Sunday 02 November
2008, San José, Costa
Rica
Panama Canal Cruise
Reveals History, Future
By Dianne Newcomer
- Spain founded its
first settlement in the
New World in Panama and
made this tiny country
its shipping center for
all the riches it
acquired in South
America.
- In 1851, the
California gold rushers
needed a way to
transport their fortunes
to the East Coast, so
that's why the United
States was given
permission to build the
first intercontinental
railway between the two
oceans.
- In 1904, the
French convinced the
Panamanian people a
canal would be better
than a railroad.
Unfortunately, their
attempt at this gigantic
construction task was so
thwarted by climate,
disease and bad
management that the
United States had to
step in and rescue the
project.
- To build the
50-mile-long Panama
Canal connecting two
oceans took 10 years,
$400 million and the
lives of more than
27,000 men, but its
completion saved seamen
8,000 miles of travel
time on a journey from
New York City to
California.
- The average cost
of a toll to transit the
canal is $54,000; the
most expensive toll to
date was $331,200 paid
by the Disney Magic
cruise liner; the
cheapest toll was 36
cents paid by Richard
Halliburton who swam the
canal — in 10 days.
- On Dec. 31,
1999, the U.S.
officially transferred
Canal ownership and full
responsibility to the
government of Panama.
This strategic crossroad
of the world seems to be
faring well under
Panamanian leadership.
Today's canal ushers
through some 14,000
vessels — an astounding
4 percent of the world's
maritime commerce. The
ingenious system put in
place still works well.
However, change is
coming. Plans to turn
the present "two-lane
canal" into a
"three-lane water
highway" have already
begun. The new locks are
a sign of the times;
they are being added to
ensure the U.S. fleet
unobstructed passage
between the oceans in
case of emergency.
Designed to comfortably
accommodate the largest
battleships in the
Navy's fleet, the locks
will be equipped with
every anti-sabotage
safeguard known. The
idea is to keep the zone
open and safe at all
times. The goal is to
prevent another Pearl
Harbor from happening .
As a travel agent, I
think our military
masterminds have a great
plan. I figure if the
canal locks are widened
to accommodate our
biggest men-of-war
battleships, then that
means every cruise ship
— from the Queen Mary to
the Freedom of the Seas
— will one day be able
to transit the canal,
too.
The world of cruising
just gets bigger and
better! That's sort of
hard to envision if you
have never done a canal
crossing because, from
the moment your ship
enters "the zone," you
stand in awe at the
American ingenuity and
sheer guts that devised
this workable plan to
get from one ocean to
another.
Let me very briefly
describe what makes a
trans-canal cruise so
amazing:
An Atlantic to Pacific
crossing begins when
three pairs of concrete
chambers lift your
cruise ship about 85
feet from sea level to
Gatun Lake. Small
electric locomotives
called "mules" run on
tracks along both sides
of these locks and then
pull your ship up an
incline through the
locks. When they arrive
at the end of each
chamber, you have
reached the next higher
level. Depending on the
size of your cruise
ship, anywhere from four
to 12 locomotives, or
mules, will be utilized.
As your cruise ship
approaches the first
chambers, engines are
shut off while canal
workers quickly fasten
the ends of the
locomotives' towing
cables to the vessel.
Your ship is then pulled
into the first lock.
Huge steel gates close
behind the ship. Valves
that allow water from
Gatun Lake to flow into
the chamber through
openings in the bottom
of the lock are suddenly
opened.
The rising water lifts
your ship. When the
level of the water is
the same as that in the
second chamber, the
gates in front of your
ship swing open and the
mules pull you into the
next chamber where the
process is repeated
again.
By the time your ship
completes the third
chamber, the process has
raised your ship to the
level of Gatun Lake. The
canal workers then
release the cables, and
your cruise ship sails
out of the locks under
its own power, heading
for an 8-mile,
500-foot-wide channel
called Gaillard's Cut,
the next stepping stone
to the Pacific Ocean.
After steaming out of
Gaillard's Cut, which is
said to be a minimum of
42 feet deep, the mules
swing into action again.
Now they must pull the
ship into the Pedro
Miguel Locks. In one
very efficient move, our
huge luxury ship was
lowered 31 feet until,
suddenly, we found
ourselves cruising into
a man-made lake called
Miraflores.
Miraflores was the home
of the last two chambers
that lowered our ship
before spitting us into
the Pacific. At this
point, I became very
aware of just how
amazing our world really
is because at this point
I learned oceans are not
created equally.
For example, the Pacific
Ocean is entirely
different from the
Atlantic. At any time
during the day, the
height of her tides can
rise and fall about 12
feet whereas tides on
the Atlantic side change
only about 2 feet daily.
Therefore, on any given
day, the distance these
chambers must lower a
ship depends strictly on
the height of the tide
in the Pacific.
How amazing is that:
Mother Nature is always
there to remind us that
she — not man nor
machinery—is ultimately
in control. She gives
each trans-canal voyager
that one last little
reminder before allowing
you to cruise off into
the open waters of the
Pacific.
Trans-canal cruising
season has just started.
Cruise ships will depart
weekly until mid-April,
and, depending on your
point of embarkation and
choice of ports,
sailings will be
anywhere from 10 to 14
days.
Let me give you a point
of reference for
pricing: last week, an
outside cabin on a
14-day sailing from San
Diego to Ft. Lauderdale
on Jan. 31 aboard
Celebrity's beautiful
Mercury ran $1,750 per
person.
This 8-hour,
50-mile-long journey has
made a world of
difference in the lives
of seamen for years, and
it can do the same for
you. Call your travel
agent for a free
brochure. Let us help
you find the best price
and best way to get in
"the zone."
Some say the Panama
Canal is the eighth
wonder of the world. Go,
see for yourself. |
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