Colon, Panama
Shelter Bay Marina at night. Photo copyright Jen Edney 2009
I'm in Colon, Panama now after a fast trip from Grenada getting in in just under 8 days. The 12 hours before I got in were some of the craziest of my life.
I passed 80 - some ships within 3 miles of Intrepid with heavy cloud cover. It was one of those black, black nights - well it was until the lightning started flashing around 11:00pm. It was a constant battle changing course all the time. I even had a ship with no nav lights that I just missed. I had altered course about 90 degrees but in the wrong direction. It is almost imposible to to tell which direction they're headed when it is so dark and they are so close.
So at the last minute I saw the angle of the ship, swung the tiller all the way over and it passed about 50 yards off - so close I could hear the engines running. I hope they could hear me screaming at them off for almost killing me by not turning on their nav lights or answering their VHF radio. I've had some close calls on the trip but that was definitely the closest I've come to loosing the boat.
The night went on and on. I had a few more close calls but nothing too bad. I neared the breakwater of Limon Bay, Colon as the sky turned from the black of night to the grey of morning. I got through to Port Control and they cleared me to enter the harbor after a ship had exited. I motored through the breakwater and into Shelter Bay Marina which is kind of tucked away in the mangroves at the end of the breakwater. It was incredibly good to get off the boat and get some sleep.
This morning was busy trying to confirm my Skype connection with the Fox News Channel. My interview should be on line tomorrow. More canal transit details coming tomorrow. I could be cleared to go through either Monday or Tuesday. Colon is an interesting place. It has been grey and cloudy all the time, interrupted only by rain. There is not much here by the marina besides jungle and sea. We are hoping to see some of the area later today. I have heard that Panama City, on the Pacific side, is much different. I guess I'll know next week.
Cheers,
Zac
posted by Zac at
5:55 PM
17 Comments:
So you almost got run down by some moron who either doesn't know or doesn't bother to follow the rules? Sounds like you'll be prepared for L.A. traffic when you get home.
Still praying Numbers 6:24-26
Mouse in Whittier
www.myspace.com/mouseonamotorcycleBuy "Death and Coffee"
here!
Hey Zac, You have made AMAZING feats! You're one brave boy! What a brave and noble feat you are accomplishing! We're all so proud of you and can't wait for you to transit the Panama Canal, and HOPEFULLY see you go through Mira Flores Locks! You're one amazing young man! My son, Scott (who's also 17 @ El Segundo High School), can't wait for you to make the last leg home, brah! We love you, dude! Heather, Dale, and Scott Grottke! El Segundo, CA
hey Zac - Chris from Durban here. Tip for dealing with ships that come too close. Get yourselves one of those really powerfull torches / search lights and shine it towars the ships bridge windows. it wont be too powerfull to blind the officer on watch ( or the labrador whichever the case may be! ) but will bring attention to yourself. After shining the light at the ship direct the light onto your sails. its also a good idea to have some luminous strips on your mast; your torch light will make these stand out very well.
WOW Zac, what's with ships w/o nav lights and not answering their radios?....I agree with Mouse, LA traffic will be easy breezie compared to dodging large ships!
Rest up and have some fun!
Hugs, Anita
Waterloo, NY
Captain SV "Womabt"
I've been invited many times to do the St. Petersburg to Isla Mujeres (Yucatan, Mexico) but I've never been able to make it happen... Many of my friends have done the race many times...
Anyhow, I thought Zac's followers would find this story interesting, if not riveting…
I don’t personally know the Skipper in this story, but I’m sure I will find that many of my friends do…
http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/article1001315.ece
Regards,
Daveh & Skipper
dave@davehickson.com
@ Mouse - I used to get angry, raise my fist, yell, etc.. when I encounted "a moron on the water", but in recent years, I just ignore them and keep my distance, there's an endless supply of them on the seas, big boats, little boats, no boats, all shapes and sizes...
What's frightening about Zac's story is how dang fast these big ships go, AND they don't look like they are moving fast (due to their size) until they are right on top of you... Many of them exceed 20 knots, 3-4X Zac's average speed.... 50 yards at sea is 1 inch when it's a ship.... Plus, they can kill your wind, they propwash (if twin screws) can turn your boat in a flash....
Wild stuff...
Daveh
dave@davehickson.com
God bless you, Zac! I pray for you every day.
Marianna
Hi all.
@ Jen phantastic picture again.
@ DaveH. I read this story this morning on SA. What a sad outcome.
Regarding ship traffic. I always had to deal with a lot of traffic going into Kiel/Baltic Sea. Sailboats get run over frequently in the main approach track to the Kiel/Nord-Ostsee Kanal. The Russians do a pretty good job in that case. Sometimes they even don't realize it cause the watch officer is pretty good loaded.
Have a nice weekend
Axel
heye@madisoncounty.net
Zac,
So happy you made it into port. It sounded absolutely crazy and thank goodness the Captain of Intrepid is a very experienced sailor! I pray getting out of the panama canal is not so intense.
I have to travel Tuesday, but hope to be able to snag a computer somewhere and hopefully see you going through the locks.
It was fun to see you on the FoxNews Skype interview!
Again--Not bad, not bad at all!
Be safe!
Namaste~~
Zac: In this environment stay as sharp as you are both on the sea and while on land. Watch out for the land sharks. God will be on your shoulder.
Take care and God Bless.....
Balmoral Sailor
Zac,
It's been 21 yrs since I was in Panama but I have to say It was a very awesome and interesting country. The only thing I do not miss about Panama was all the SNAKES, yes they were every where. But besides that the country and canal was a special place for me. Remeber when you pass the Bridge Of Americas your Home free Home.
Rodney
rbirditt@hotmail.com
@ Daveh I inderstand completely. I'm only a beginning sailor, but I have a lot of motorcycle miles under my (growing) belt, and I can attest that any vehicle, be it on the water, dirt, or road, has trouble judging the speed of another when the sizes are very disparate. I didn't mean to advocate road rage (or waterway rage). I was just implying that as society continues its mad rush towards self-centered collapse, fools are something that Zac's generation is going to have to suffer even more than my own.
I also try to keep the "stay out of their way and leve them alone" attitude, but I admit that I don't always succeed. Still, if I was perfect then I'd get hung on a tree and nobody wants that. ;-)
Still praying Numbers 6:24-26
Mouse in Whittier
www.myspace.com/mouseonamotorcycleBuy "Death and Coffee" here!
It's pouring rain in Panama right now, and the Miraflores locks camera is drenched. 'Sure hope it clears when Zac goes through, so we can see him. The ship in the locks is totally obscured by raindrops. http://www.pancanal.com/common/multimedia/webcams/viewer-flash/cam-miraflores-hi.html.
Is this the camera we should be watching on Monday or Tuesday?
Marilyn in Woodland Hills
Zac,
Good job!....hope to see you in the locks.
Safe sailing!!!
Betty E., Lomita, CA
Great Picture Jen...thank you.
It's good to get some idea of what Zac will be doing through other people's experiences. Thanks for sharing all.
@Daveh...you mentioned a bread knife for cutting lines if Zac needed to...can you explain?
zac,
when do you think you'll get back home?
i am glad you made it there okkkkkkkkk!
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