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REMEMBER TO BREATHE IN AND OUT SLOWLY...

Chris Baily on S/Y 'Prana'

"This is a purely personal view - it was probably not the best way to do it. In fact I know it wasn't, so note my mistakes and, with a bit of luck, it might make your crossing a bit more relaxed!

The Panama Canal is 45 miles long (the actual transit is about 20 miles) from the deep water of the Atlantic to the deep water of the Pacific. It was cut through one of the narrowest places, and at one of the lowest saddles, of the long isthmus which joins the North and South American continents. From the Atlantic side, vessels are raised 85 feet in a continuous flight of three locks. 

Each lock is 100 feet wide and 1000 feet long. After leaving the third lock, vessels travel through a fresh water lake to the first of the three locks that will lower them down. After Pedro Maguel Lock it's a mile to the last two locks at Miraflores and then out into the Pacific.

My boat, 'Prana', is a 32 year old 16m steel sloop, I had sailed from Trinidad with my girlfriend, Sam, to Bonaire and then on to Panama, where we were aiming to meet a friend, Joe. He was going to transit with us and then come down to New Zealand as a third crew member. 
Someone once said to me " If I'm going to meet someone with the boat, I tell them a time or a place, never a time and a place". 

Unfortunately this piece of wisdom came too late and, as a result, we were pushed for time to get to Panama to pick up Joe. Luckily we only arrived a day late and, thanks to the usual hospitality of cruisers, Joe had found a berth on a boat in the yacht club in Colon. The fact that the yacht also had one of the few single women in the area on board did not escape our notice!

We also managed to go stern-to in Colon, and I spent the next day and a bit sorting through all the customs and immigration procedures. My Spanish is very basic, so I struggled a bit, but if you're patient you can get it done. Some people take the easier route and hire someone to do it for them, which is a much more sensible idea. The money I saved by doing it myself was probably spent in the bar trying to calm down as it was very frustrating at times.

Once we were checked in, it became apparent that there was about a two-week waiting list to go through the canal. Rather than wait in Colon, which we found was not a very nice place, we decided to go back and visit the San Blas Islands. I telephoned the canal transit authority to try and schedule a time, but the reply I received was along the lines of "Sorry, you cannot book a transit, leave and then come back, you have to be ready to go if there is a cancellation or a slot comes up into which we can fit your boat ". 

We were not in any great hurry so it was off to the San Blas islands where we had a lovely time. Don't miss them if you go down that way, the islands are only a day or twos' sail from Panama. After relaxing in the San Blas islands for just over a week, we decided it was time to get back to Panama and get our transit completed. 

The first job was to get the admeasurer out to measure 'Prana' and get us in the queue for the transit. I had been warned that he would want to examine the lines we would be using to secure the boat. One of the requirements for permission to transit the canal is that the vessel must have four lines 150' long and suitable for the size and weight of the boat. You are also required to have four people on board, excluding the Captain and Pilot, to handle the lines. 

Although the option was available, I decided not to hire suitable lines from the yacht club but to buy a set as I needed some new mooring lines anyway. I purchased 600' of nice new rope, which the admeasurer then told me was too light for my boat and that I needed at least 7/8" thick lines. He carried on with his job, finished measuring the boat, filled in all the paperwork and was gone in half an hour. 
All we had to do after that was to go along to an office, pay the US$750, and wait for a transit time. 

That done, we started provisioning the boat in earnest, there were not going to be too many supermarkets in our path until we reached New Zealand. Meanwhile I booked a set of lines from the yacht club. These are rented out at not too extortionate a rate. On the basis that you can't have enough protection, I also bought 10 rather old car tyres to use as extra fenders. Wrapping them in bin liners prevents their blackness rubbing all down your paintwork, it also pays to be careful that none of the steel banding is poking through the side walls. The tyres cost a few dollars each. Alternatively, if you want to, you can go to the other end of the canal and pick them up for free, most boats that transit through into the Pacific leave their tyres in Balboa.

Whilst we were waiting, I took the opportunity to get the life raft serviced, all the emergency food/water replaced, new flares and all that sort of thing. There are couple of places in the Free Zone that supply it all and, as they are usually supplying large ships, their prices are very reasonable. We were charged just over cost price, including pick up from, and delivery to, the yacht club!

By this time we had left the yacht club and were anchored out in the harbour, along with the majority of the other boats, only going ashore when necessary. 
Colon is not a very safe city and, for peace of mind, we always took a taxi. It's not expensive and might save you a mugging, as someone found out to their expense, only 50 metres from the club gate, while we were there. One hears so many scare stories about bad transits, boats getting crushed, sunk and generally wrecked, that it is quite easy to get yourself into a complete state of panic. 

