Historic, proud, excited, anxious, nervous, memorable - feelings that we were having Saturday morning as we left the dock in Shelter Bay - I loved seeing our American flag fly in the wind…. We are getting closer every mile!
"God Bless America,Companion and Her Crew!”
Sailing/motoring to “The Flats” to be met by “our advisor” - We all were getting goose bumps or at least I was - knowing how much this means to Dale - to truly start the process of this voyage - bringing Companion to the Pacific.
“We are really doing this!”
The Panama Canal provided us with an advisor to sit with Dale as he captained thru the locks of the canal. Osveldo was a gracious and knowledgeable gentleman that would lead us thru our “game plan”.
Osveldo making sure everything is a go!
How to raft up with another monohull - Corvallis - makes it easier to control with two boats side by side … securing the tires as fenders between the boats and protection from the canal walls…
12 tires and 5 fenders protecting our hulls plus over 500 feet of line!
Corvallis - Roy and Gail’s sailboat from Massachusetts - headed to Costa Rica
What to expect when the linesmen throw us the canal line …. new terms … like “the monkey fist” - a pretty big lead shot covered in a braided rope - that when tossed to us would be heavy enough to reach us.
Monkey fist weighs about 1 pound and the canal linesmen know how to toss and aim!
We thought we really should have had a baseball mitt to catch the monkey fist!
Dale, Ed, Kurtis and Garrett had spent the better part of the previous afternoon rigging our line stations for the canal. So the 125 foot lines could go thru our spinnaker blocks attached to the cleats then to either the mast winches or helm winches. Giving us control on the winches - very slick if I say so myself … the guys were proud of themselves as it took the pressure off of the cleats and worked like a charm …
Sometimes we were eye level with the linesmen - they walked with us as we maneuvered in the locks.
Osveldo got us organized on the deck - all systems ready to go - Dale at the helm - ready, set. Proceed with caution …. Ahhhh … Companion is starting her trek to the Pacific!
Our faithful crew ready for action! This is the reason for the journey!
As I watched Dale’s body language it was very clear that he was excited to be bringing Companion to our new coastline - her new home! Knowing how Dale thinks (most of the time - I can read him like a book) I will tell you that he was ready for this moment - to be able to share it with his brother - Ed and the crew that helped him get Companion to this point of the journey - Kurtis, Rose, Garrett and Tanya was extra special - and I got to watch all of the anticipation from the top of Companion's bimini.
Watching and waiting…
So when the huge iron gates behind us began to close - we had this huge freighter in front of us.
Garrett had everything under control ... “We’re really following that vessel?” Giving the thumbs up!
Rafted together with a monohull, Corvallis - it was pretty incredible …
Roy stands watch - while Gail was at their helm
Water rising at a pretty quick pace - rising up about 30 feet in about 25 minutes. Water swirling behind the freighter - the canal linesmen along with our line handlers (Kurt, Rose, Tanya and Garrett - Ed acting as a “supervisor” !!!)
“That is one big freighter!” Ed reporting to the Captain!
No worries - Companion was in good hands ... Capt’n D got to watch standing on his seat - a bird’s eye view!
Dale, Kurt and Rose - thinking this is a breeze!
Tanya workin’ hard!
Two more locks to go and another 60 feet to rise - no problem..
I even got a chance to pull the line!
Osveldo guided us in the dark to a huge mooring ball at the lake’s edge - where we were to rest for the night.
Twilight as we left the Gatun Canal Locks.
We were to provide “dinner” for the advisor - so like most of our discussions - food is always at the forefront - we decided on a Dirty Rice Jambalaya - so our early morning preparations were perfect and Osveldo (FYI: he had never had Jambalaya before) said it was the best he ever had! Even had second helpings! Made the galley chefs mighty proud! As he ate his dinner - we secured to this jumbo - mammoth mooring ball …
It only took Garret one good size leap to get over to the ball with our lines.
Time for some fun!
Then our dinner, a glass of wine or two - finally rest came easy ….
Grateful for a safe and successful first leg. Amen!
Tomorrow is gonna be another big day!
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