We are now in the largest ocean in the world.

The Panama Canal crossing went very well. We left Cristobal on the Atlantic side on Sunday December 28, 2008 at 5:45 pm with our crew of 2 couples and our first "Advisor", nominated by the authorities of the Canal to cross the first part.
We heard that we'll be crossing "nested" with a large catamaran with a young skipper which doesn't have much experience. he anchored 4 times before finally "stopping" at the Flats where we were waiting for the Advisor…
We were ready with our 4 lines measuring 38m minimum at the 4 "corners" of the boat and 10 double tyres covered with plastic to protect the hull from black marks. We added our fenders and were ready to go.
7:40 pm, our first lock, the hardest according to the Advisor since it's a lock "going up". There is quite a lot of "wash" due to the water coming from the chambers of the lock and the big cargo in front of us but our 2 "hand liners" on starboard are long-time "yachties" and they are perfectly aware of what needs to be done. We all are pretty stressed because it's our first lock but it all went very very well.
Second lock, Reggie, our Advisor told us we went through the "hardest" part after this lock since the future ones will be "going down". He left us when we were tied at a mooring in the Gatun lake.
It's 7:30 pm; time to enjoy a Thaï curry chicken and have a rest before the early start the next day.
December 29, 6:00 am, we are waken by the howler monkeys.
6:45 am, arrival of our second Advisor, Meza. He loves his country and his job and it's a pleasure listening to him. We chat along and the weather is perfect with a perfectly blue sky. It's great since the crossing of the Gatun lake took us 5 hours at reduced speed since we only needed to be at the next lock at 12:30.
12:30, we are nesting again with the catamaran with lots of lines to make sure the wash will not separate us as we cross the lock. The crew and passengers on the catamaran are constantly screaming, not really the seriousness you would expect in such circumstances but as we are tied to the bollards, they luckily calmed down.
Here is how it's done: the Canal workers on the side of the lock throw lines with a tiny ball at the end to make it easy for them to land on the deck to be picked up by he hand liners. The hand liners take the line and tie it to our "heavy duty" lines tied to the deck to be taken back by these guys who virtually "walk" the lines to the bollards at the top of the lock where they will serve to maintain the boat in the middle of the lock no matter how strong the wash is. When the water level is perfect and the doors of the lock pen, they just release the lines.
12:40, we go through the Pedro Miguel lock. Time to eat quickly the spaghetti bolognese before reaching the last 2 locks, the Mirafores locks. Reggie was right, the locks "going down" are a lot easier.
At the second Miraflores lock, the emotion is building. We see "it" right in front of us, the Pacific Ocean. In less than 2 days we went from one ocean to another, quite an experience!
When the doors open, we are holding our breath, it's the Pacific!
Meza leaves us at that time and we go a few miles further to anchor near the island of Flamenco. We took our 2 couples to shore for them to catch a bus back to the Atlantic side. They will be crossing soon and they enjoyed the experience before taking their boat through it.

Here we are looking at our first sunset on the Pacific, ready for the next adventures and ready to share them with you!

We take this opportunity to wish you all an excellent year 2009 and we'll be in touch!