The best way to see, at first hand, what goes on during the transit is to volunteer to be a line handler for someone else. The majority of boats going through only have a couple on board so there is always a demand for people willing to help with line handling. It is also advisable to make sure you have your line handlers booked early. 

We were let down, at the last minute, when the people who were supposed to be coming to help handle our lines went off on another boat. 
As it was, we transited with that boat and they had done us a big favour by taking away our line handlers, the two people in question were completely new to boats and not much help at all! 

All three of us, Joe Sam and I, went through the transit on various boats, and I think it was probably one of the best possible investments in time. 
Not only did we all get to see the procedures at the locks, which are not very complicated anyway and made even less so by the pilot who is on board with you, but I also gained an appreciation of what the line handlers on my boat would be required to do. 

When your boat is measured, you are given several options to choose from, concerning how you would like to go through the canal. 
The options are: centre lock on your own, centre lock rafted, side wall or against a tug. 

The more options you select, the better your chances of going through sooner. The only option I eliminated was that of going up against the side wall as 'Prana' has full width spreaders and the walls are very rough. 
Each day you go in to the club and ring the transit people to find out if your transit time is coming up. It was a bit of a surprise when I called on the second day and was told that 'Prana' could go through the next day as there had been a cancellation. There was no way we were ready! The lines I needed would be in use for the next 3 days, and we had already promised to help another boat through on that day so I had to decline the opportunity. 

There was another boat due to transit in three days time. Her skipper had opted to go along the side wall and, as we were of a similar size, asked if I wanted to go rafted on the outside, to which I readily agreed.

From then on, everything went on at a mad pace, and we soon had the boat down 3 or 4 inches deeper in the water with supplies! I still had a couple of line handlers to find and to get the lines from the yacht club, but there was so much else going on that I put those matters to the back of my mind.

That was a mistake! On the day before we were due to transit I still did not have any line handlers standing by and the lines we were to use were on a boat that would not be through until 4 pm that same day. I went to the yacht club at lunch time and checked that the lines would be sent back that night and was assured they would be. 

If you miss your transit time there is a fine of a few hundred dollars and you go to the back of the queue again! I asked the yacht club to check on what time that boat would be through so that I could get a taxi, if necessary, to go and pick the lines up from the other side. "No problem!" they insisted, four 150 foot ½" lines would be ready that night. Despite assurances that the lines would be 7/8" thick, they turned out to be the wrong size and I was left without lines, which didn't really matter as I did not have enough people to handle them anyway! 

A couple of quick beers in the club and I had obtained the telephone number of someone who would sell me 600' of 7/8" line and, what's more, deliver it that same afternoon. Great! Whilst I went off to sort that out, Sam and Joe volunteered to stay at the bar and find a couple of line handlers, the big attraction on offer being that both Joe and Sam are professional chef's, and we also had a large stock of alcohol on board!

Everything has to be paid for in cash at the canal, even the transit fees. It's vital to make sure you have the money handy or credit cards that will allow you to withdraw cash from hole-in-the-wall machines (ATMs) or, if you're patient, over the counter in a local bank. 

I spent a while in a taxi, going from machine to machine, trying to trick them into allowing me to withdraw more money than I should, in theory, be allowed. This didn't work, so I ended up queuing to get the money over the counter.

I met a rather questionable character on the way back, who said he would line handle for US$50 a day and could find a friend at the same price to come too. At least there was a fall-back plan if Sam and Joe hadn't managed to find anyone.

I got back to the yacht club just in time to meet the rope man and, for once, someone actually brought exactly what I needed. The only trouble was that 600 feet of 7/8" nylon weighs rather a lot, so I went and dragged Joe out of the bar and we managed to get it into the dinghy and thence onto 'Prana'. 

I decided that the best thing to do was to cut the rope into two and so have a couple of good sized lines for streaming if we ever had any really bad weather.
We got back to the bar at about 6pm and I was ready for another few beers. This was the most hectic few days I'd had since buying the boat!

Sam had found a young English couple who were crewing on another boa. They had been through the canal a couple of times and their skipper was willing to let them come with us, on condition that, when he transited, he could borrow one of our lines and Joe to help with the line handling. The line was no problem and nor was Joe, once we found out the couple were just good friends!

We were all set for a 5 a.m. start and I finally sat down and relaxed, as much as one can when about to go through one of the worlds' most amazing canals in your own boat, having listened to more than enough tales of woe with boats sinking, being damaged and generally having a bad time as their main theme!

