Sailing: The Line Handler's Tale- A Passage Through the Panama Canal April 2017

I scrambled out of the dinghy onto the transom steps of S/Y Minh, a French flagged 41' Fontaine Pajot Lipari catamaran, as a last minute addition to the crew as the required fourth line handler. She was weighing anchor in the Flats anchorage near the Port of Colon, a staging area for yachts as they prepare to transit the Panama Canal.

SY Minh at anchor in the Flats.  You can enlarge any photo by clicking on it.

Amid a flurry of activity, Bruno, the only English-speaker, kindly welcomed me aboard. A scuffle and bump on the port side...Mr. Tito, the rental agent was delivering four tires wrapped in plastic bags to use as fenders, and four stout 125' polypropylene hawsers we would need for the passage through the Panama Canal. 

The pilot boat approaching Minh.

In another moment on the starboard side, a 40' foot steel pilot boat nosed within inches of our hull, and the Panama Canal adviser stepped aboard Minh. Right away he instructed the captain to get underway, to proceed along the two mile channel toward the Gatun Locks.

The Panal Canal Authority Yacht Adviser takes the con.

...and we are underway before our hawsers are secured. (Yes, sailors, you're right....
they are really "lock lines", but to call them hawsers it not  incorrect and makes for a smoother read.)

For many cruisers, a transit of the Panama Canal is a milestone accomplishment. The Canal itself is truly an engineering wonder of the world. Completed in 1914, the Canal consists of six locks and 45 miles of waterway, a shortcut between continents connecting the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean. It is immense in scale. Each lock is 85 feet deep, 1,000 feet long and 110 feet wide. For the original Canal, the maximum, or "Panamax", dimensions for a vessel is 965 feet long and 106 feet wide. With only two feet to spare on each side, there is little room for pilot error. The design of this canal has dictated the parameters for shipbuilding worldwide for nearly a century.

Here is our first glimpse of the original Panama Canal.

Here's our only glimpse of the new Canal, where super-Panamax sized vessels can transit.

There are three ways a yacht can proceed through the canal. Probably the most common way is center chamber lockage, where yachts are rafted up two or three abreast. Another way is to be moored alongside a Canal Authority tug or small tourist cruise ship. In the third way, called sidewall lockage, the yacht is moored against the rough cement walls of the canal, less common and also less desirable, since water turbulence can crash your rigging into the side wall. Our adviser told us we would raft up for a center chamber configuration...one less thing to worry about.

While we motored ahead, we prepared the boat by covering the glass hatches and solar panels with seat cushions and other thick padding, to protect them from the monkey fists which are used to convey messenger lines to the boats by Canal workers. As we progressed, we were gradually approached by another yacht, 42' Froot Salid from Australia, to which we rafted up as instructed by the advisers on each boat.

Rafted up with Froot Salid.

Spring lines held us firmly together, and we entered the first Gatun lock after the ship ahead of us was secured. Canyon-like walls rose up on both sides. The captains kept the boats centered under the watchful eyes of the advisers, and eventually the Canal workers atop the high walls threw down the monkey fists with messenger lines to which we tied our hawsers. The workers hauled up the hawsers and together the men and boats moved slowly forward to the proper position, where the workers secured our lines to bollards.

Canal workers at the Gatun locks. They handled our lines, walking them through the three locks.

The advisers and canal workers communicate effectively with each other using walkie-talkies, but also by sharp whistling, reminding me of Scottish shepherds directing with their dogs to herd sheep.

I jokingly asked our adviser, a cheerful Panamanian named Larry, whether a man who couldn't whistle could get a job here...he thought for a minute, laughed and said probably not.

Larry the Adviser.  He speaks excellent English, the language of marine communications.

Tika's  well-thumbed fourth edition of Bauhaus.
 Essential reading for cruising Panama.

In his excellent guide “The Panama Cruising Guide (5th Edition)”, Eric Bauhaus gives useful and detailed information pertaining to transiting the Canal. As a line handler, there were two things I needed to keep in mind. The first was that having a hawser or any other line go afoul of the prop during the transit is bad...really bad. The water churning around the vessel while the lock is filling is as turbulent as that below a massive waterfall, made even more dangerous by the mixing of fresh and salt waters of different densities. Be careful that you do not fall in; and if your dog falls overboard or your prop gets fouled, do not enter the water for any reason. The second hazard to beware of is when the monkey fist is thrown to your boat.

The Monkey Fist.  A weight used when casting a messenger line.
It looks all cute and nautical, but with a core of solid lead the size
of a golf ball, and flying through the air, it's nothing you want to get hit with.

It is a heavy ball of lead inside a cover of woven rope, enough to fracture the skull of the unlucky swabby who wanders into the way. I was vigilant when the lines were thrown to Minh...but was a bit startled when the monkey fist intended for Froot Salid landed on Minh's deck!

