Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Panama Canal transit!

Sunday, January 18, 2009
Up at 7 with the sun just rising and I had a wonderful swim. The pool was cool and overflowing and I was the only one there for a short while. People were out walking their laps around the decks and we were in a holding pattern for the ships waiting to enter the Canal at the Gatun Locks area.

An historian boarded the ship and provided commentary all day as we traversed the three locks – Gatun, Pedro Miguel and Miraflores (which are the closest to Panama City).

The Panama Canal is a major ship canal that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and runs northeast/southwest. Its construction was one of the most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken. A ship saves over 8,000 miles by traversing the canal as opposed to going around Cape Horn. The canal opened in 1914 and accommodates more than 14,000 ships a years with over 203 million tons of cargo. The typical crossing takes nine hours and the weekly average is 40 ships per day.

Each lock chamber holds 65,800,000 gallons of water and each time a ship makes a complete transit, approximately 52 million gallons of fresh water are spilled into the sea. No pumps are used in filling the lock chambers. There are 18 foot culverts located in the center and the side walls of the locks. From these, the water flows through smaller culverts which open into the floor of the lock chambers. The lock gates at each end are steel structures 65 feet wide, 7 feet thick and vary in height from 47-82 feet and weight 390-730 tons each. The canal is approx. 48 miles long and we spent the entire on the crossing, between 8-5:30.

We were seated in the Commodore Club on Deck 10 (there are 12 decks) and had a great air conditioned view of the locks and ships ahead. S L O W L Y we approached the lock and pulled in to one of the two lanes. They connected the ship with steel cables to an electric locomotive and it kept us in position as we moved through the locks. Waiting for the lock to fill, we found out our ship is JUST the right size for a tight fit, a Panamax vessel, no later than 106 ft on the beam, 965 feet length and with a 39.5 feet draft. It cost the Queen Victoria $300,000 to transit the canal today and when we go through the Suez, it will be approximately double that price!

All day long we were mesmerized by the scenery in the lakes, the locks and the activity with the locomotives and the hordes of people along the canal waving and shouting to us as we went through.

I did manage a tango lesson at noon! That was a new one and I’m sure will take a lot more practice to perfect. They also have country line dancing in the morning and I would like to try that when time permits. The instructors make the dancing so much fun; there is no feeling of competition. Any Cunard voyage would be ideal for those wanting to learn to dance or for dance clubs wanting to perfect their steps. It is all included in your price of the voyage!!

Had lunch with some of my group and ran outside again for more photos. It was very hot and humid but there was a nice breeze. Met with the Hotel Manager, Sommelier and Future Cruise Assistants and enjoyed being served a nice dinner. Decided to forego the show -- we think it is JC Fisher, a singer, but he has had trouble getting to the ship so we are still not sure if he made it or not today! -- and do some work as I am very tired. I hope to see the show on the next segment of the trip or on TV.

Felt sad we never set foot in the country of Panama to visit with the people and hear the language. One man hollered ADIOS to us and that was the extent of the native person contact...but it was a wonderful transit.

(Photos are coming but do not have the links ready to connect...)