June 5, 2003 - Panama Canal Transit (exactly 1 year since crossing the Atlantic to Europe and back again!)
After reading and listening to all the horror stories, my expectations for the Panama Canal transit were mixed with some apprehension, a fear of high costs and of damage to my boat.
What a relief and feeling of accomplishment at having transited with absolutely NO problems or complications. When the expectations are kept low, all the more joy and excitement when you can look back on the experience with satisfaction.
I arrived from Aruba early on Saturday morning with my friend Fabio, dropped the hook in the "flats", anchorage F, and took the dingy around the corner to the "Panama Canal Yacht Club" docks. A nice dockage with about 50 other boats lying in calm waters and a large dingy dock for the other 50 boats lying at anchor. I looked for the small satellite immigration office, but was told by a very nice looking and pleasant man, "Joseph", that they were closed on Saturdays. He offered to take me into the town of Colon with his taxi and help me with the all paperwork.
I am usually suspect of most taxi drivers, but Joseph was not pushy or "out for a buck", he seemed genuinely interested in helping a "yachty" get through the established bureaucracy of the canal transit paperwork hassles. I asked how much he charges. His reply was "$10US an hour, we need 3 or 4 hours". I do not know what an agent would charge, but after 3.5 hours, I know that I could NOT have done this alone in less than 2 days. I was happy to pay the $40 to Joseph. He has been doing for 12 years.
He organized the ad-measurer to come the next day, Sunday, and got me the four 150ft. lines and 10 tire fenders wrapped in plastic bags that the measurer needs to see. He would arrange for the needed line handlers at $50 each for the transit day.
On Monday, Joseph called the transit authority and a guy came to the Yacht Club with all the papers ready to fill out for the actual transit. After 20 minutes of paperwork, he said “call this evening for your schedule.” Joseph called me aboard "WanderLust" on "his" channel 70 and reported that we would leave on Wednesday morning at daybreak, rafted to another 40ft yacht, "Vaya con Dios", side-tied to a tug. This was my request, but I did NOT expect it to happen within 2 days.
On Wednesday morning, 4am, the 3 line handlers came aboard, the pilot arrived at 5am and we were rafted to "Vaya con Dios" at the entrance to the first lock by 6am. Two tugs brought the freighter "Valiant" around us and they connected to the mules to enter the first lock.
Another huge container ship took up the parallel space across the center divider from us and we moved to side-tie to the tug that would accompany the freighter into Lake Gatun.
We followed the freighter and its tug from behind, up the 3 locks into the manmade lake 85 feet above sea level. This lake serves as the gravity feed for ALL the locks, NO PUMPS! At the freshwater Lake Gatun, we turned on the engine and untied from "Vaya con Dios". The 2800rpm on the oversize 20" Fold-a-Prop takes "WanderLust" the 24 miles at an average 8 knots. We are more than one hour early at the next set of downlocks. After lunch and a nap, the freighter and "Vaya con Dios" arrive for the down lock process.
Going down, we go first, right on the edge of the locks, over 30 feet straight down to the next level! There is a 1 mile gap between the first down lock and the following final 2 others. This is where the Mira Flores Lake houses the Pedro Miguel Yacht Club. The club looked inviting as we passed her.
After we untied from our partner yacht in the Pacific Ocean, we headed straight under the Bridge of the Americas. A pilot vessel picked our pilot right off the side at 8 knots as we headed for the Balboa Yacht Club moorings. Guided to a mooring by a club launch, the scene was of natural beauty with the spectacular "Bridge of the Americas" connecting the North American with the South American continent in the background. Walking the long pier towards the Courtyard Hotel, I looked for the Yacht Club headquarters. It was back at the end of the pier in a little office above the walkway! No Club, just 1 desk. 35 cents per foot per day for the mooring includes a 24 hour taxi launch, guard, showers and the pool.
However, after 3 days, we moved around the long causeway connecting the mainland with the 2 mile distant Isles Flamencos and their new yacht basin. It was just too rolly at Balboa with all the traffic of the shipping lane not 50 yards away. The new Marina Flamenco is beautiful, protected and a VERY helpful staff. The floating docks are still under construction, but we picked up a mooring for $0.30 a foot a day. They have a 50 ton travel lift and I may get my bottom painted next week.
In all, a very rewarding experience! It is a highlight of my lust to wander the open seas.
Mike Harker – WanderLust (Click on any picture, drag the corner to enlarge)
The actual costs for the entire operation break down thus:
Transit Fixed Fee up to 50 ft, $600, buffer $850, total deposit $1450. This was paid at the local CitiBank with a VISA card. The "buffer fee" would only be booked if anything happens during the transit. When the pilot leaves the yacht at the other side, he declares "No Incident" via VHF and only the $600 are booked from the VISA. These fees include all the admeasure fees, paperwork and pilot costs. The Panama Cruising Permit cost $30, good for 3 months and the visa stamp in the US passport costs $10. A bucket of KFC and a case of water for the line-handlers and the pilot, $20. There are NO hidden fees. The taxi "agent" cost me a total of $60 for the 3 days, including provisioning, laundry and all port fees. Three days of anchoring in the flats was FREE, but $2 a day for the dingy dock. The four 150ft lines were $40 rent, the 10 tires $30, but I sold them on the other side for $20! Three line handlers, who return the 4 lines back to the yacht club, were $50 each plus $5 return bus fare. I gave them 3 X $60. They were great; professional, courteous and FUN.
