MoreEsperanza

More of Esperanza

Here are pictures taken from the Esperanza showing other activities we observed.

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	The two main jobs for tugs in the Panama Canal are to assist in entering locks and to provide emergency steering while going through the Gaillard Cut. Here the Esperanza is paying out her 2 inch Spectra line to the ship it will be stern-tied to going through the Cut.
	The lines have been tied-off and the convoy is proceeding through the Gaillard Cut.
	*This is the Esperanza* stern-tied to another ship coming back through the cut towards Pedro Miguel Locks.**
	The propwash of the Esperanza after the pilot has requested full power to hold a ship against the lockwall after the mules have released their lines. Note the significant current against the shore several hundred feet away.
	Four electric locomotives, also known as mules, at each side of the ship at the bow and stern pull the ship into the lock chambers. They then maintain the ships position in the center of the chamber by letting out or pulling in the lines as the water level changes. Notice the small clearance between the ship's hull and the lock wall. The clearance on the other side is the same. Note the Esperanza's line to the lock wall that has to be adjusted as the water level changes.
	The propwash is very strong when the ship starts to move out of the lock. The waves in this picture are about a foot high. The tug Gilberto Guardia was tied to the Esperanza with a catamaran tied to the other side of the Guardia. The three vessels had to remain tied together until the ship had moved away and the propwash abated.
	The catamaran has moved out and the Gilberto Guardia is ready to cast off from the Esperanza. Note how far forward the red ship has moved before the rafting of the tugs and catamaran is broken up.
	Local line handlers are brought on board ships as they transit the Canal locks. For the Pedro Miguel and Miraflores Locks, they are brought on-board at either Paraiso or Balbao depending upon the ship's direction of travel. They are discharged at one of the same locations.
	Crew changes for tugs are handled by the same boats used for the line handlers. Here the sunset shift (4 PM to midnight) for the Esperanza is coming on-board. After short turn-over formalities, Captain Flores and his day crew, as well as Guy and I, left on this same boat.

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