S/V Aphrodite

We are at a major crossroad now, scheduled to transit the Panama Canal tomorrow, Dec. 10th. You can watch us live around 8:40 in the Miraflores lock. Go to the live web cam at www.pancanal.com. This is a bittersweet time for us because as we prepare for the thrill of the transit and the anticipation of being in the clear waters of the Caribbean, we also prepare ourselves to say good bye to many good friends. We have been traveling with some of these boats for a year now.

Last week we visited the Panama Canal museum and had a chance to watch several ships go through the locks. It is a very impressive sight. Each lock chamber is 110 ft. wide; the maximum width for a ship wishing to transit the Canal is 106 ft. Try picturing a gigantic ship being piloted into a slot with only 2 ft. clearance on either side! It is beyond description. The average cost per transit for a typical ship is about $60,000.

There are 3 sets of locks, operating as water elevators that will raise us up from sea level to the level of Gatun Lake, 26 meters above sea level, and then lower us back down to sea level. Gatun Lake is a fresh water man-made lake in the water shed region of Panama. Most of the private cruising boats transiting from the Pacific to the Atlantic can make the entire trip in one day because they are started us off early, first in the morning. If something prevents the passage in one day, they spend the night in the fresh water lake. We have 8 people transiting with us, plus the official pilot, so if we end up spending the night it will be lovely to swim in fresh water, but crowded for sure.

I look forward to sharing some of our transit pictures with you on my next website posting.

Our first Atlantic destination will be the San Blas islands just off the eastern coast of Panama. The islands are home to the Kuna, an indigenous Indian culture, who run the San Blas as an autonomous region with minimal interference from the national government,using their own system of governance, consultation and decision making. They have succeeded in maintaining their own economic system, language, customs, culture, distinctive dress, legends, music and dance. Pictures and stories to follow…..

This concludes a significant chapter in our life at sea, leaving the Pacific Ocean to begin our explorations in the Atlantic Ocean. It is my pleasure and inspiration to bring you along with us.

More later,

Jeri and Michael