Getting ready for the Pacific

  “Pegasus” is anchored in Balboa harbour, the Atlantic entrance area for the Panama Canal.  Around us are about 30 other sailing boats, and many more in the two marinas nearbye, and nearly all are busy completing formalities for transiting the Canal.  There are Americans, Canadians, Europeans and plenty of Aussies and Kiwis who will be heading home. 
  The Canal is almost another country as far as paperwork is concerned, so after checking in to Panama it is necessary to start all over again.  Not sure why they want parents and childrens names. Then each boat is visited by a measurer.  Boats over 50 feet pay a great deal more than those under, and as many are nominally 45 feet, a measurement including every bit of anchor or aerial that protrudes can bring you very near the dreaded 50.  We came out with just a few inches to spare after Geoff had a long discussion with the measurer about the difference between  .5 (of a meter) and .05! We even took the flag off in case we got a really pedantic measurer.
  It is necessary to have 4 line handlers on board plus a pilot.  As most transits take part of two days with a stop in Gatun Lake between the locks, the line handlers have to sleep aboard though the pilot is taken off for the night.  And all have to be fed.  Usually other cruisers are happy to be line handlers to get experience of the thing without the responsibility of looking after their own boat.  We are going through on a NZ boat this weekend.  Also we have to acquire 4 x 125ft lines, and a good supply of old car tires wrapped in bin bags as strong fenders – ‘normal’ ones are known to pop under the strain.
  We’re more or less organized to go through next Tue/Wed.  Vast quantities of stores have been taken on board, as after Panama supplies will be very limited and expensive.  The results of a visit to the supermarket fill the boat with plastic bags, and it always amazes us that it eventually gets absorbed.  How many rolls of kitchen towel/tins of peas/bottles of oil, flour etc etc etc do we need to last until Fiji?  Time will tell if we’ve got it right.  Don’t think we’ll starve anyway! And with a bit of luck we’ll have a fresh fish diet for much of the time.