Crossing the Panama Canal

The crossing of the Panama Canal is exhilarating and exhausting as there is lots of waiting with moments of panic and terror. We waited all day for our canal pilot as every boat has to have a canal pilot on board and we finally left at 6:00pm for entry into the canal. A canal pilot is someone who helps all ships get through the canal. They tied 3 sailboats abreast (something they call a nest) and there were 4 nests of 3 oyster boats each going through the canal together.

We were nested together with 2 beautiful boats from Ireland, Irene IV and Ruth II. The passage at night was actually a blessing as it was much cooler and the canal was lit up like it was the middle of the afternoon as the canal runs ships threw 24/7.

It is approximately 45 miles through the canal with Lake Gatun in the middle. We went half way the first day then stayed overnight in the lake and transited into the Pacific the following day.

The 3 boats tied together weighed approximately 225,000 pounds held by the 2 lines on the 2 outside boats. The stress on the lines was incredible as the boats moved around as the water came in and out of the locks. It got a little hairy at times but our line handlers did awesome.

The 12 Oysters entered the Pacific to the welcoming chorus over the canal megaphone who announced welcome to the Oyster fleet to the Pacific. As the boats passed under the bridge into the Pacific it was a mixture of cheers and tears.

We will do the Panama trip itself as a separate blog which will be send in the next 48 hours. We then head to the Galapagos and will have no signal. Best to all!