The Panama Canal: Saying Goodbye to the Continent

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It can all be summed up quite simply: The Pacifico Project is a go!

February has been an incredibly long month of Panama-mania, but we've finally made our way through the canal and we're now sitting happily on an southwest-facing anchorage making final preparations and provisioning for the next few long months of crossing the world's largest body of water, the Pacific Ocean!

It seems strange to say it since I've been traveling for over 2 months now, but it really feels like this adventure is FINALLY BEGINNING!

I've hitchhiked a new ride on "Aries Tor", a 34-foot sloop from Toronto, owned by a guy named Rob who seems to have always dreamed of sailing around the world, and one day just decided to start. He bought the boat a few months ago and sailed it down from Lake Ontario in the autumn. Rob is 29, an ex-vegetarian, plays guitar and makes a mean bean burrito. We're set!

Although our COMBINED age is about the average age of most ocean circumnavigation sailors, it doesn't seem to matter much. Everyone seems to take us as seriously as anyone else. It's a very nice feeling.

In the meantime, we're quite happy to leave the Caribbean after being anchored in Colon for a week while dodging muggings and waiting for a canal transit date. On the flip side, we can't watch any more of the filming of James Bond's newest movie on Colon's loading docks!

We plan to haul anchor tomorrow morning and sail out of Panama City towards the Perlas Archipelago (just off the coast, as seen on Survivor) rest up and scrape barnicles, then continue south. Due to duldrums, we expect to follow the Columbian and Ecuadorian coasts until we reach the equator, then head directly west to the Galapagos. This is a big step for me; I've never been more than just a few hours offshore.

I expect to be offline for about 10 days starting.... now!

As for the Panama Canal, I assume you've all done your homework on it, so I won't bore you with needless facts and data; I would have just copied and pasted it from Wikipedia anyhow. Just enjoy the photos!

Cheers! Next time you hear from me, I'll hopefully be in the Galapagos!

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Photos

Leaving Colon
Starting the long motor to the first set of locks in the afternoon.

Curious Shipment
You guys need crew?

The Approach
Small boats normally start from Colon at night, ascend the Gatun locks and anchor for the night in Gatun Lake.

The Night Shift
Yours truly hauling the bow line under the floodlights.

Gatun Lake
The next morning, headed through Gatun Lake.

Car Carrier on Gatun Lake
Apparently these things carry 5000 cars each, and we saw several each day. Makes you think, eh.

Sailing the Canal
When the going get tough (ie your motor isn't fast enough), the tough get the sails up!

Biohazards in the Guillard Cut
This is the narrowest portion of the canal, which is being widened in a mad rush.

Guillard Cut widening
An additional third set of locks will accomodate much larger ships, due to open in 2015 or so.

Step 1
Raft up and enter lock.

Step 2
Go down!

Step 3
Exit lock. Do it a couple more times. Piece of cake!

Canal Workers
Just catch the monkeys fist and dont argue with these guys.

Rob says:
This is MY lock!

Then Rob says:
Oops..er, Pardon us, Sir

Aries Tor in Miraflores Locks
Locking-through always interrupts our snacking (Aries Tor left-most in photo, starboard side of the raft)

Moasi in Miraflores Locks
Congrats Ian and Julia! Im the little speck on the catamarans deck.

Comments

[The New Man]

AWESOME!!
Glad to see your on your way. Awesome pics. waiting on next update in the next 10 - 15 days. Have a great sale. Matt

[Erica]

How exciting!!! Congratulations on reaching this part of your amazing adventure! Thanks for all the wonderful updates on the Pacifico Project. I always enjoy reading your blog and seeing a little piece of what you get to experience. Enjoy and eat it up! -Erica

[Chris Bird]

Into the wild blue yonder...
Godspeed Clive.