat and our little parasites (as we were affectionately calling them). We tied to the wall and shut down our engines to wait. After about an hour the tourist boat got there and the advisers said the little boats would be there soon. So we went to fire up the mains, but our port main starter motor gremlin, which hadn’t reared its ugly head in nine months, pick that moment to return. Sometimes when the starter is hot it simply won’t start. So now we’re going to have to do this on only the starboard engine. More challenging and stressful, but not impossible. We pull into the lock and along side the big tourist boat and they tied us to their port side. The little boats (when they get there) are rafted to each other and on their own. That went very smoothly and we pulled out of that lock with no problems. After that, there’s a small lake to cross before the last two locks. That part was easy. Along the way Johne kept trying the port engine to see if it would catch. No joy. In the last two locks they decided to put us on the wall. So I pull along the wall, into the first lock. The guy on the wall takes the bow line and Johne lassos the stern bollard. We ride down as the water flows out. No problems. Only one more lock to go. I get the boat moving down the wall into the last lock. We’re almost in place. But there’s nobody on the wall to receive the lines. By this point we are very impressed (not in a good way) by the communication among the Panama canal crews. Our bow starts to drift toward the wall. Harry’s fending off. The stern is drifting out. With only the starboard engine, engaging in either forward or reverse will only exacerbate the problem. The wall guys finally get there and take the lines. We get turned and secured to the wall with only a minor scrap on the rub rail (which is what it’s there for). Whew! The water goes out. We pull out of the lock and right after the boat comes to pick up the advisers, the port engine fires up like nothing was ever wrong (we’ve replaced that starter now). 
Returning the tires and lines and getting to the anchorage went without a hitch. We tried the first anchorage on the south side of the causeway, but it was a bit rough, with the angle of the wave set and the traffic from the canal, so we moved to the main anchorage around the north east side. 

We’ve now been here a week. A gale came through and we didn’t drag so we‘re gaining some confidence that our anchor is well stuck, but we have to be careful here because the wind does come up pretty fast and, even if we don‘t drag, others have been. 

This week we’ve been getting our supplies restocked. Once we head for Ecuador it will be more difficult to get a lot of things...