Canal de Panamá

 08 54.777 N 79 31.311 W

The starboard engine wouldn’t start… We had booked our April 2 canal transit date months ago and now it was time to go out on anchor to position ourselves for the crossing early the next day. We had 3 hired line handlers onboard, a canal pilot lined up to guide us through the canal, and my sister and brother en route from Europe to join us on the Pacific side. If we missed this transit date it could be weeks before the next opening and a potentially hefty financial penalty. With the help of two engineers from a nearby super yacht and a friendly neighbor cruiser, we scrambled to troubleshoot the engine. By 9 pm we concluded that the engine starter was busted. Nothing else to do but to cancel the transit. Spirits low…

But we were lucky and got a new date for only a week later. Chris flew to Sint Maarten, picked up a new starter, installed it and… engine still not starting. Four mechanics later and the stress level through the roof, it seemed like we would have to cancel again. But in the 11th hour, Chris had the near-genius idea that the problem was a grounding wire issue. Quick fix and yes! Nothing as lovely as a purring, content diesel engine.

So in the evening of April 8, we were anchored by the canal entrance, good to go the next day. Spirits high. And one big upside with this debacle was that both Kicki and Axel now were able to join us for the transit. 

We got going in the wee hours of the next day with a line handler and the pilot onboard (both required by the canal authorities). By the entrance to the first lock, we rafted up with two other sail boats and then the adventure started. We transited 3 huge locks with the 3 boat raft in the back and an enormous tanker ship ahead. Then we motored across Panama and reached the final 3 locks in the afternoon. This time we shared the locks with an even bigger tanker, right behind and towering over us like a mountain. Cheers when the doors to the last lock opened and we were officially in the Pacific ocean. No going back now - next stop French Polynesia!