PANAMA CANAL – ATLANTIC TO PACIFIC IN NINE HOURS!

January 9, 2025 – Transiting the Canal – 84 Degrees, Partly Sunny, 77% Humidity

Technically we didn’t leave from the Atlantic Ocean, but from the Caribbean Sea, Limon Bay. We weren’t scheduled to cross under the Atlantic Bridge, the first landmark on our journey until 7:30 AM, but by 6:00 AM the Crow’s Nest Observation Room and the Bow of the ship were open! You don’t usually have access to the Bow, but this was a special occasion. People were up early in both locations. They served coffee, juice and Panama Rolls. Panama Rolls are like a Krispy Kreme Doughnut ball with cream filling – yum.

Cruise Director Kimberly was “on duty” sharing important facts and landmark all along the way. She must have been very tired (and a little hoarse) by the end of the day.

Very briefly, in 1513 Spanish Conquistador Vasco Nunez de Balboa, crossed the Isthmus of Panama. In 1880 the French unsuccessfully attempted the construction of a canal. In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt committed US men, money and expertise to the project. The first ship to officially transited the canal was the SS Ancon, on August 15,1914. In 1975, President Jimmy Carter returned the control of the canal back to Panama. The flags were at half-mast in honor of Jimmy Carter as we transited.

After going through the first set on locks into Lake Gatun, we were into “virgin” territory (at least for me, John’s been all the way through the canal before on a Navy ship - more from John, found below). Last Christmas on a Cruise on the Zuiderdam, we went as far as Like Gatun, then turned and returned to Ft. Lauderdale. After a drizzly start, the sun came out for most of the transit. We passed many US military facilities along the way that have now been “repurposed”. Our last set of locks was at the Miraflores Locks & Visitor Center. It was a contrast of “old” and new – on the last lock, men came out in a rowboat to manage our ship’s lines. At the west end of the locks there was a large modern Visitor Center and Park where hundreds of people waved to us as our ship passed. We could see the impressive high-rise skyline of Panama City to the South and the Pacific Ocean straight ahead. Our last landmark was The Bridge of the Americas, completed in 1962 at a cost of $20 million US dollars. It is key part of the Pan-American Highway. At approximately 4:30 PM we crossed under the bridge and were officially through the Canal and into the Pacific Ocean.

THOUGHTS FROM JOHN:

Thinking back to 1973, which unfortunately I seem to remember with more details that what I had for breakfast yesterday, but such is life. Anyway, on permanent change of duty on Navy Orders, I reported to my new assignment USS Marias AO-57 in Acapulco, Mexico. The reason I reported to a U.S. Navy ship in Acapulco, Mexico is too long to tell in today’s blog, maybe another day, or not! The day prior to the canal was occupied with my orientation through all the departments of the ship and inventorying volumes of classified material. I did not make it up to the Navigation Bridge, one of my primary duty stations, until the second day. Before we entered the first part of the canal, a large contingent of US Navy Nurses station at the Naval Hospital in Panama came aboard. They had scheduled a visit to our ship and transit through the first set of locks. Since I was the “new guy,” and not settled into my duties, the Commanding Officer assigned me the task of escorting this bevy of Nurses. They were all pleasant and enjoying the day off from their hospital duties. It was their first experience on a Navy ship. They were all treated to lunch in the Officers’ Wardroom. Coincidently the transfer of US ownership of the canal to Panama was in the news. One of the nurses, a Commissioned Officer in the US Navy was a Panamanian citizen by birth. At lunch that day she volunteered “Transferring the canal to Panama, my people, is a big mistake, I do not believe it is a good decision.”

Once the Nurses disembarked and the ship entered the open water of the canal lake system, I made my way to the Navigation Bridge, where my primary duties lay as the ship Operation’s Officer. When I walked onto the Navigation Bridge, as my feet barely cleared the hatch, the Captain announce “JOHN HAS THE CONN.” For the non-Navy types reading this, it means, John is driving the ship! Yes, there is a Panamanian Pilot on the bridge, but John is responsible for the conning and safety of the ship. I admit sweat popped out on my forehead and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. But all went well. My previous Officer of the Deck Qualifications was on a Destroyer, a ship half the size of this one. I passed the Captain’s first test. He was a good Commanding Officer, providing wise training and guidance for a young Officer in his first assignment as a Department Head.