Haganes – Panama –  Aug. 2012. – 08 54N – 079 51W

 

 

Friday 10^th Aug 1012.

 

 

The Canal Inspector came out to the boat half an hour after we arrived. Procedure is a little more efficient when you have an expensive agent handling the paper work. When I brought Splash Tango though, we had to wait three weeks!  Anyway it was a wasted journey, he wouldn’t come aboard because we didn’t have the regulation steps down from the bulwarks.

 

The deck of their launch was exactly the same height as our bulwarks and we had a sturdy box for him to step down on and “two burly men” to assist. But no. Wouldn’t have a bar of it. "Make some steps, with handrails, and we'll come back". Seems like here we are back in Mexico!

 

Ray the Mate with the Charles Eames steps we had to build before the Panama Canal Inspector would come aboard. I bet they don’t make the super yachts do that, including welding handrail stanchions to the bulwarks.

 

 

I said what about taking your life in your hands and coming onboard on this occasion and seeing what else is required so we can do it all at once - No. Too dangerous.

 

Pity - If we'd got through that one we could have done the transit tomorrow but now they will come back for another look tomorrow.

 

 

So John made some new steps with stanchions for hand rail welded to the bulwarks, the measurer came aboard  the next day, they met with approval and the rest went swimmingly. Different inspector this time though. He seemed a lot more relaxed and probably would have come aboard had he been our man yesterday.

 

There are no shuttle launches here to take you ashore so I hailed down a pilot launch and the crew piled on a went ashore. I stayed aboard to ‘mind the ship’ and gave John $100 US to pay for the lift. That was the charge. $100 for 100mtr return. Not a bad earn for the pilot launch captain! As a result, I didn’t bother going ashore. I did it the easy way and ordered supplies through the agent, duly delivered and stowed.

 

I briefed Carol on looking after everyone during the transit. I think she took it on board and began cooking feverishly. Several different recipes with canned tuna because she doesn’t want use our “good” supplies on the line handlers and pilot.

 

So we got a transit time and were told to expect the pilot at 0720hrs. line handlers and hired lines arrived a 0630 and we were all set for the pilot who eventually turned up and 0815. Off we set under the Bridge of the Americas and towards Mira Flores locks.

 

Mira Flores locks – the first of the locks on the Pacific side looking back towards the Bridge of the Americas.

 

 

Ray and John at the Mira Flores Locks.

 

Good that we had a daytime transit. They said we might have to overnight in the lake which wouldn’t have been such a bad thing for us but probably would have caused some angst among the line handlers, 4 locals who were anticipating being home for dinner.

 

John the engineer and Carol the cook as we head into the Guillard Cut – John put on his cleanest shorts in consideration of the momentous  occasion!

 

I enjoyed a couple of the pilots stories though - one said there was a well found drinking culture amongst the pilots in the American ownership days. Many of the pilots were known to need a few ‘tremble settlers’ before they set off on a transit. One old soak apparently gave the wrong order on a tanker and she disappeared off into the jungle. He famously radioed base and said "This is so-and-so on the M.V. Such-and-such.. I am at x position .... send me a car!"

 

The other pilot (they changed half way) was a black guy ‘Peebo’, who with 29 years experience said he was the 2^nd most senior pilot on the canal. I asked if he had had any accidents in that time, he said 3. Two were with Russian speaking crews (he didn’t elaborate) and one a Chinese container ship. He said with the later, they lost engine control going through the lake and he immediately ordered “let go starboard anchor!” “Wah?” said the Chinese Captain. “LET GO STARBOARD ANCHOR – NOW!!”. The captain disappeared momentarily shortly reappearing and handed the pilot a cup of coffee. Once the tugs had extracted the ship from the jungle and they were proceeding towards the locks at 10 knots in the middle of the Gillard Cut, he said to the captain, “I’ll have that cup of coffee now”. The Captain shouted an order and the pilot watched in amazement as the crew, with startling speed, let go the starboard anchor!

 

 

 

 

Coming through Lake Gatun

We still hadn’t been able to fill the water tanks with the water maker being unserviceable. So when we anchored waiting to ‘down lock’  we turned the showers and washing machine onto ‘salt’ water and got busy.

 

We did the transit in a day and headed out towards Cuba - got 4 miles out and the steering packed it in, so we had to limp back to effect repairs.

 

Dawn on the Caribbean side at the entrance to the breakwater – anchored trying to fix the hydraulic pump. Shortly after taking this we moved into Shelter Bay Marina.

 

Went into Shelter Bay Marina on the Caribbean side of Panama and a long way from civilisation, but we got the problem fixed. You wouldn’t believe it, we took the hydraulic pump apart and there was a rag inside it jamming the valves. The Mexicans must have stuffed a rag in one of the pipes to block it off when they replaced them and didn’t take it out when they connected the pipes. It just worked it's way around 'til it found it's way to the pump.

 

Thankfully it didn’t happen in lake Gatun or we might have wound up in the jungle! So 24 hrs later and we were sorted – at least I was able to get ashore and enjoy that long waited for blizzardly cold Heineken.