ThumbnailPicPage2

Gatun Locks

The Gatun Locks are on the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal. There are two parallel lanes each with three chambers that raise ships 90 ft. from sea level to the level of Gatun Lake. We took the down route going from lake level to the Atlantic Ocean level.

To go back to previous page click on BACK in browser task bar above,
to go to other pages on Heather K. website scroll to the bottom of this page.

Click on any picture to see an enlarged view

	Entering the upper of three chambers in the Gatun Locks. The total length of the locks is almost 4000 ft. or 3/4 of a mile. Each chamber changes the elevation of ships by 30 ft.
	We arrived at Gatun Locks in the late afternoon and had the choice of either going through each chamber with this large ship or anchoring in Gatun Lake until the next morning. We chose to go through, tied to the lock walls ahead of the ship.
	After we were tied to the lock wall, the ship was pulled into position by the elctric mules. It was an exciting experience to see the big ship coming towards us.
	The ship came to a stop with it's bow less than 20 ft. away from our stern. There was not much room for error, but the mules operators were able to maintain good control of the ship.
	We were tied next to the forward gate of the chamber for down- locking. During downlocking, the current kept us away from the lock wall while Bob (SV Amazing Grace) was taking up line slack to prevent us from drifting too far away from the wall.
	Dalimas (aka Dale from SV Karina D) took up slack from the aft line to keep us near the lock wall. Note our separation from the lock wall caused by currents during downlocking. The water stream is from a crack in the chamber wall.
	The view over the last gate of the Gatun Locks before entering the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. We are still 30 ft. above sea level at this point, anxiously awaiting our final locking experience. Noticed how far the center wall (to the left in this view) extends beyond the end of the gates. This allows ships to tie up to the mules that pull them into the locks. Colon is approximately 7 miles away at this channel entrance of the Canal.
	The line handlers and first mates for our transit from Pedro Miguel Boat Club to Colon. Left to right: Sonja (SV Shilo), Guy (SV Rare Mettle), Harry (SV Shilo), Bob (SV Amazing Grace), Dalimas (SV Karina D), Norma (my Admiral), and Kathleen (SV Karina D), with Judy (SV Amazing Grace) kneeling in front and Malvin (SV Shilo) waving from the flybridge.
	Our Panama Canal Advisor jumping over to the pilot boat after the transit. The advisor was a graduate of the Columbian Maritime Academy and a qualified tug captain in the Panama Canal. He had many special awards including a post-graduate fellowship studying ship operations in Japan. He was an outstanding advisor. The difference between advisors and pilots is that pilots are in command on the ship, while captains are in command with an advisor on-board. Smart boat captains will heed the advisor since he is far more knowledgeable about the Canal.
	The pilot boat leaving us at Colon. The captains are excellent boat handlers. They ask you to maintain slow and steady headway while they come alongside to pick up the advisor without scraping the side of your boat. Our Panama Canal transit was an enjoyable and memorable experience.

To go back to the Index of Picture Pages, click on BACK in taskbar at top of screen.
To go to another page on the Heather K. website select from menu below.

Home Page - Pictures of Our Trips - Past & Future Cruises
Our Experience with Gear - Meet the Crew - Stories from Our Trips
General Boating Information - How to Contact the Boat - Sign Our Logbook