Panama Canal

**sherpahigh** · 04-28-2007, 09:50 AM

I know there's some sailors here that might find this interesting.

Yesterday my parents took their new boat through the canal. I had talked to them before and they told me roughly what time they'd be going through and they have web cameras set up for different spots as boats go through, so I got to see them go through the first lock. Pretty cool.

Here they are, they're the sailboat rafted in the middle.

I talked to my dad last night and it sounded like a pretty cool day. He said it was the most exciting time he's had on a boat. Apparently he had to go into the last lock at 10 knots!

**Tippster** · 04-28-2007, 01:04 PM

Nice boat!

Apparently he had to go into the last lock at 10 knots!

Umm... why?

**StoneCold** · 04-28-2007, 11:48 PM

I went through a set of locks there in '97. It was a pretty cool experience. I had no concept of what the locks were until I got there and saw it in action. I wonder how the area is now that the U.S. does not control it.

**Free Range Lobster** · 04-29-2007, 07:58 AM

Originally Posted by Tippster

Umm... why?

The locks are typically on a schedule.
Had a similar experience bringing a boat west to east.
Not sure why we didn't run that particular boat the long way, wouldn't have taken much longer.

**sherpahigh** · 04-29-2007, 08:57 PM

Not sure why he had to bring it in so fast. I assume it was a scheduling thing. The smaller boat in those pictures apparently didn't make it all the way through the canal and had to spend the night in there.

I'll get to hear the whole story when they're back next week. Wish I could have gone down for the experience. Our new little girl kept us away from the boat this year. Next year we're going to try and meet up with them in Belize for a couple weeks though.

**72Twenty** · 04-29-2007, 10:11 PM

Free Range Lobster could run that canal in.... 3 turns.

**LoloB** · 09-17-2009, 07:00 PM

Stonecold, I just got back from Panama and the locks are still doing well. They are a lot more open and accessible than under US control. Panama is planning a big project to expand them actually, which will allow for the new tankers to pass through that are too big to fit right now.

How much did it cost for your parents to go through? Someone told me a small sailboat would cost in the $3,000 to $4,000 range. At that rate you wouldn't want to just pop over to the pacific for a weekend.

**iceman** · 09-18-2009, 05:56 AM

A fisherman friend of mine was moving his 97" dragger from ME to AK. When he got to the lock he asked "how much" and he did some quick math and decided to just go around Cape Horn. He's kind of a badass though.

**AKA** · 09-18-2009, 07:27 AM

Originally Posted by iceman

A fisherman friend of mine was moving his 97" dragger from ME to AK. When he got to the lock he asked "how much" and he did some quick math and decided to just go around Cape Horn. He's kind of a badass though.

also he is dumb. he motored the whole way to panama before he figured out it would be cheaper to go around the horn. could of bought himself a calculator in maine and saved himself the trouble.

**Tippster** · 09-18-2009, 07:29 AM

What the hell is a 97 inch dragger?

**iceman** · 09-18-2009, 07:41 AM

Originally Posted by AKA

also he is dumb. he motored the whole way to panama before he figured out it would be cheaper to go around the horn. could of bought himself a calculator in maine and saved himself the trouble.

No he was waiting to see what fuel was at when he got to Panama. He didn't care about the time. And he didn't go an inch out of his way. He's a smart guy, he's still making a good living in AK.

**iceman** · 09-18-2009, 07:42 AM

Originally Posted by Tippster

What the hell is a 97 inch dragger?

For god's sake man, I nearly died, I get one typo on the house.

**Tippster** · 09-18-2009, 07:49 AM

David St. Hubbins: I do not, for one, think that the problem was that the band was down. I think that the problem *may* have been, that there was a Stonehenge monument on the stage that was in danger of being *crushed* by a *dwarf*. Alright? That tended to understate the hugeness of the object.

Ian Faith: I really think you're just making much too big a thing out of it.

Derek Smalls: Making a big thing out of it would have been a good idea.

**Tuckerman** · 09-18-2009, 07:54 AM

A real small boat?

**AKA** · 09-18-2009, 07:58 AM

Originally Posted by iceman

No he was waiting to see what fuel was at when he got to Panama. He didn't care about the time. And he didn't go an inch out of his way. He's a smart guy, he's still making a good living in AK.

I said he's dumb, end of story!

**iceman** · 09-18-2009, 08:01 AM

Originally Posted by AKA

I said he's dumb, end of story!

Sorry. ..........

**Stu Gotz** · 09-18-2009, 09:33 AM

Mebbe his buddy is Stuart Little.

**nihiles** · 09-18-2009, 09:40 AM

Originally Posted by iceman

Sorry. ..........

isnt someone supposed to say 'iceman apologizes in jeans' right about now?

**iceman** · 09-18-2009, 09:54 AM

iceman was being sarcastic in jeans.

**nihiles** · 09-18-2009, 10:20 AM

ehh, it was my first attempt. jongish as hell to jump in on an inside joke that i dont know. but for me it has become the equivalent to a pie in the face gag and always makes me chuckle.

ill go back to spectating.

**Tippster** · 09-18-2009, 01:47 PM

A man, a plan, a canal - Panama.

**2nd mate** · 09-18-2009, 01:59 PM

When I last went thru the canal there was a 50ft catamaran going past us in the other direction, the chicks in bikinis were doing the blow the horn thing soooooo the Old Man pulls the ships whistle and nearly blows the Bosun and Chief Mate overboard 700ft away on the bow. I have been thinking about posting a TR on my last transit thru in March. I will do so when I get home in NOV.

**Tye 1on** · 09-18-2009, 02:19 PM

Originally Posted by 2nd mate

When I last went thru the canal there was a 50ft catamaran going past us in the other direction, the chicks in bikinis were doing the blow the horn thing soooooo the Old Man pulls the ships whistle and nearly blows the Bosun and Chief Mate overboard 700ft away on the bow.

.....that's fkn hilarious...