Panama Canal

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Revision as of 15:13, 8 March 2009

PANAMA CANAL CRUISER'S GUIDE

An online cruising guide for the Panama Canal.

The Panama Canal

Background

The Panama Canal is a man-made canal in Panama which joins the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. One of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken, it had an enormous impact on shipping between the two oceans, replacing the long and treacherous route via the Drake Passage and Cape Horn at the southernmost tip of South America.

While the Pacific Ocean is west of the isthmus and the Atlantic to the east, the journey through the canal from the Pacific to the Atlantic is one from east to west. This is a result of a the isthmus's "curving back on itself" in the region of the canal. The Bridge of the Americas at the Pacific end is about a third of a degree of longitude east of the end near Colon on the Atlantic.

Canal Authority

Panama Canal Authority Details & contact info.

Radio Nets & Comms

Also see World Cruiser's Nets

Submit details of HF/SSB Radio Nets and VHF call/operating channels.

Arrival at Canal

From the Caribbean
When 8 miles from the breakwater you need to call "Cristobal Signal" on VHF Ch 12 and inform them of your ETA at the breakwater. They will tell you to proceed to a certain distance off the breakwater and call again. Follow their directions and do not deviate from the directions without first getting permission. Transmissions are in English or Spanish.

From the Pacific
When 8 miles from Flamenco Island (where the control station is situated) you need to call "Flamenco Signal" on VHF Ch 12 and inform them of your ETA to the start of the approach channel. They will tell you to proceed to a certain distance off the start of the channel and call again. Follow their directions and do not deviate from the directions without first getting permission. Transmissions are in English or Spanish.

Please note that both control stations work on the same VHF Ch 12 and it can be confusing sometimes to monitor the required control station.

Preparation of Vessel for Transit

How should the vessel be prepared for transit?

Documentation Required

Submit information on the documentation required by yachts for transit.

Canal

Submit a general description of the canal transit.

Locks

• Gatun: Description?

• Pedro Miguel: Description?

• Miraflores: Description?

Lock Procedure for Yachts

• Cleats. During your transit your cleats will be used in one of three ways as follows:
  • 1. If next to a tug you will be tied on firmly to the tug when ascending or descending in the locks. The tug is against the wall and you are tied onto the tug – you only let go your lines once the lock doors have opened for the next chamber.
  • 2. If rafted-up to other boats, which appears to only happen in peak yachting season, the outer boats control the lines, similar to the single boat method below.
  • 3. With the single boat mid-lock method the line handlers ashore throw heaving lines to the line handlers aboard. You tie your heavy lines onto their lines and they haul them up and place them on the shore bollards. Your line handlers then take a turn around your cleats and hold onto the lines – make sure you have gloves on – and if going up, everybody takes in line as the boat rises, keeping the boat mid-lock. Going up in the locks is the most turbulent and needs better control of the lines than going down. The reverse is applicable when going down the other side. The lines are fixed to the shore bollards and the line handlers aboard slowly let out line as the boat drops in the lock.
  • NEVER “tie-off” or lock the line on the cleat unless tied next to a tug or another vessel – if you do and the lock starts emptying, say goodbye to your cleat!
  • You will need four line handlers besides the skipper/captain of your vessel. If you do not have sufficient crew to man the lines, get a few yachities to help but I do recommend you also get at least one person that knows the system to do the transit with you. If you are a lass with more brains than brawn, become the official photographer and meals/drinks provider for the transit and get some brawn to handle the lines. Give Rudy a call on 6743-7241. He is a local who has done thousands of transits and two with me – he knows the advisors and the system backwards and can arrange the rent of lines and extra tyres for fenders as well. Remember too that you will have to provide meals to the line handlers and advisors during the transit. (Submitted by member JohnT)

Current Transit Costs

Submit latest costs for transit (quote date)

Agents

Details of agents and costs.

Marinas & Anchorages (East)

Details for east entry/exit.

• Shelter Bay Marina
  

Submit comments please.

• Panama Canal Yacht Club
  

Submit comments please.

Marinas & Anchorages (West)

Details for west entry/exit

Forum Discussions

Links to relevant discussion threads on the Cruiser Log Forum

• Forum Discussion 1
• Forum discussion on "cleats"

References

Books, etc.

External Links

Links to websites offering information on the Canal.

• Video of Transit Time-lapse video of complete transit.
• sv Ocelot (Panama Canal page)

Personal Experiences

• (Posted on 7th Sept. '07 by member "JohnT") I use an agent where a lot of cruisers do everything themselves and thus save quite a considerable amount of money. The reason for using an agent is time - we are undertaking a delivery and the quicker we can get through the canal the better. I used Stanley Scott and he is kept updated as to the date and time of our arrival in Colon. Within an hour of our arrival we have been measured by the Canal Admeasurer and the relevant documentation completed and our certificate issued. This was done at the Panama Canal Yacht Club, where after I motored across the bay to Shelter Bay Marina as there was no room at PCYC for us. Stanley took care of both our immigration, emigration, cruising permit (needed by all yachts irrelevant if cruising or not), Zarpe and other documentation. I include immigration in this as we have two South Africans on board needing visas for Panama. We are supposed to have the visas before arrival but Stanley has a friend who "disregards" this requirement for, I am sure, a small fee, and just stamps our passports.
  
  So, the cost to us was $1254.00, which included our transit fee, agent fee, immigration, emigration, cruising permit, Zarpe, one line handler with 4 lines and 6 tyres for fenders, two visas and an overtime fee of $20.00 as we arrived on Monday which was declared a public holiday to celebrate the start of work on the new deep-water locking system they want to complete by 2014. We did not pay a deposit of $850 which a cruiser would pay if they were doing all the running around themselves.
  
  We arrived on Monday and started our transit on Wednesday, completing it on Thursday. Other cruisers I spoke to at Shelter Bay, who had done all the running around themselves, told me that they had been waiting for over a week for a transit and could not understand how we get to transit before them - all I can say is that I am sure some third world under-counter exchanges are made to "make things happen".

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