Our experiences in Panama

---

We’ve made it to the Pacific Ocean!
It took 20 hours and 53 million gallons of fresh water to get us through the Panama Canal. Now we’re floating at the interface between two oceans and two continents. The Marnie is moored at the base of the “Bridge of the Americas,” which connects North and South America, at the southern end of the Canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Panama Canal transit went smoothly. Set out at dusk, passed through first three locks after dark through chambers lit up like Times Square. Spent the night moored on Lake Gatun amongst monster ships floating all around. Next morning we motored about 50 km across the lake and through the Gaillard Cut, (narrowest segment, cut through highest point along the route, with highest death toll during construction), to second set of locks. Total 80 km through canal, ascending and descending about 80 feet from ocean to ocean.

When we entered the first lock, four line handlers atop the walls of the lock threw us four lightweight “heaving lines” with a weighted tennis ball called “monkey fists” on the ends. Our crew of four line handlers on deck tied the heaving lines onto heavier lines at the four corners of the boat. The lock crew then hauled up the heavy lines, looping them over bollards on the wall to hold the boat in the center of the lock, (well away from those wicked hull-smashing walls). Our deck crew were then kept quite busy taking up the slack to maintain tension on the lines and hold our position as the water level rose and carried the boat up to the next level. Then the heavy lines were hauled back down to deck and lock workers, carrying only their lightweight lines, walked along the wall beside boat as we progressed into the next chamber to do it all again... Whew!

---