Amongst giants.

Keep up the speed, go down to 4 knots, speed up, go neutral, keep as close to the red buoys as possible, closer, wait for that tanker to pass, speed up now, faster, get in front of the bulk carrier, go to 7 knots, slow down, reverse, stay put, etc… etc….  That’s how my Captain was being kept busy by the Pilot Advisers.

The first day we were very happy with Pilot Victor on board, the second day we found the new Pilot somewhat disappointing. He tended to pay more attention to his selfies than to the proceedings. That’s the reason why in the 5th lock Ramses – fortunately enough – had the presence of mind to suddenly jump overboard onto the quay to push our catamaran off from the wall. The fenders had been pushed out and we were about to scrape the concrete.

The Pilot interrupted his selfie taking activity to yell in a panic:” What do you think you are doing !!!!Come immediately back on board. It is not allowed for you to be there.” Ramses calmly replied it was not allowed either to allow our cat to get damaged.” In the end we all agreed and so did the Pilot.

Unlike the Pilots who came on board in shifts, our two professional Line Handlers Juan and Nick stayed with us for the whole 2 day -1 night passage. They were great guys and we were pleased to witness how they enjoyed the cat in general but also the spaghetti bolognese ( grabbing a lot of cheese) and the chicken curry (eating a lot of rice) we had prepared for them. And the tomato cheese omelette for breakfast disappeared in mere seconds.

We gratefully applauded their skills: they helped us “nest” with the other cat Leilani the first day and with the tugboat the second day. They expertly caught the “monkey fisted “ ropes which were thrown down from high up for them to attach to the heavy duty guiding lines waiting on our deck to be pulled up again to the quay of the first 3 locks.

First the ships need to be raised 26 meters to the manmade Gatún lake. Then you cross the 18 nautical miles to the next 3 locks that bring you 26 meter down to sea level again.

It’s the stark contrast between manmade ingenuity and the pristine natural surroundings that awed us the most. And of course, us feeling like calimero. On the lake, we used a mooring buoy that’s meant for the tankers, bulk carriers and container ships. The thing was sturdy enough to hold ten O2’s.

Then finally, the gates opened up one last time and there before our eyes lay the Gulf of Panama with the Panama City skyline in all its splendour. 

We completed the adventure by motorsailing the 8 miles to the small Island of Taboga, where flowers bloom and Gaugin is still cherished.

There we climbed the highest hill to fully appreciate the view of our brave 02 anchored amongst the giants.