It all began on Sunday. The admeasurer came to measure Blue Spurr, and give us our official Panama Canal Ship identification number No.278238. It took an hour to fill in all the paperwork. Finally we waved goodbye to the measurer and started to prepare the boat for the transit. The first priority was 4x100ft lines; we measured the kedge anchor rope and found it was 120ft. so we had our first line. We had a reel of 12mm Marlow braid on braid which was to be our new running rigging. We had 100 metres of it so we cut it into three 107ft lengths. We had our lines.

Next day, Monday, we went to the Port Captains office to book the transit, it cost us $115 for the measuring, Thirty dollars for the transit and $35 deposit, refundable if we don't damage the canal. The rest of the day was spent stocking the boat ready for our Pacific crossing. 7 cases of beer (on special for 29c a can), numerous cans of fruit juice and several bottles of scotch and rum. These essentials were stowed first, and then other purchases such as rice and canned food were all found a home.

Our next job was to find 3 more line handlers, as Dave had to be on the wheel all the time so we needed 3 more adults. A visit by dinghy to neighbouring boats secured Peter and Crista two Germans who had just dropped anchor and their daughter Sarah aged 5 who was coming along to supervise her mum and dad. We also press ganged Cassie an Australian who was crewing on a nearby yacht. All lines and handlers organized we turned once more to preparing Blue Spurr and spent Tuesday shopping for tasty food to feed our crew and the pilot who would guide us through. It was a very busy day and we finally finished our preparations at 23.10. The last task was hauling the dinghy on board and making it secure. Our pilot and crew were due aboard at 06.00am. We went to bed at midnight setting the alarm for 05.00am. I awoke at 02.00am hearing an engine and I thought the pilot had arrived and that we had slept in, but a glance outside showed it to be a passing tug. Dave spent an equally restless night and we were relieved to be up at 05.00am.

Peter and his family, and Cassie arrived at 05.50 (what fantastic people climbing out of a warm bed at that hour. The Pilot arrived at 06.15 am but told us we had to wait until 07.30 for the big boat that we were to follow into Gatun locks, we all had breakfast and a cup of tea, then we were ready to go.

Dave and I had been through the canal as line handlers the week before, and had learnt from the experience. When we set off we put the four lines on the corners of the boat, I secured the ends of the stern lines to the mizzen mast, in case the cleats were pulled out of the deck by exceptional circumstances, and the forelines to the Sampson post. Each line had to have a 3ft bowline on the end to pass over bollards on the lock sides. The locks are bigger than those in Holland and the water is injected from the floor of the lock, not under the gates, so that the turbulence is very bad, rather like being a ping pong ball on a jet of water. The lines are taken to the bollards by means of a heaving line, thrown from the dock.

The monkey fists attached to these lines are really heavy and everyone has to keep a lookout as they are thrown on board. As we approached the first lock our pilot told us to take the port bow and stern lines amidship and the same on the starboard side, so that we only needed 2 monkey fists thrown. Unfortunately the lock workers on the starboard side were bad shots and didn't manage to get a line on board until the third attempt. At last we had 4 lines ashore. We were behind an enormous vessel from Bremen, Germany. He only had about 1ft clearance either side of the lock, we were in the centre of the lock feeling very small and insecure. The pilot told us to tighten all four lines and centre ourselves then cleat the lines. We had warned our crew that the first lock is the worst, and as the water propelled us skywards they learnt what we meant.

We had to slowly take up the slack as we rose, and the pressure on the lines was so great that Christa couldn't hold hers, but our friendly pilot went to her assistance and helped her to control it. Luckily the end was secured to the mizzen so the line couldn't get lost. Probably the worse strain on the lines and cleats came when the large boat ahead started his engine to move forward and sent a miniature tidal wave towards us. The lines stretched like elastic, but everything held.

We had two more locks going up, and then we were on beautiful Gatun Lake, amid tropical rain forests and lots of tiny islands. Now was the time to break out the beer and relax. Dave put the boat on auto pilot and I went below to prepare lunch. It was a lovely day and very sunny so we fitted the bimini on deck and all sat in the shade. It took us about 6 hours to reach Galliard Cut, the watershed of our transit. Another half-hour took us to Pedro Miguel lock, and our first lock down. Going down was very easy, just a matter of slowly releasing the lines and no turbulence, like in Gatun lock. One of the monkey fists almost hit Dave on the head, but luckily the cockpit cover stopped it doing any damage. Going down yachts, or handlines as they call them, go first, ahead of the big boats. It is rather worrying seeing a supertanker right on your stern.

Another mile further on took us into Mirflores locks, the last two down. At the last lock as the gates opened we saw the lovely Pacific Ocean appearing in front of us and gave a loud cheer. Here we were at last in the biggest ocean in the world. It took us 11 hours for the transit, from the last lock it was almost 3 miles to Balboa yacht club, where we dropped the pilot and our line handlers who had to get a bus back to Colon. We took a mooring for the night, thankful for a safe and speedy transit. We were relieved to have it all behind us, having transited twice on yachts, we have declined further offers of going as line handlers, and it is a very long and tiring day, twice is definitely enough. But what an experience, we have transited a continent in our own boat and now the Pacific is before us, beckoning us to new horizons.

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