‘Ain’t no stopping now
THE Panama canal could be described as the world’s biggest shortcut, or the world’s shortest big cut.
For circumnavigators on the popular tradewind route from east to west, fondly described as the ‘barefoot route’ or ‘coconut milk run’, it provides a path to the Pacific without having to brave the Northwest Passage, or infamous routes around South America. The downside is the fees involved, but these are likely to be nothing compared to those a trip around ‘the Horn’ might induce in boat repairs.
PREPARATIONS
For us, the whole procedure began prior to our arrival in Panama by contacting a canal agent. While not a necessity, we made the decision to use an agent for convenience and time efficiency, since our crew for the canal transit were to fly home from Ecuador a few weeks later.
Our agent insisted we go to Shelter Bay marina, next to the canal entrance on the Atlantic side, to get measured by the canal officials, which he arranged promptly for the day after our