4.30 am came around and it was time to get ready for our pilot and have a good breakfast. Rum in the tea was tempting, to calm the nerves, but good sense prevailed and we had a small one in coffee instead, to get us fully awake. We were ready as ever we were going to be for 'the big ditch'.
The pilot, who was actually a trainee, came on board, and went through with us how he wanted the lines handled and what signals he would be using. He was very professional and had a good sense of humour which helped put me at ease. This was going to be O.K.!

Off to the first set of three locks we headed. There was going to be just us and one other yacht transiting in the canal together. We arrived early and had to wait a couple of hours as they cancelled one transit and put us through behind a cruise ship, so we dropped anchor in a side inlet and waited. 
Then it was our turn and both yachts went charging up after the cruise ship. 

As we were going to be against the wall, the pilots took this opportunity to get us rafted together, with the other boat, on our port side going nearest the wall. Neither the other skipper nor I had performed this manoeuvre before, let alone at 5 knots, but with about 8 fenders between us there was not too much danger of damage, and we were soon securely lashed side by side. 

The fun started once we were tied together. Trying to change course, for example, took some co-ordination. Luckily, the other yacht had a much more powerful engine than mine so we let him do the main steering, with us just adding or taking a little as was necessary. 
All was going well as we approached the first lock, and the giant gates swung closed behind us and then everything went completely pear-shaped, to put it politely, and we nearly had a very serious accident.

The men working the locks throw down a heaving line, for you to attach your lines to, and then they pull them up about 60 -70 feet and place them over bollards. You then control the tension in the lines from the boat. As we were the outside boat, we would not be involved in this operation. The canal man at the bow end dropped his heaving line entirely and the line handler on the bow of the other boat, one of the people who had been poached from us, had no idea what to do! 

Meanwhile the gates had closed and the lock had started to fill. The locks are filled from huge underground pipes, 4 feet in diameter, and it looks as though the water is boiling. The turbulence started to drift us away from the wall at an amazing speed. It seemed that there was no way we could avoid swinging round and bashing our starboard side on the opposite side of the lock. 

Luckily, Joe, who was on the bow of Prana, managed to retrieve the heaving line, attach one of our big lines onto it and get it taken up, put on a bollard and locked off on Prana. 
We were still at about 45 degrees off the wall, with the stern of the other boat being dragged up the side of the lock. I broke the shear pin on the throttle trying to get our bows round. 

Joe then had the good sense to get the line around the anchor windlass (winch) and started pulling both boats back towards the wall. At this point, someone on the other boat, for some strange reason, loosened the stern line, and the turbulence suddenly swung both boats, bow-first, into the wall. The other yacht, a traditional wooden boat, had a long wooden bowsprit which started making some very ominous cracking sounds. The skipper's wife was screaming for someone to do something. Our pilot jumped onto their boat and started pulling in the stern line. Meanwhile, Sam had the crew throw us a heaving line, we got one of our lines to the top and pulled the boats back into line with the wall on our primary winches. 

Just as soon as it had started, it was over and we had a rather calmer five minutes whilst the lock filled. The rear of the cruise ship had filled with people watching this added attraction to their crossing. I looked across at the other skipper and could swear I saw him inhale a whole cigarette in one go! I had positioned Sam at the ready on the throttle in the engine bay, but found pair of vice-grip pliers and we used them for the rest of the day as a makeshift throttle. We stayed tight to the wall as the cruise ship moved off and, once the wash from it had passed, we let loose and proceeded into the next lock. 

Our pilot was not very pleased with the other boat, their lack of preparedness, and the size of their lines, which were too small for both boats. For the next two locks all the line handling was done from 'Prana' and everything went smoothly. 

It makes a huge difference if you have people aboard who are used to boats, can handle lines and tie knots that will not come undone. I was extremely pleased that I had bought the bigger lines, there had seemed only a minute chance that we would come to rely upon them but, when the worst happened, we did need them. I also consider myself to have been very lucky to have Joe on the bow, and Sam at the stern, both doing what was needed with the minimum of panic. Between them, they diverted a complete disaster.

Leaving the uppermost lock, we headed into Lake Gatun for the trip across to the Pacific side of the canal. Our cruise ship dropped anchors for lunch and then turned to go back through the same locks and into the Caribbean. I'm not too sure the passengers will remember their crossing quite the way I do!

Our pilot was in no hurry, we would not be able to get through in one day anyway, so he suggested we take a leisurely sail through what is known as the 'Monkey Cut'. This is a very narrow canal that runs through the trees and cuts a mile or so off the trip. With the wind off our aft quarter, we pulled the 'jenny' (Ed: what the Americans call a 'cruising chute' and the British call a gennaker, a headsail halfway between a genoa and a spinnaker) out and had a sail for a few hours. As we came back into the main canal (having seen no monkeys), I had to turn the engine on and we motor-sailed to our anchorage for the evening, a couple of mile from the first locks that would take us down into the Pacific. 

