January 1-2, 2007

January 1-2: Our New Year's Day was the most unusual we'd ever had. Friends
Barbara and John had asked for and obtained January 1 as the date to take
their Island Packet 42, Songline, through the Panamá Canal. When they told
us they had only three of the four line handlers required, we happily
volunteered that Bob would make up the fourth member and I'd be the duty
photographer and galley helper. This opportunity excited us because we've
come to enjoy Barbara's and John's company so much, but also because we
wanted to experience a transit before taking Carricklee through in ten days.
David and Liz, of the Island Packet 37 Isla Encanto (the other two line
handlers in addition to Barbara and Bob) and we were aboard Songline at
0600, waiting for the adviser. He came aboard at 0830, and then John
motored north through the canal to the entrance into the first set of locks,
Miraflores.

Everything about this practice transit for us went smoothly. John and
Barbara had gotten the very best of positions in the locks, tied center
chamber behind two tugboats. The beauty of this position is that Songline
was not tied alongside another boat and therefore had much less risk of
damage. The disadvantage was that all four line handlers were kept busy.
They all had to catch a long line with a monkey's fist (for non-sailors, a
tightly knotted ball of line about the size of a billiard ball, and about as
hard) in each lock, pull that line in and let it out as needed to keep the
boat centered in the chamber, and quickly reel in the boat's lines at the
termination of each lock.

They all returned to the shade of the cockpit to sit down and eat and drink
between locks. But it was a long day for them.

Despite the success of getting through Miraflores Locks and then those at
Pedro Miguel without flaw, our start had been delayed enough that Songline
couldn't cross the 28-mile Lago Gatún in time to go through the last set of
locks, those on the Caribbean, before dark. John and Barbara were
disappointed, and a tad uneasy. If the delay was deemed the fault of the
boat's captain, the charge for a night in Gatún would be $380, a sum they
had had to deposit in advance. The advisor, who stayed aboard throughout
the day but who would be picked up by a Canal service boat in the lake,
assured them they would not be charged. But one can ever be quite sure how
such arrangements will work out down here.

Though no one was happy that John and Barbara were somewhat nervous, we all
took advantage of this opportunity to spend a night on the lake. Our
advisor, before he left us, told us, with a wink, that we were not allowed
to swim in the lake. Then he added, "The patrol boat passes through at
about 2100 and not again until 0700".

By the time we had Songline tied to the buoy and the advisor was away on the
service boat, it was dark. Soon we saw the lights of the patrol boat
passing, earlier than expected, some distance away, and we were into our
swimsuits and into the cooling freshwater lake. We took with us bars of
soap and bathed in one of the most commercially significant bathtubs in the
world.

After a late dinner-a simple, tasty spaghetti, all we needed after a large
lunch of home-baked turkey, freshly baked rolls, baked stuffing, cranberry
relish, and salad, and snacks and drinks available throughout the day-we
went more or less straight to bed.

We had rain showers off and on during the night, each one accompanied by
howler monkeys roaring in the tree near the boat. At first light, the
toucans and the parrots added their squawks to the howls. It was a
delightful way to awaken.

By mid afternoon that day Songline had completed transiting the last leg
and tied up at the Panama Canal Yacht Club, where we showered, put on our
traveling clothes, and caught the train around the lake and over the hill to
the city of Panamá.