The Panama Canal
Three Transits in Eight Days

by Anna and Clyff Huggett

Yes, we did three transits but Koncerto only did one of them. The first was educational, the second nerve-racking, and the third FUN!
We were anxious about transiting the canal, as knew of two yachts that were severely damaged during their transit. The story was reported in Caribbean Compass ("Accident in the Panama Canal" by David Wilson, April 2001) while we were cruising in the Eastern Caribbean. Common sense and logic did not override our fears. Knowledge of the incident did make us very aware and we took great care to do our transit right. In our first-hand experience we learned a lot about the canal and the transit that we had not read about, so we hope this article fills in some gaps for you.

Transit One
We wanted to go through the canal on another yacht before we took Koncerto through, so we offered our services as line-handlers to a 34-foot yacht at anchor near us in the flats at Colon. At 0320 Saturday we heard a knock on the hull. Our transport was an hour early; they had mis-set the alarm. It was pitch black while we waited for the advisor to arrive.
The three locks at the Colon end of the canal are joined together and all went well. The yacht we were on was side-tied to a large yacht that was side-tied to a tug. A large container ship was ahead. The main problem in the up locks is turbulence, caused by water entering the lock from underneath at high velocity and by the ship ahead engaging its main engine to assist the canal "locos" to maneuver it into the next lock.
Once out of the third lock, it becomes a race across Gatun Lake. The lake was dotted with numerous lush green islands that came as a pleasant surprise to us. The advisor directed our skipper to the Banana Cut, a shorter route across the lake that enables small craft to get ahead of the ship they locked with. Small craft go in first in the down locks and do not want to miss their place.
We arrived at Gamboa, the far end of the lake, at 1300 and were ordered to anchor and spend the night there. Without another word, the advisor was on a launch within minutes. Next day we tried contacting the Canal Authority with no success. Twenty-three hours after anchoring, another advisor appeared and we were on our way again. The boat had maintained the speed nominated, so no penalty was charged.
No one is allowed off the boat whilst in the canal. Let us just say that on Sunday, having completed the transit, we were glad to get off the boat at Balboa and head back to Colon. Later we speculated on why we had to spend the night anchored in the lake. There are all sorts of legitimate reasons, however we genuinely felt it the advisor's decision. We learned from the experience and did things differently. See our tips below; they have helped others and none had to overnight.

Ships and yachts complete the up locks in the morning and down locks in the afternoon. If a yacht had to stay overnight in the lake it had to wait till the next afternoon to continue. Yacht transits must be completed in daylight. (Editor's note: David Wilson, author of Transiting the Panama Canal in a Small Vessel, advises us that according to the rules you can transit at night if you are tied to the lock wall. Since it is dangerous to tie to the wall up locking this is only viable down locking. This is important as this MAY allow one to complete a transit the in one day, if the advisor is willing.) During the night ships could pass in both directions if scheduled.

Transit Two
Tuesday morning was spent collecting heavy-duty docking lines 125 feet long and arranging these on deck so that they would run though the cleats without snagging. These lines needed to have a three-foot-diameter loop in the outer end to fit over the canal bollards. Also required were ten car tyres (five on each side of the boat) to act as fenders should we be side-tied to a tug. In addition, we placed three yacht fenders on each side between the tyres for good measure. Koncerto was now ready. That evening Gary and Carolyn from the 51-foot catamaran Eclipse arrived from Balboa. At 0400 Wednesday Clyff collected John from the 35-foot catamaran Taraipo, Bill and Normandy from the 44-foot yacht Advent II and Rudi, our only Panamanian professional line-handler, a taxi driver who has made many transits on all types of yachts.

Our adviser, Ruben, arrived soon after. We were scheduled to up lock with a large car carrier but as it had made good time to the locks we were rescheduled with a container ship.
We entered the west lock of Gatun locks just after 0600 as the sun was coming over the horizon. Koncerto tucked in behind the stern of the 780-foot container ship tied as "center chamber". The four canal line-handlers on shore each had a long light line with a monkey fist on the end, which they threw over the boat. Our line-handlers quickly grabbed the lines and tied them to our heavy dock lines. Then the heavy lines were pulled to the lock wall 30 feet above and secured to bollards. Each lock chamber is 110 feet (33.5 meters) wide and 1,000 feet (305 meters) long. We watched the car carrier enter the east lock minutes later.
Once we were secured, the lock gates closed and we were on our way. Our advisor was in constant touch with the ship's pilot so that when the ship engaged its engine to move forward into the next lock we were prepared for it. It slowly applied power and actually did not create too much turbulence. The up locking went like clockwork. At 0815 we were 27 meters above sea level in Gatun Lake.
Our "angels", Normandy and Carolyn, served breakfast: eggs, sausages baked beans and toast with coffee or tea. Carolyn was also the photographer and recorded our transit.
Approximately 197 million liters of fresh water from the lake are used for each lockage. Since the locks are set in pairs, side by side, there are actually 12 lock chambers altogether. That's a lot of water. There are some 20 transits in each direction every day, which equals 7,880 million liters per day.

