We are through and have been for a fortnight. The reason for the delay is that we have had a flying visit home to see our aged mothers.

The transit was painless and easy. We had heard of turbulent water, rogue ships, incompetent advisors, damaged boats, cleats torn out; some were unlucky but for us these were just stories, we had a good transit. With any lock you have to remain aware and not lose concentration but we had excellent helpers in the form of one paid line handler and 2 Americans who volunteered after we put a note on the bow of the boat. Out of the blue stepped Dick and Moira from the further (cold) reaches of Maine. They proved not only excellent crew but also very good company. We hope one day we might venture north up the East of the USA and see their home waters.

In addition to 4 line handlers a transit advisor is appointed who acts as a pilot. We did the transit over 2 days. Our first advisor was a tug boat engineer with a Scottish surname and ancestry. He too was excellent company with a quick sense of humour, he said one of the most dangerous thing he had ever done was to walk through Panama City in a kilt on Burns Night. Having travelled far and wide he spoke excellent English and kept a watchful eye as we made our way into the first flight of locks rafting with another boat to follow in a larger yacht and a medium sized ship.

The locks are 1000 feet long and 100 ft wide to allow Panamax ships through. The Canal Authority are currently building new sets of locks to take ships of 1500 ft. To see the massive container ships entering the locks with a foot to spare each side is impressive but, of course, routine. We went through the locks in the middle with 4 men on the lock sides taking our lines from lock to lock and putting them on bollards high above us. For ships this part of the operation is done by impressive railway engine tugs known as mules.

We stayed overnight on a buoy in the Gatun Lake and Dick and I had an early morning dip in the fresh water , ignoring the advice about crocodiles. The next day we continued along the lake for about 35 miles before the locks that took us down again to the Pacific. Our advisor this day was also a well travelled man who had travelled far and wide including visiting Hull, Liverpool and other ports of the UK on a mission ship. He belonged to an evangelical church and spent an hour trying to convert me. A bit like having ones very own inescapable Jehovah's witness on board. However, he was interesting, reasonably open minded, and most importantly a good advisor who kept his eyes open.

            Dick and Moira from Maine who sail their British Westerley 'Equinox'.
 

We had to be careful to stick to the buoyed channel as there are still tree stumps that lurk just below the surface from the forest that covered this area before the land was flooded. For the most part the lake appears natural until one reaches Gold Hill where a 200 foot hill had to be cutaway. This is where many of the thousands who died constructing the canal perished. The land is unstable and landslides were common. Of course it was yellow fever and malaria that claimed most lives and yet these have both been so successfully eradicated that there is no need to take anti-malarials here. One of the surprises of the trip so far is how little we have been troubled by mosquitoes.

The last 2 locks we descended with only one other yacht which made for a stress free welcome as the last gates opened onto The Pacific. Since that spine tingling moment we have been doing the usual boat chores and then the flights home 14 hours airborne  with 3-5 hour change overs at New York, me to London and 'Raine to Manchester . It still surprise me that what has taken us 10 months to accomplish can be reversed in hours....admittedly tedious hours in an aluminium tube breathing stale air and eating junk food. We wondered how the boat would be on our return having been left on a mooring. In fact apart from being grimy (this side of the Panama Canal is very grimy) the batteries are fully charged, the fridges are working and everything is as we left it - such a relief.

Getting into the Pacific has given a great sense of moving on but it is not lovely so far as there are many ships to foul the waters, there is plenty of rubbish floating in the anchorages and the air is always full of smuts from forest fires, smoke stacks and cooking fires. Quite a contrast with the Atlantic side. We need to get on out of here!