Continued… As we drove towards the Gatun Locks, we were told that this time, the large ship would be tied up behind us. That was fantastic news, as it meant we wouldn’t have to deal with the turbulent waters created by the ship’s prop wash this time around. We were also told that we would again be tied to the wall on the starboard (right) side with the sailboat nested to us on the port (left).
Maneuvering into the lock and tying up went smoothly.
Since Kosmos was already at the top of the lock wall, our line handlers simply handed the lines to the canal workers, who tied them to the walls — there was no dramatic throwing/catching of the canal’s lines, and no fears of tying the knot wrong and our line untying from the canal’s.
It felt like there was tons of room for the container ship to come in behind us.
By 1430 we were ready for the sailboat to approach, but it was not in sight until 1445.
By 1450, the sailboat was successfully nested and the container ship entered the edge of the lock, where it stopped. The canal crew hooked up the “mules” (locomotive engines) to the ship.
The ship and mules slowly moved forward into position behind us.
Where the ship finally settled was a wee bit close for comfort.
The water let out at a much slower pace compared to the pace it had filled up un the Mira Flores and Pedro Miguel locks. The advisors explained that in top and bottom Gatun locks, the water was reclaimed; it was funneled into the lock going up. To help prevent loss, they let it out more slowly.
Slower flowing water meant less turbulence, and the ride down was relatively calm. Keeping the boat in place while letting the lines out was easier than it had been when they were pulling the lines in. The line handlers seemed to effortlessly keep us in place, and Eric didn’t need to do much adjusting. The fenders needed only minor adjustments to keep them properly protecting the boat from the wall.
At the bottom
Once the water was let out, the gates began to open. On the way up, the container ship ahead of us had not begun to move forward until the doors were fully opened. The advisors had told us we needed to move out of this lock fast, but we thought they meant move fast after the doors fully opened. Much to our surprise, the sailboat was told to untie shortly after the gates began to open (which was at 1520), and they were out of the lock before the gates were fully opened. Here are videos taken from the front and back of the boat — in both videos, we had to stop recording to help untie the sailboats.
And we were right behind them, untying at 1524 and passing through the gate before it was completely opened. The mules and container ship began moving forward shortly after we untied.
In the finger of the next lock, the sailboat pulled to the side and allowed us to pass them.
We drove to the front of the lock and were situated on the wall by 1530.
The sailboat quickly approached and nested with us. The container ship behind us was situated by 1545.
We immediately started moving down. This time, the water flowed faster and was more turbulent than it had been in the last lock. Just as we had in the first Mira Flores lock, we pulled too far away from the wall for a short period of time, which had the advisors freaking out. But we managed to pull back in without any problems.
We can’t remember which lock this was, but we believe it was the second lock. There is a crack that absorbs the water when the lock is full, and when the water is let out of the lock, creates a water fall.
Leaving the second lock and getting situated into the third lock was an almost identical repeat of the last round, and again, everyone moved fast. Brianna and Mike switched places, wanting a change of scenery for the last lock. All went smoothly going down in the last Gatun Lock, just as it had in the first Gatun Lock.
It was exhilarating when the lock doors opened into the Caribbean Sea. We did it! And with no damage to the boat and no injuries! Woo hoo!
Note: Thank you Mike, Kim, Brianna and Thaddeus for the photos and videos that you contributed to this post!