Mandy's Trip Through the Panama Canal to the Atlantic Ocean

Our day began earlier than expected. Tony picked us up at the hostal and we met linehandler Ricardo, who was to make the trip with us. Once on Mandy, the bright young pilot, Dalton, was delivered by pilot boat and our lovely hostess, Virginia, served us coffee and tea. We soon began our journey toward the first lock, Miraflores, and waited for the small tourist passenger boat that was to go with us. These days of global economic slowdowns have greatly affected the canal and it was very fortunate for us. Not many ships passed through the canal on Saturday, especially going to the Caribbean side. Passing under the Bridge of the Americas, connecting North and South America, we entered the first lock behind the tourist vessel, readied ourselves and began the process of receiving lines from the sides of the canal, tying them to our lines and sending them back to the linemen high above us. I fumbled a few times tying my knots, but soon became familiar with the expectations. Tightening the lines and keeping Mandy centered was our main job; it took the first round to know just when to pull and how tight to keep the lines, but it became quite easy after that. Those linesmen on land walked us through each lock after they filled with water and soon we were on our way to the next one. What a fascinating process and an incredible invention! The day was overcast which kept us quite cool. Not only did our awesome hostess serve us breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but she was my partner handling the lines on the port side as I worked the starboard side. Captain Richard diligently kept Mandy moving in line and after the second lock, much of the day was spent motoring along the markers through the enormous freshwater lake created by those engineers long ago. The flooding of this river valley took the lives of much of the wildlife at the time, in the late 1800's, before there was much thought about the diversity and well-being of the environment and all of its critters. Today, in order to widen the canal for larger ships, some of the islands created by this original manmade lake are being removed, but they have carefully tried to remove all wildlife from each area. That must be quite a task! Dalton, our pilot was so knowleable and friendly; asking questions and talking to him was a great way to learn about the area and get a sense of the Panamanian culture. As the afternoon light dimmed, we picked up a mooring, a pilot boat came to take Dalton home to his family, and we spent the night on the lake, waiting to go through the last lock early the next morning. We were so fortunate to not have rain! Ricardo, David and I each found our niche on Mandy's deck, (never to be found on Sidewinder!) and we slept quite comfortably after our evening meal. Howler monkeys, frogs, and buzzing bugs filled the starry night and it was quite peaceful.
The next morning a new pilot greeted us and we began the last of our adventure. We made our way around the huge freighter and entered the last of the three locks. This time the process was letting out line as we descended to sea level. It was quite intense watching the huge ship come into the lock from behind, just enough to intimidate us all. Capitan Richard held his cool and Mandy stayed strong. Going through the last lock, we could see the Atlantic Ocean and the end of Mandy's journey in the Pacific Ocean. I know she was both sad and excited with many magical moments ahead and much to experience. She will miss Sidewinder.
We made our way into Shelter Bay Marina and there we said our good-byes. I am so thrilled that we were able to make this passage with our wonderful friends and I look forward to the day when we will reconnect. Sidewinder will continue to wonder where Mandy is, and I know she will keep looking for her. Maybe someday they will get to sail side by side once again.