09.10N 079.49W
JENNY
Alan Franklin/ Lynne Gane
Mon 28 Jan 2008 14:23
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Hello everybody
We are now transiting the Panama Canal about half
way through and situated in Gatun Lake,its like travelling through a jungle
which of course it is.This morning we were up at 05.15 as the Pilot's were
coming on board at 0600.Alan and I were on deck about 05.30 listening to all
this growling and other noises coming from the jungle,I told him it was the
Panthers growling but it turned out to be the Howler Monkeys with their dawn
chorus,must have an over active imagination.
Last night we rafted up in groups of
three ,us being the middle boat,to transit the up locks which raise us by three
locks up to a level of 85 ft,Alan and I took it in turns to helm,into Gatun
Lake.This is a huge man made lake some 30 mls long which was created by
building a 1/2 mile wide dam across the Chagres river and then flooding an area
of forest to a depth of 25/30 meters. This forms a water area for the ships to
transit between the locks at the Caribbean end and the Pacific the lock are
necessary as they are at different sea levels as we go up from Caribbean
85ft into Gatun Lake and come down from Gatun to the Pacific 45 ft when we
get to Miraflores lock.
WE WILL TRANSIT THE
LOCK BETWEEN 18.00 and 20.00
YOUR TIME TODAY THE WEB CAM IS www.PanCan.com if not just look up panama
canal.MIRAFLORES LOCK we will be the third raft from the
front.(hopefully)
The mooring arrangements last night were really
strange as we all came alongside large round bouys with one mooring cleat in the
middle with 2 boats rafted up on one side and us on the other with springs
on the buoy and bow and stern lines to each other,it seemed to work.Getting the
Pilots on and off our boats was a work of art by the skippers they were inch perfect in their 50ft steel launches,just as
well because any contact would have done some serious damage.
When we exit the lock at Miraflores it will be out
into the Pacific a totally different experience to the Atlantic and the
Caribbean and under the Bridge Of The Americas which is the official end of the
canal
WE WILL WAVE AT THE WEB CAM FOR ALL OF THOSE
INTERESTED
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