With both engines at three-quarter throttle and some sail up we managed to maintain 7.5 knots crossing the lake, and arrived at the Pedro Miguel lock ahead of the car carrier we were scheduled to lock with.
For the down lock operation, all small craft enter the lock ahead of the big ships. Instead of looking up at the ship's stern, we now looked up at the ship's bow. Ouch, being that close was uncomfortable. We hoped he had his brakes firmly applied! It was a peculiar sensation having the gates right in front of us and being able to look over them. When the lock gates opened we had to get underway quickly before the ship moved forward. Ruben maintained contact with the lock control station and the ship's pilot.
We cleared the Pedro Miguel lock at 1250 and headed across the Miraflores Lake to the two Miraflores locks. We had to secure to the sidewall and wait till the ship's tug entered the lock and settled before we tied up to it. Once secure, the ship came in and we went down the last two locks. By 1350 we were through! We had cleared the tallest lock gates of the canal. They weigh 730 tons each to allow for the large tide range. We passed under the Bridge of the Americas and headed for Balboa. enjoying a lunch of lunch of lasagna (meat or vegetarian) and salad on the way.
Barring an overnight in Gatun Lake, the average time to transit the canal is between 8 and 10 hours. We took 7 hours 12 minutes - a very fast transit!

Transit Three
Friday afternoon we were back in Colon to help John transit Taraipo on Saturday. This was the best transit yet, as we were relaxed and thoroughly enjoyed the day. If you have an opportunity to line-handle take it and enjoy the experience.

Tips
o Offer your services as a line-handler on another yacht first so you can see first-hand what to expect.
o Ask fellow cruisers to line handle for you via the SSB nets before you get to Panama. They know boats; backpackers picked up in Panama could be a problem.
o Have at least one Panamanian line-handler. They "know the ropes" and the advisors, and will phone the Marine Traffic Scheduler for you.
o When you make the booking to transit ask for "the earliest time, so that you can get through in the one day". You will be told that they cannot guarantee a time, but will tell you the time the day before when you have to phone them again.
o If you are given a late departure time then you will surely spend the night in the lake. Warn all your line-handlers to bring their toothbrushes and cater accordingly.
o Have your line-handlers on board at least a half-hour before the advisor is due. Then call Cristobal Signal Station on VHF 12. They will respond straightaway and confirm that the advisor will be there at XXX time. If it is before dawn, have your spreader lights on.
o Place cushions over solar panels that could be hit by the monkey fist. On one of our transits a panel scored a direct hit - on the cushion, fortunately.
o Wrap your fenders in plastic to avoid black marks from tyres and/or tug.
o Have a supply of drinks and snacks handy for crew and advisor to help themselves to throughout the day.
o Feed your advisor and line handlers well. The advisor has the power to make it appear that a yacht cannot get to the down locks in time to meet their ship and therefore will have to spend a night in the lake. The advisor most likely had to leave home at 2AM to get to you for an early start time. You don't want him to get hungry and grumpy. The stop in the mosquito-plagued lake may not be a penalty charge, but the inconvenience is best avoided.
o Give a packet of cookies to the tugboat crew. It works a charm.
o You will be asked what your maximum boat speed is. Be aware that if for any reason you cannot maintain that speed throughout the day you could be charged US$440 out of your buffer deposit.
o If you do have to spend the night in the lake through no fault of your own, get your advisor to state so in writing and confirm that no transit delay charge or related charges will apply. Check your VISA charges soon after transit and the advisor's note might save you time and effort.

2004 Costs for Yachts
Transit fee up to 50 feet - US$600
Transit fee 50 feet to 80 feet - US$850
Transit fee 80 feet to 100 feet - US$1,100
Transit fee 100 feet and over - US$1,600
The fee includes US$50 admeasurer and US$50 security charge. In addition to the above, all boats must pay the buffer deposit of US$850 to cover additional charges. VISA is the only credit card accepted. Sign a blank form at Citibank and they complete it after the transit.

REASONS FOR ADDITIONAL CHARGES:
Not maintaining your nominated boat speed (this is a "Delay of Transit" fee and can also be caused by a breakdown), US$440.
Admeasurer making the inspection outside of 0700 and 1400, US$75 per hour with a two-hour minimum.

Requesting a stop-over in the lake, US$440.
Advisor's meal including delivery by launch, US$170. Our advisor told us he was once offered an onion sandwich so he ordered a boxed lunch. BEWARE! We also heard of a backpacker line-handler who didn't turn up on time and missed the boat. He got a canal launch to take him to the boat. The skipper had US$370 charged for this service.

Time Frame
Phone the Admeasurer at 443-2293 (272-4571 on the Pacific side) and arrange an appointment between 0700 and 1400 on day of your choice. Koncerto was measured in a morning and forms were completed a few hours later. With forms, VISA card and your passport, go to Citibank in Cristobal (near Niko's Café in Balboa) between 0830 and 1300 to sign the VISA slip. After 1800 on the day of payment phone the Marine Traffic Scheduler on 272-4202 to book the transit. Our forms had not been processed till next afternoon. The transit must be within 30 days.
The day before your transit, phone the Marine Traffic Scheduler to learn what time your advisor will come aboard. From June to December you will probably get the requested day, otherwise there may be a back-up delaying your transit.

Radio Nets
The cruisers' net on the Atlantic side is VHF 74. It was at 0730 local time on Wednesday and Friday only when we were there, because there were few yachts. Check time and day when you arrive. The net on the Pacific side is VHF 69 daily at 0800 local time.
SSB nets: Panama Connection, 8107 (or 8167 or 6227 if necessary), daily at 0830 Panama time (Zulu 1330). Panama Pacific Net, 8143 (or 8137 or 8155 if necessary) daily at 0900 Panama time (Zulu 1400).
Enjoy your transit!