Diary Entry from Milliways is at the Panama Canal March 2005

Posted on 18/04/2005

The repairs after hurricane IVAN in the boat yard at Trinidad, were finally completed in the middle of February, and we are trying to catch up

Arrived at Panama at the beginning of the week, after a rapid 1100 miles from Trinidad, It starts with an overnight run, no lights or radio, but a constant radar watch keeping 50 miles off the coast at the Gulf of Paria, well named, as it is the haunt of the local pirates.

The islands off the coasts of Venezuala, Testigos, Tortuga and Los Rogues were beautiful, isoloted except for seasonal fishing communities with white coral sand beaches and touquoise blue water clear to a depth of about 10 metres. Our first reel taste of an island no more than 8 feet high and surrounded by a double reef, we arrived about two hours before dawn and so stood off the island keeping it in view on radar, a brand new 52ft Super Maramoo just ahead of us trusted his electronic plotter and continued in during the dark and went aground just about a quarter of a mile east of the entrance to the first reef, only believe what you can see, the charts are between ½ to 1 miles out from reality and the reef is constantly growing and changing shape, a good lesson for the Pacific, we now take visual transits between passing islands to check the electronic chart error.

Margarita was disappointing, very run down, and lawless, and not safe to go outside the marina except in an approved taxi, but everything was so cheap fillet steak was cheaper than sausages at 3 US $ per kilo!

The ABC islands were just like being in Holland, clean, clinical and expensive, Bonaire was good and catered for tourists particularly divers, while Caricoa and Aruba are heavily industrialised, providing offshore oil refining and chemical plants for the oil from numerous wells off the mainland coast

The run from Aruba to Cartagena in Columbia is reputed to be rough around the headlands with steep cross seas, but this time it excelled itself with a full Force 10 storm, winds up to 50 knots, for most of one night, Milliways took it well with tiny headsail and reefed mizzen, keeping the speed down to about 6 - 7 knots, it had reached 13 at one stage as we were pulling sail off, it as a good test for all the work done in Trinidad, nothing broke.

Cartagena is classic medieval Spanish town with a huge citadel which defeated everyone including the Brits, it is safe to walk around and inside the old walled part is mostly original, the local yacht club was very helpful and we could have stayed here for several weeks, its on the next time round list. Heather went to help at the local medical clinic for a day, as they are always short of staff

The San Blas islands were next, they are magic and although in a hurry we spent a week just drifting from one classic desert island to the next, a coral reef with a tiny white sand beach and a few palm trees, the snorkelling was excellent, so much live coral, thousands of brightly coloured fish and few big ones including sting rays and reef sharks! The Kuna indians live on some of the islands, the whole area is a national park, they come out to the boat in dug out canoes, the women sell traditional Molas squares, which are classical South American designs and animals a kind of applique work. The men sell fish and lobsters, 4 for 3 US $, they were wonderful finished on the barbeque. We could easily have spent at least a month here, this is the best part of the Carribean.

We reluctantly moved on to Portabelo, which is where the Spanish shipped all their gold and silver back to Spain, it is a big natural harbour with old forts dotted around the bay to defend it. This is where Drake finally met his end and was buried at sea just off an island at the entrance.

The final 40 miles was a run into the small ships anchorage, known as 'The Flats' about two miles from the Gatun locks, in among all the container boats, oil tankers and cruise liners and alongside the beginning of the series of lakes and mosquito infested swamps which form most of the canal. The Panama Canal Yacht Club is a spawling old hang out for yachties while they wait for a Transit Date. There is a 3 to 4 day paper chase to check in, at Immigration and Customs, get a cruising permit, have the boat measured and fill in so many indemity forms in case we damage their canal or screw up their schedule by not managing to keep our allocated position in the 46 lockings that take place every day. We have sign that we can motor at 8 knots, but in practice everything moves at about 6.5 knots. The whole of Colon town is falling apart with old empty US military buildings everywhere, unfortunately most of the current inhabitants have no work since the US pulled out of the Canal Zone. Ouside of the razor wire around the yacht club has to be seen from inside a taxi, everyone with our colour of skin is classed as an American and they are not held in high regard.

We have served our apprenticeship by acting as Line Handlers on another boat and so we think we are ready and prepared for our transit which will start at 1600 local time on Sunday. We will go up through the three Gaton locks a total of 26 metres vertically and then tie to a bouy in Gaton Lake. The pilot leaves us overnight and we are not allowed ashore, not that we would want to go off the boat as the fresh water crocodiles swim around waiting for tit bits. We must feed and sleep the four line handlers and be ready to start again at 0600 local Monday.

The Miraflores Lock has a visitors centre and live webcam, we are scheduled to be there at 1200 local time (which we think is now 6 hours behind BST) So if you can be on the web at www.pancanal.com on Wednesday 20th between say 1800 to 1900 BST we will wave and smile as the camera zooms in, we expect to be the centre boat of a raft of three yachts in front of , but very close to a massive frieghter.

After that lock it is about a mile to the Bridge of the America's and the Pacific Ocean, with Galapogos as the next stop after about one weeks
sailing, wow !

Photos

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