Архив постов: February 2024

Road traffic in Panama can be crazy

February 28, 2024

We needed to leave the boat in Panama while we travelled to South Africa for my daughters wedding which was at the end of January. We are currently in Buenavista Marina which is about 75 miles from Tocumen International Airport. 75 miles would normally take about an hour to an hour and a quarter to drive but the marina manager pointed out that we are traveling on New Years Day so we should allow extra travel time due to heavy traffic returning to Panama City from the Riviera Pacifico. We opted to allow 3 hours travel time and arrive 3 hours early at the airport. Our flight was at 2am so we left the Marina at 7pm. Well, the laugh was almost on us because we arrived at the airport at 12:30am. Fortunately it is not very busy at this time of day so there were no delays with check-in or security. On the other hand, the only place open in the airport was our gate.

We waited and waited and eventually somebody came and informed us that there was a technical problem which the pilot has spotted while doing his rounds and the technical team was en route to check it out. Tick tock till 4am when it was announced that a new plane was being brought as the problem was more serious than initially estimated. Well, I was relieved that the pilot was on his game. Imagine finding there is a problem at 33000 ft. We boarded and eventually took off at 5:30am. Remember, we had not slept yet. And of course we had missed our connecting flight but luckily Frank had a word with the agent and we had already been booked on the next available outbound flight. None of the other passengers on our flight were that lucky.

We eventually got home to the apartment after 4pm. 20hours after we had left the marina. We were pretty tired and so had an early night and slept well.

Panama Canal Crossing

February 15, 2024

We have prepared as per instructions from our agent … and are ready.

We picked up the pilot in “the flats”. The wind was blowing over 25kts, and the swell was steep and short. These pilots, and the captains of the pilots boats make it look so easy, but as boaters, we are fully aware of how tricky it is to achieve the transit from one boat to another. We did not lose our pilot or get our boat damaged in the process.

Our pilot Juan was a young guy, he was well qualified having attended Kings Point in New York, and he had also been a 2nd officer on Disney cruise ships. He explained our position in the chamber as well as what other vessels would be with us. Initially we were to tie up with a tug boat so the canal authority sent out some paperwork for Captain to sign. This changed before we even arrived at the chamber and we ended up tying to the side wall. He warned of the strong wind and current upon entering the first chamber. His warning was spot on because as the line handlers were attending to the bow lines, the stern was being pushed way from the wall and because we were up against the tug ahead of us, there was little Captain could do to maintain position. Fortunately the line handlers managed to get the situation under control before we did a 180! This was my 2nd time to be grateful for professional Line handlers. They also made very sure the fenders kept the boat off the side wall at all times. As soon as the lock gate closed, the chamber started to fill up and it went surprising quickly, and soon t was time to move on again. We were the last two leave the chamber.

In the next chamber, we tied up alongside a passenger ferry, on the opposite side of the chamber.Again the line handlers did a great job of pulling Kariwa alongside and securing the lines to the ferry boat and placing the fenders appropriately. The third chamber was a breeze, and before we knew it, we were steaming through Gatun Lake to Gamboa. Gamboa is a small town near the Pedro Miguel locks on the pacific side of the canal infrastructure. Here the line handlers secured Kariwa to the mooring buoy and the pilot boat came o collect Juan. Time to relax and decompress from the days activities. We fed the guys and soon everybody was taking a bot of private time to talk to their families and prepare for sleep.

The next morning after breakfast and tea, we spent a couple of hours watching the northbound ships passing relatively close to us. It reminded me of the days in Hong Kong where we had to cross the shipping channel when leaving or returning to the marina. A new pilot joined us and we proceeded to the next lock. The new pilot (I never got his name) was also very professional and knowledgeable. He was also relieved rot see we had Panamanian line handlers. He said that usually cruisers get their buddies to help and it is not great because generally the buddies are captain of their own boats and on a boat there can be only one captain. We had to speed up a bit through the Galliard cut to arrive timorously at the lock. We had to pass a Seatrade container ship to enter the lock. It was quite a nerve wracking experience but Frank handled it like a pro. On the pacific side there are three locks, the first is Pedro San Miguel which is only a single chamber. A bit further along, there are the Miraflores locks which have two chambers so we tied and untied lines three times again. In the Miraflores locks, the Seatrade was behind us so as the ship was entering the lock, we had to have our engine going astern because the ship was pushing all the lock water ahead and up against the lock gate.

Lets just say that when that last lock gate opened, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. We steamed ahead into the Pacific ocean, dropped the pilot off and proceeded to La Playita Marina. The line handlers came with us so did all the line handling and secured us to the dock. Thanks guys. We slept very well that night.

Canal Crossing Preparations

February 15, 2024

Since returning from San Blas, we have been preparing for our canal crossing. We are using an agent to assist with bureaucracy and have decided to use the professional line handlers. Because of the size of Kariwa, we will have a pilot as opposed to a canal advisor. We will also have 4 line handlers.

It seems we will transit in the afternoon so all the canal crew will arrive soon after lunch. Here is the kicker. We may have to anchor overnight at Gamboa which is close to the Pacific-side locks. This means the line handlers will stay on board. 4 people? We have to feed them hot meals and provide bottled water. That will be the most people we have had on board. Ever. I am busy preparing food in advance. These guys are getting Boboti for dinner. Hope they like it.

We changed all the Racor filters yesterday, and also the fuel/water separator on the wing engine which happened to be leaking. We also got a grease gun to grease the nipples on the steering rods. We can’t risk anything going wrong during this transit. The fines for having a break down or delaying a lock closing are crippling.

Frank has discussed a strategy for leaving the dock in 25kt winds. The wind will be from the aft starboard quarter and so will blow the stern away. The plan has been decided. We will keep a long bow line, then let go all the lines starting from stern, working forwards except the bow line. This will cause the stern to blow around and we will do a 180deg pivot to face the exit. Fingers crossed. Fortunately the line handlers know what to do. I will be filming all this. Once outside the marina, we will be in “the flats”, which is a big anchorage for ships and cruising boats, where we will pick up the pilot before heading over to the first lock at Gatun.

Food is ready, cabins are ready, line handlers are on board. Lets do this.

  • Свежие записи

  • Свежие комментарии

    No comments to show.

  • Архивы

  • Рубрики