Day 18 – Monday 27th
January 2014 – Panama Canal – 1st part
Day 18 - Monday 27th January 2014 - Panama Canal - 1st part
Awake at
07.00 and up on Deck 6 at 07.30. The forward
access to decks 5,6,7 and 9 have been opened up.
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| 1st Chamber Gatun Locks |
The ship had picked up the pilot at
06.00 at the Colon entrance and made its way up past the port of Cristobal and
into the approach at the Gatun Locks, by the time we had made it up on deck at
07.30.
The ship
slowly inches forward under her own power towards the first chamber of this set
of locks. Each chamber is 304.8 metres
(1000 feet) long 33.5 metres (110 feet) wide and 12.8 metres (42 feet) deep.
Very near to the entrance wires are sent across to the ship on either side, forward and aft. Attached a to the motorised work horses,
affectionately called mules. These take
the strain of keeping the ship in the centre of the lock. Within the lock, Queen Elizabeth has 0.6 metres (2 feet) space on either side and 5 metres (15 feet) space forward and aft of the lock gates.
 |
| NYK Remus |
A similar sized ship on the right, the
Japanese container ship NYK Remus, and we just fit in the lock chamber.
On this occasion, the ships are going
through the locks one way. With both
side being used to take ships upwards.
When I last made a transit of the Panama Canal, it was forty one years
ago. The method used then was one side used for up, while the other allows
ships to move down. Informed, this now
adopted one way system saves water.
 |
| 2nd Chamber Gatun Locks |
The filling
of the locks is done through a series of culverts which diverts water into the
centre of the chamber from the bottom, using valves and thus gravity, to raise
the ship, there is no pumping involved, what so ever.
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| 3rd Chamber, Gatun Locks |
This shows the ship in the top, 3rd
chamber with another ship on the other side at the bottom entering the 1st
chamber.
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| Control Building |
This shows the control building for the
Gatun Locks where they operate the valves to fill and empty the chambers and of
course open and close the gates.
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| Mule |
The mules which were attached at the
entrance to the 1st chamber stay with you all the way through the
lock system and climb each section up ramps driven on a gear wheel to enable
them to climb or use as a brake on the way down.
The three chambers have raised our ship of 95.000 tonnes, 26
metres (85 feet) above sea level in ninety minutes, an amazing feat of
engineering, when you consider, this year the Canal celebrates its 100th year
since opening.
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| Gatun Lake |
On leaving the lock
we passed into the Gatun Lake, where to the right can be the seen the original
dam which was built to use the Chagres River to form this lake, where its fresh
water is used to operate the locks.
Every day it rains very heavily in Panama and this is what keeps the lake full of water. Incorporated into
the dam is a hydro-electric plant, to supply all of the power to operate the
lock systems.
Just inside the lake are ships at anchor of all different
shapes and sizes waiting their turn to use the locks.
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| Crossing Gatun Lake |
We now commence our passage across
the Gatun Lake staying inside the marked buoyed channel which follows the
course of the original Chagres Rivers. All
of the small islands passing by, you have to remember were once the tops of the
hills.
The temperature outside is 25 degrees and above with everyone
enjoying every minute of it.
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