Balboa to Pedro Miguel Boat Club
There
are three sets of locks in the Panama Canal. Starting on the Pacific
side,
ships are raised 60 ft. in two steps through the Miraflores Locks. Then
they travel
across the small Lake Miraflores, and are raised another 30 ft. in one
step at the Pedro Miguel Locks. They then travel through Gaillard Cut
and enter Gatun Lake. On the Atlantic Side,
the ships then descend 90 ft. in three steps through the Gatun Locks.
The Pacific side
of the Canal lies south and east of the Atlantic side. Balboa is the
entry port on the southern (Pacific) end and Colon is the entry port
on the northern (Atlantic) end. The Canal is
approximately 43 nautical miles long. We decided to split our transit
of the Canal and
stay at the Pedro Miguel Boat Club (PMBC) for a few days. Those few
days turned into
three weeks because we had so much fun there. This page of pictures
is devoted only to
our transit from Balboa through the Miraflores Locks to the Pedro Miguel
Boat Club (PMBC).
Please look at the other pictures pages we have
of our stay at the PMBC,
the continuing transit through the Pedro Miguel and Gatun Locks,
and in Stories from Ouer Trips, " A Day on a Panama Canal Tug".
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go back to the 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
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These were the illustrious First Mates for the trip. Left to right: Audrey (SV Desiderata), Norma (MV Heather K.), and Judy (SV Amazing Grace). They supplied the rest of us with gourmet meals for the transit. |
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These were the line handlers for our trip through the Miraflores Locks. Left to right: Ward (SV Desiderata), Bob (SV Amazing Grace), (a hiker from New Zealand), (crew from SV ???), (a hiker from the USA), and in front, (Captain of SV ???). I am writing this at home and I left my notes with the names on the boat in Panama. Please excuse my forgetfulness. Until I get back to the boat. |
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Ed and Norma on the bow of MV Heather K. with the Bridge of the Americas in the background. The bridge spans the entrance channel to the Panama Canal. There is a blue hulled ship behind us going under the bridge . |
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MV Heather K. at a Balboa Yacht Club buoy waiting for the assigned day to transit the Panama Canal. The black tires are used to protect the sides of the boat during the transit. They were obtained from a boat that had just passed through the Canal and will be passed on to another boat at the other end. |
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The view from the Bridge of the Americas looking north directly down the entrance channel. The Miraflores Locks are to the left at the far end of the channel. The entrance dug by the French in the 1890's can be seen going to the left just before the far end. The port of Balboa is just off to the right of the orange ship. |
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Ed with the Panama Canal Advisor. All vessels must have a Panama Canal representative on-board while transiting. Large ships have one or more pilots while the smaller boats have an advisor who is a pilot-in-training. The advisors are fully qualified tug captains on the Panama Canal. |
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The Miraflores Locks with a ship in the lock. A tug and a white tour boat are waiting for the locks to open after the ship has gone through. |
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MV Heather K. tied to a pier at the Pedro Miguel Boat Club. Almost every afternoon we would sit on our flybridge sipping a cool one while watching the worlds' shipping go by. Here we see one of the Carnival cruiseliners enter the Pedro Miguel Locks with the assits of two tugs. |
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Heather K. All rights reserved
Last revised 08/10/01