Occasionally, we would have to pull over as some huge car-carrier or other equally large ship passed us. There are speed restrictions in the area so the ships were not putting up any kind of wake. We decided it was best not to push the 'overtaking boat keeps clear' rule as our mast, at 60 feet, didn't even reach the topsides of most ships going past us. Yes, I do know about not impeding boats with restricted draft and manoeuvrability, the remark was supposed to amuse you!

Eventually, we dropped the anchor and, after what felt like a long day, decided to go for a nice, cool, relaxing swim in this inviting freshwater lake, until the pilot pointed out a large alligator, or it may have been a crocodile, about 100 metres from the boat and doing a very good impression of a log. That put a stop to that idea, rather abruptly, and Joe was heard muttering about the fact that, when he came through before, they had been swimming in this very spot! 

A pilot boat came to pick up the pilots from the two yachts and the crew were kind enough to have brought a large bag of ice for our drinks that night so, instead of the swim, we got the barbeque fired up and started celebrating making it through the first day in one piece.
It was quite a party and more than one or two sore heads were evident the next morning.

Our pilot turned up at 10am, bearing another bag of ice for the day. We upped anchor and headed through to the first of our final three locks. We had the same pilot as the day before who, much to my delight, refused to raft 'Prana' up with the other boat, so we went through the last three locks very smoothly, in the centre, on our own. Apart from us there was only a tug and a sports fishing boat going through anyway.
After Pedro Miguel lock, there is about a mile to go to the last two locks at Miraflores. If you have friends at home with access to the Internet, they can watch you going through these locks on a web cam which is on the Panama Canal Commissions web site. 

The final lock was the one that I was most worried about, as I had heard that the fresh water mixing with the salt causes very bad turbulence in the centre of the lock. Most of the problems I'd heard about centred on this turbulence turning boats sideways and causing havoc. Prana does not have the best of engines and, being full keeled, is interesting, to say the least, when the throttle is engaged in 'astern'. 

I voiced my concerns to the pilot who said I was not to worry, that we would go in last and he would get the line handlers to secure us at the back of the lock. It was still going to be interesting, as there was a couple of knots of current going into the lock from the fresh water mixing with the salt, and quite a wind behind us. 

In we went, with me giving it a burst astern, trying to slow us down, then a quick burst ahead to straighten up. Once I'd got the hang of it, it was fine, and we got both stern ropes up and secured about 20 metres into the lock. All that remained was to get out of the lock and into the Pacific! Once the final gates were open, the pilot kept us tied up until the water had settled down a bit and then it was full steam ahead to keep the steerage on. 

What a relief to get out of that final lock, but there was also a part of me that wanted to turn around and go and do it again! We'd gone to so much trouble that it seemed a pity it was all over so quickly.

We hadn't got to the Bridge of the Americas before the first Champagne corks were popping as we celebrated our transit of the canal and, more importantly, the start of our Pacific adventures that would see us through to New Zealand at the end of the year.

1. The pilot boat came out to pick up our pilot, who had been wonderful throughout the transit. They only bent one stanchion coming alongside, (keep those fenders out to the end), and then we were off to refuel and get ready for the trip to Galapagos.
   
   I would definitely do it again but will reiterate on the few things I would do differently next time, and can recommend to you if you're planning your first transit:
   

Give yourself plenty of time to prepare and be patient. Things do get done. Eventually.

1.  Get your line handlers organised as soon as possible.
   
2.  Do remember that just about everything has to be paid for in cash.
   
3. If you're going rafted up, have a chat with the other skippers beforehand.
   
4.  Make sure everyone knows what they are doing. Don't assume that someone you meet in the bar knows how to tie a bowline.
   
5.  Look out for crocs if you do go swimming in the lake! (Mozzy repellent won't work!)
   
6.  Don't be put off by all the scare stories. Hundreds of yachts go through each year, and only a few have problems.
   
7. Enjoy it! It was one of the highlights of my year and something I would love to do again.

Regards,
Chris Baily - S/Y Prana

Can't thank you enough, Chris! This is exactly the sort of article we hoped we'd get for MarineZine. Now we owe you a Christmas dinner and a HUGE thank you for going to so much trouble to help make the first issue of the magazine a stonking good read. Can't wait to read more about your other travels and we bet we're not the only ones!

Have YOU had an interesting time of it anywhere? We'd love to hear all about it! E-mail us with your stories and don't worry about your literary skills, the editing is all part of the fun at this end! 

Incidentally, you may like to visit Chris Baily's Prana Sailing Ltd. website on www.pranasailing.com.

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