When all was ready with the ship ahead of us and our rafted yachts, the massive lock gates behind us slowly began to close. These impressive steel doors weigh 800 tons a piece, massive steel plates joined by hand-forged and hammer-driven rivets from the age of steam.

 They are so precisely balanced on their hinges that only a 40 hp engine is required to open and close them. When they were closed at last, the water began to swirl up in massive, powerful eddies, and the boats slowly rose. The job of the line handlers is to keep a steady tension on the hawsers, holding the boats in position against the turbulent waters. Pressures on the mooring cleats can be tremendous and in an upward direction, which the cleat installations must be strong enough to withstand.

The churning water quieted, the lock was filled at last and with a metallic rumble the massive lock gate opened. The ship ahead of us was towed into the next Gatun lock by four chunky electric locomotives, weighing 20 tons apiece, which pulled the ship forward into position inside the second lock.

The squat 20 ton engine is on the left, keeping tension on the ship's stern hawser.

Once she was in position, our advisers were given the order to move our rafted yachts into position. Both vessels motored at dead slow into position, and the canal workers manning the bollards walked the hawsers along the wall and up the steps to the top of the next lock. Shrill whistling reminded us line handlers to raise our lines overhead as workers climbed the steps.

Massive turbulence and undercurrents swirl and shift the boat as the lock fills

When we moved into the canyon of the second lock, our lines were secured and the whole process slowly repeated, and once again for the third Gatun lock. After transiting these three locks, the boat lay 84 feet above the level of the Caribbean sea from which we had started.

As the evening sky ripened to tangerine and scarlet, we left the third Gatun lock and headed into Lake Gatun. This meandering lake was formed when the Rio Chagres was dammed to create a navigable waterway leading further on toward the Pacific.

The advisers guided us to a giant floating mooring ball large enough for two people to stand on, and both boats moored securely with bow, stern and spring lines for the night. This is more convenient for prompt departures, since anchors dropped in Lake Gatun may foul on hundred year-old logs or stumps still firmly rooted beneath the dammed waters.

The mooring buoy at Lake Gatun. A crew member had to jump
 onto it to finish mooring the boat

The sun sets along Lake Gatun.

 As twilight approached heralded by a chorus of howler monkeys, I dived overboard for a delicious swim in the gloriously fresh water, and soon everyone on both boats joined in, in spite of reports about lurking crocodiles. Refreshed and relaxed, the 'ti punch was poured, the stars came out, and we slept.

First 'ti punch....rhum agricole, lime juice, and raw sugar...

...then a simple French dinner of sausage, ham and lentils. 

After an early French breakfast of coffee with fresh, hot crepes and jam prepared by Annick and Charles-Henri, our advisers rejoined us around 0715 and we resumed our passage. We had to maintain a speed of at least 6 knots to stay on schedule. 

Canal Advisor Larry, Bruno and Charles-Henri

The well marked shipping channel meanders just over 20 nm through the lake, and several times we kept to the side as container ships and roro's passed us, moving in both directions.

It was a quiet and interesting passage, revealing glimpses of jungle vegetation and bird life, and the geology of the isthmus as we went.

 Using a mixture of French, Spanish, Portugese and English, we crew members got to know each other and our cheerful adviser a little better throughout the day. 

Me, with Annick, Andre and Charles-Henri

We approached the village of Gamboa, where Rio Chagres flows into Lake Gatun near the head of the Gaillard cut. It is the only settlement along the Canal, since the Canal lies within a secured area of a large national park. Here the current running toward the Pacific becomes noticeable. Also, there is massive construction on the north side to widen the Canal, so the water became muddy and dreams of splashing in fresh water again slowly expired...if only for a minute. A steady deluge of rain began, which lasted for most of the afternoon.

Rain closing in.

The Gaillard cut, running about seven and a half miles, is a point of interest along the Canal route. Here the canal was blasted and carved through rock and shale, right through the continental divide...making it the only continental divide on earth you can sail across. It is still susceptible to landslides. There are sections where the steep, terraced cuts across mountainsides resemble Mayan step pyramids standing silent watch along the passage. Flanked on both sides by those pyramid-like mountains, we passed under the elegant Centennial Bridge, gracefully soaring above the Canal.

Widening the canal at Gamboa.

A Panamax behemoth moving toward the Caribbean.

 I asked our Canal Authority adviser, Larry, about the breakdown of yachts transiting the Canal. He estimated that of yachts moving into the Pacific, about 40% are French, about 20% British, followed by German and Australian vessels. Relatively few American yachts pass through. Perhaps they are lured to stay by the beautiful San Blas islands, or the ease of obtaining permanent visa or permanent residency offered by the Panamanian government. Fewer yachts pass from the Pacific to the Caribbean, as the winds and currents to reach Panama's Pacific coast are contrary.

