Today, on 15 February, we begin negotiating the Panama Canal. I’m very intrigued to see what this famous canal looks like and how big it is in particular. I’m finding it hard to get my head around it. In any case, it will take two days to get to the other side, so that means the seven-knot cruising speed we racked up between Guadeloupe and Panama is a thing of the past!
Tomorrow, we’ll begin by negotiating the first three lock gates, which will take us up to Gatun Lake (around 30m). We’ll then spend the night on this lake, smack bang in the middle of the Panama Canal. Two days later, we’ll negotiate three other lock gates, which will enable us to drop back down again. Beyond the gates to the latter… we’ll make it into the Pacific!
Computer graphics representing the lock gates and the lake that make up the Panama Canal (Source: Courrier International)