Picton Castle is all ready to take a pilot and transit the Panama Canal. Looks like we going through tomorrow AM – maybe. We gather that we will get one hour’s notice before the pilot boarding. They like us to be at the first lock about as dawn breaks, so we will see when we get started here just inside the breakwater to the north. The pilot could show up at 0300 or 0500 – all early AM stuff. It’s a few miles from where we are anchored to the first lock and where we pick up the line handlers. Takes a bit of time to get the anchor back and main engine up – but all is in full readiness.
All is OK. Monomoy is aboard. All other stuff sorted apart from the skiff onboard. If we get the word that we are going tomorrow AM we will hoist skiff this evening before dark. All else is done. Not a bad day here. Modest northerly breeze, small seas. Let half the gang go ashore to the marina. Cool there. A pool to swim in and AC inside the marina restaurant. Great Panamanian cooking too.
Quite a sight here surrounded by great big ships – some anchored inside the breakwater but at least a dozen or so anchored out in the Caribbean roadsted. Huge car carriers, tankers, “box ships” aka container ships, massive LNG tankers – do not want to be near one of them when they blow up. Any number of Canal Zone service vessels scurrying here and there all over the harbour; boats with inspectors, or line handlers, pilots too. Even small tankers fueling up bigger tankers. Very busy and dynamic hereabouts.
The sky is a light hazy pale blue with fuzzy clouds spattered about. The seas surrounding us are a light sea-foam green. Off in the distance to the east we can see clouds rearing up to make thunderheads. They make for plenty rain deluges. But not always on us. And sometimes, only on us. Or so it seems.
So here is Picton Castle, at anchor in 6 fathoms in “Anchorage Area B” off Shelter Bay in the NW section of Colon/Cristobal harbour at the north end of the amazing Panama Canal, waiting for our turn to climb that mountain and head over into the Pacific Ocean. Waiting our turn. As of now we are not yet confirmed to pass through tomorrow. We will see. We could head for Cape Horn. But that would mean beating 2,000 miles against stiff easterlies to get south that way another 7,000 miles. I guess we will wait….