Approaching the Pedro Miguel lock, the first descent toward the Pacific.

We approached the Pedro Miguel lock, the first descent toward the Pacific. We rafted up this time with a brand new Amel 64 filled with at least 16 young sea gypsies from the four corners of the earth.

Here is about half of he crew of the brand new Amel 64 we rafted to!

Now the raft of yachts went in first, with the ship looming behind us. We stared at its bulbous bow, thinking to ourselves that this is as close as we ever want to come to a yacht-crusher like this!

The ship easing in behind us in the Miraflores Locks.

No room for error. Ship is being pulled in
by the locomotive on the right.

The bow of the ship behind us. X marks the spot.

Over came the the monkey fist and messenger lines, we secured the hawsers and prepared this time to slowly ease them out as the water fell. In the outgoing locks, the turbulence is much less. Exiting the Pedro Miguel locks, the system of buoyage changes. We were now outward bound, so green was to now starboard, and it was “port wine” from here on out. 

Through a babble of French I didn't understand, I hear
Fbien, on the right say "Whitby".  Turns out they just bought
an old Whitby and are refitting it! We are Whitby Brethren!

We proceeded on through the man-made Lake Miraflores to the final two Miraflores locks. In these two locks, we were lowered another 54 feet in two stages. As we approached the first lock, the sky opened up and rain poured down again for the entire transit of both locks. The young people on the Amel were singing, dancing, and playing guitar in the downpour. 

Singing and dancing in the rain. 

Andre gallantly stood with a little umbrella over Annick, who was handling the port bow line on the final lock....both of them were soaked to the skin and laughing like kids. Bruno mimed a shower scene using his line like a scrubber to wash his back.

Annick and Andre on the bow line.

Bruno taking a rain shower.

Laconic Charles-Henri would be chewing a cigar if he had one, hunkered down at the wheel. All of this was observed by hundreds of tourists in the warm, dry observation tower overlooking the second lock. As we exited the last lock, there, floating in the channel like a log, lurked a crocodile.

We separated from the Amel as the sun melted in the west, waving farewell, and proceeded to the Balboa anchorage where our adviser was collected by a Canal Authority vessel. On we went to anchor at the Playita anchorage, right across from the Flamenco Marina, where we settled in and started already to feel the creeping nostalgia of a passage completed. We went ashore for our final dinner together to a little cafe with great wood-oven pizza, mojitos, wine and multilingual banter. In the morning we would all go our separate ways. Annick and Andre would return to their boat in Portobelo, to bring her through the Canal in a few weeks; Charles-Henri and Bruno would sail Minh onward to the Marquesas and Tahiti. I would rejoin my dear friends Claudia and Rolf aboard Tika and continue our cruise along the steamy Caribbean coast of Panama.

The skyline of Panama City, Panama looks a lot like Hong Kong.

                     HOW TO BOOK YOUR YACHT'S TRANSIT OF THE PANAMA CANAL

1. Contact the Canal Authority Admeasurer's Office. They will come to your boat and measure your boat by its outermost extremities (bowsprits, davits) and calculate volume (gross tonnage) based on this length. Your transit fee will be determined on this basis.
2. The Admeasurer will discuss requirements with the skipper, including; mooring lines, linehandlers, fendering, sanitary requirements, anchor, cleats, maximum speed under power (8 kts is officially required, though if you can sustain 6 kts you'll probably be OK.)
3. After Admeasurement and before transit, it is necessary to make a cash payment to the Treasurer's office in Gatun or Balboa. Watch yourself; muggings are not uncommon in Colon.
4. Fill out the forms: Admeasurement Clearance and Handline Inspection Form; Handline Lockage Request form; Handline Undertaking Release and Indemnify form.
5. Skipper is given a tentative pilot time/date for the transit by the Marine Traffic Control Office. He/she must stay in touch with this office to confirm the final pilot time, no later than 24 hours ahead of tentative schedule time. The scheduled transit date is usually about two to four weeks after paperwork and payment are received.
6. Submit a cash payment of transit fee and buffer. The buffer is a deposit which is refundable if nothing occurs to slow up the transit (such as mooring line fouling the propeller or man/dog overboard).
7. You can hire an agent to manage this all for you. Prices vary; around $100-150 USD
8. By custom, the pilot must be provided with lunch, snacks and drinks. There's a story about a vessel providing the pilot or adviser with an unappetizing, substandard lunch. The pilot called ashore and ordered an upscale lunch and had it charged to the ship. The message; be considerate.

For Tika, a 44' Reinke, the initial cash payment totaled about $1800 USD, which includes the refundable buffer fee of about $800 USD.

For more detailed information, including phone numbers and addresses of Canal Authority agencies, refer to      “The Panama Cruising Guide 5th Edition “, by Eric Bauhaus.