May 4th - The paperwork is completed and Skipper picks up our four 1 1/4"diameter by 125' ft long lines. May 5th, Don runs in by dinghy to pick up the two line handlers and brings them to SpringDay, it is 6 am because we were told to be ready to proceed to the Canal at 7 am. We are all waiting for the pilot to arrive while Edwin and Winston relax in the cockpit; a couple of hours later a pilot boat delivers the required pilot. This was the first major delay.
Here in the background Ana Mae is also standing at the ready with lots of fenders to receive their pilot. Skipper's family squeezes in yet another game of Wist!
It's a go! We are instructed by the pilot to follow behind St-Andrew (freighter). The bridge of the Americas is essentially Highway One which starts in Alaska and ends in South America. Large sailboats are designed to barely fit under this 200 and some ft of clearance.
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| Radio in hand, pilot Al instructing Skipper on how and when to proceed. |
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| SpringDay and Ana Mae nesting |
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| These 3 million dollars custom built locomotives built by the French are used to guide large ships |
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| Ana Mae in the lead under the Centennial bridge, the second bridge that crossed the Canal |
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| This shows the Continental Divide, the most challenging part of the Canal because of its many landslides caused by the instability of the soil; even today landslides are a common occurrence. |
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| Meeting imposing personalities |
The Canal has 3 locks going up and 3 going down, ships transit 24 hours a day. We proceeded into the lock around 10am and passed through the last doors into the Caribbean Sea around midnight, our transit was interrupted by the pilot shift change at 5pm. The next pilot was delivered around 9:30 pm. Delays are very common and we know now that they are to be expected.
I will post more pictures soon,
Thinking of you...
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