Panama Canal

To traverse the Panama Canal, in a ship, is a wonder to behold. We approached from the east through the Caribbean Sea and proceeded west to the Pacific Ocean. A journey which took almost all of  ten hours through various locks and Gatun Lake. The lake, which is at the high point of the system, sheds water, east and west, to all of the locks. The lake is fed from rainforest rivers and its size is large enough to ensure that there is always sufficient water to fill the locks.
The Peace Bridge is behind us and one of the trusty tugs is ensuring we enter The Canal appropriately.

The locks are 110 feet wide and our ship at its widest point is 105 feet, which only leaves 30” clearance, on each side, when the vessel is correctly positioned in a lock chamber.
Not much room for error.
Along each side, of each lock, there are tracks where small, but powerful, trains run alongside the ship. The trains are called ‘mules’, two each side are situated toward the bow of the ship, and the same aft, total of 8 mules per ship. The mules each have a hawser connected to the ship and their collective job is to ensure the ship maintains its alignment in the lock chamber, and simultaneously maintains its clearance from the lock chamber walls. The ship is responsible for maintaining forward motion at a very slow, predetermined, speed.
For anyone with the least bit of curiosity, this is an amazing procedure to watch, particularly when the whole process of keeping alignment, is further complicated by the water level constantly changing as the ship gains, or loses, elevation in a lock chamber.
There are 6 lock chambers, to navigate through, for The Canal traverse of 3 individual lock stations.

Two mules attached toward rear of ship - notice the gap between ship and lock wall.
Mules at front of ship are in the process of detaching lines as we leave the lock chamber.
A general cargo ship, travelling in the opposite direction to us, is leaving a lock chamber as our ship enters an empty chamber alongside the other ship’s chamber. The deck cargo on this ship is prefabricated parts for wind turbine support towers.
A view of the Bridge of the Americas as we head out into the Pacific Ocean.

At the entrance to The Canal, from the east, it is necessary to pass under the almost new Peace Bridge, and on exit the Bridge of the Americas towers above the ship.
The day was 30C and very humid, light clouds and muted sunshine - in truth a pleasantly warm day for watching all of the various comings and goings of The Canal.


A glimpse of Panama City as we head toward the Pacific Ocean.



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