This past weekend SV Simpatica looked lonely and unenthusiastic as her dynamic crew eagerly left her on her own in Isla Grande while they trekked to Colon.

Why would we dare leave Simpatica’s majesty?…  To transit the Panama Canal with Ishka!! 

Ishka is a 44 ft catamaran owned by Ian and Ida, an Oz and Irish couple who are cute, cleaver, and contagious.  The two boats met in the Bahamas earlier in 2008. Drinks and jokes formed a friendship and they remained in touch as they separately cruised down the Caribbean coast. As soon as Capt Louis got word that Ishka needed four willing and able line handlers for their transit he graciously jumped at the offer. Capt Louis thought it would be a great way for Julie to gain experience and learn the ropes (no pun intended) before Simpatica makes her transit. Bill and Anne two our intrepid crew from Honduras to Bocas Del Toro were elated to find out their adventure had not quite ended yet!

 

 After an uneventful and beautiful car ride, we arrive at Shelter Bay, Colon, Panama. As we pull up we see Ishka motoring off… motoring off where!!!… we don’t know. What we do know is that four super excited line handlers are still on the dock! WAIT! But sure enough Ishka is just visiting the fuel dock and on their way back to the slip to find us. After cold drinks and introductions we cautiously pull out of the slip and head for the flats (the waiting area before entering the canal). Anxiety and nervousness are easily detected. Louis has the spotlight on him… He has transited the canal 15 times before. He offers lots of advice, telling us horror stories of boats in the past, and then said what any good captain should say, “just follow what I say, and we will be just fine!”  We arrive in the flats and anxiously wait for our PanamaTransit Advisor.  Wait….

I almost forgot to mention that this whole time since leaving the marina there are huge, enormous, gigantic ships and tankers bearing down on us. Very scary!!!  Lined up for miles, like a long line at the bank, just quietly waiting their turn. Several hours later, after a delicious dinner, many stories, and some shut eye, (11pm) our advisor finally makes his way to Ishka.

 

We are off! Oh wait not so fast….. we have a problem. The engine gear shift breaks…as if the tension is not already high.  Capt Ian and Ida remain cool, temporarily find a solution with the help of Capt Louis and we are underway. Next thing we know we are tying Ishka up to a small monohull. A relatively stress free procedure late at night. We then continue on cruising forward, headed to the first lock, Gatoon Lock…..it is lite up like Las Vegas. 

The first 3 locks we have a large cargo ship in front of us with Ishka and the monohull side tied. At this point we are all exhausted but the anticipation wakes us all up…. the massive lock gates shut and the water begins to fill the lock. The boats rock back and forth, like a toddler just learning how to walk. The line handlers, Bill and Louis are attentively adjusting their line making sure we do not get too close to the canal wall…of course remembering all the horror stories Louis has told us about yachts being squashed.

Within 20 minutes the water had completely filled the lock and we are ready to exit. Capt Ian turns on the engines, the cargo ship in front proceeds to the next lock and we follow behind.  After oooowwws and ahhhhs, lots of picture taking, and marveling at the entire operation we are through the first 3 locks and into Gatoon Lake where we rest till morning (7am). The next morning our Advisor boards us promptly at 7:30am. We motor across Gatoon Lake for a good 5 hours while enjoying the nature that surrounded us.

 

With a full sun bearing down, we are ready to enter the last 3 locks. This time there is a catamaran in front, then our two boats side tied, and a massive cargo ship behind us.

We are a bit skeptical that we can all fit in the lock but we sure did with a mere 50 feet to spare. Julie and Anne take the lines this time waiting on the monkey’s fists to be thrown down onto the boat .. “Watch your head!”  shouts the Canal Line Handler walking along the canal wall.

 

We reach the Pacific side….an amazing journey.!!!!!

 

You know there is an old sailors tale …when you reach the Bridge of Americas on the Pacific side you toss a coin over your shoulder and make a wish. We sure did!!!!