S/V Aphrodite

Cloud 9 transitted the Panama Canal and is in the Atlantic Ocean.

We met our advisor, Alex, Friday morning at 9:15 am and motored under the Bridge of the Americas shortly after. Our first two sets of locks were “up” locks, with gallons of water filling the chamber from underneath the boat. Thanks to our friend Michael, you can see us in one of the lock chambers by visiting his BLOG site. We haven’t been to an internet cafe yet, so we haven’t seen the pictures he captured. The last set were “down” locks. I was one of the line handlers at the bow, giving me a view which reminded me of what it looks like to step off the side of the earth.

We were unsuccessful in making the transit in one day, so we had to spend the night in the fresh water lake, oh darn! The night swim was everything one could hope for, cool, refreshing and clean. The morning swim developed into a different story. Most of the crew went in early in the morning to clean the bottom of the boat and the prop. The cleaning was interrupted by a security guard ordering everyone out of the water. After questioning the reason for such a demand, a series of boats were sent out to investigate and write us up in some official report. The official of officials claimed that swimming was prohibited because of the fresh water crocodiles. Strike one against the crew of Cloud 9. Later that day Michael hoisted one of the kids up the mast to get a bird’s eye view of the lock system, just as he had the previous day, only this time, we were once again told that we were breaking the rules and were ordered to lower the child immediately. Strike two. I guess we were lucky to get out without a fine. We still don’t know if we are being assessed the $450 penalty for failing to make the transit in one day. It really wasn’t our fault, but the billing office makes those decisions, I guess, without the possibility to defend out delay. Oh well, we were with some of our most favorite people and a great time was had by all.

We are now anchored in a small bay, Portobela, where Sir Francis Drake used to hide all of the gold and silver he stole from the Spanish to send back to England. There are remains of an old garrison here built to defend the bay. What really caught my eye though was the presence of a few houses built right up to the waterline, with piers. It looked so out a place to me because that is something I never saw on the Pacific Ocean. The high tidal range in the Pacific Ocean prohibits such a situation.

Going through the Canal was an amazing experience, especially from eye-level. We had one of the panmax ships slip in behind us as our lock mate. What a picture that was. I felt like an ant in front of it. Pictures will tell the story!

love to all of you, as always,

Jeri and Michael