Newsletter November 2003

"We’ve got to get out of this place before we get too fat! "

John Steinbeck, much like the zany crew of Pipe Dream, wrote excerpts of his travels. In John’s book, “The Log of the Sea of Cortez”, he gets very scientific (us authors refer to each other by first names). The crew of Pipe Dream has also dabbled in scientific studies during our three year trek down Central America, through the Panama Canal, and into the Caribbean. We feel the time is right to release our studies. Much to our chagrin, we came to the conclusion that “Partying is fattening”, and that sucks!!!!
We finished the last newsletter a few days before the centennial celebration party of Panama - and what a party it was! Due to our celebrity status in Panama City, we were invited to a “small” two day party on Balboa Avenue (which is the city’s waterfront boulevard). Estimates put the crowd at about 1,000,000 people. There were stages set up at various locations and stars from all over Central America performed. There were parades in many parts of the city lasting all day, and the most spectacular fireworks displays I have ever seen. Every hundred yards or so there were beer, food, and refreshment stands for us to enjoy. Keep in mind, Panama, Balboa, and Atlas beers are fifty cents per can, and we drank our share. It was the polite thing to do.
Our brief stay in Panama City lasted over two months. This is a very cosmopolitan city and hard to break away from. There are wonderful restaurants, wine bars, super markets, and a myriad of boat hardware and electrical stores to drag us back on shore on a daily basis. From our anchorage we look out on one of the most beautiful skylines we have ever seen. The big drawback is that it’s really easy to spend money. Panama City, being an international port, offers goods and services at a very good price. It seems we are going broke saving money. A few repairs to Pipe Dream and the purchase of a wind generator, thirty yards of canvas material, re-wiring the boat, etc. etc. etc. took care of any extra cash we had lying around. I forgot to mention the Panama Canal transit fee which is a big blow to the pocketbook. Well, easy come, easy go, I can always get a job as a greeter at Wal Mart.
Broke, tired, and a few pounds heavier it was time to blow this town and cross the big ditch. Jutta and I have plans to return to the Pacific side of Panama some day but we will tell you about that at a later date. It was time to schedule our transit of the Panama Canal. This has been a real mile stone for me as a sailor to cross in my own boat. (I would have said “yacht” but the tax man might be bugging the e-mail!) Our canal adventure started with arranging with friends to act as line handlers, hanging tires all around Pipe Dream to serve as bumpers, eighteen to be exact, and renting four 125 foot ,7/8 inch lines to hold Pipe Dream during the passage through the locks. We then notified the canal authority that Pipe Dream was ready to cross the canal. At this point, admeasurer comes out to the boat and literally measures the boat to the inch, length, beam (width), and height above water line. He spends about 1 hour asking dumb questions about the boat, like how much fuel we carry, are we transporting frozen foods, do we have any pets, does our head work etc.(for those of you in Yuma Arizona, a head is a bathroom on a boat). That same evening after 6:00 pm, we called the scheduler and he gave us our transit date. Oh, I almost forgot, I had to go to the bank and give them $1440.00 for the transit, of which $640.00 was for the transit and $800.00 was a buffer or deposit to be refunded. I assured them we wouldn’t damage their canal but they still needed a deposit. On the morning of November 20, 2003, Pipe Dream headed for the Miraflores Locks in the Panama Canal. Aboard were five friends acting as line handlers (four needed by the canal), and an advisor or pilot employed by the canal. We climbed approximately 85 feet through three locks, then motored 5 hours through Gatun Lake to reach the last three locks that would dump us into the Bay of Colon and the Caribbean. During the last three hours of our crossing we were in a torrential downpour. If you have ever been in Central America in the rainy season, water literally comes down in buckets, sometimes for days on end. Our crew, all dressed in foul weather gear, looked like drowned rats but smiling all the time. It truly was a great adventure and fun was had by all. Upon completing the final lock, a pilot boat came along side and we bid farewell to our pilot. We proceeded into Colon Harbor, dropped the hook, broke out the champagne and caviar, and it was another party. The celebration lasted well into the night and all the line handlers stayed on Pipe Dream, our first pajama party, and we do have beds for eight.
The highlight of our stay in Colon was to be the Thanksgiving dinner at the Panama Canal Yacht Club. The Panama Canal Yacht Club is a crumbling, broken down building with docks in the same condition. The important thing is they have a decent bar (although cockroaches have been seen scurrying along the counter top) and restaurant. When we saw a flier announcing Thanksgiving dinner for $8.00 per person with all the trimmings, we thought what a bargain, and signed up. One day before the dinner we found out the cooks were Chinese, a dinner with an international flair! The turkey tasted like cardboard, grandma’s dressing was Chinese style and the gravy was Kikkoman style. The instant box potatoes topped off the meal. Jutta named it “Turkey Chop Choy with all the trimmings”. (To Ryan and Jody I just want to say that the Christmas turkey in Mexico wasn’t that bad after all). Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful, we were thankful we survived this memorable dinner.
The zany crew of Pipe Dream has been in Colon, Panama for about two weeks. It’s time to raise the anchor and sail north to Bocas del Toro. Jim and Gail Philo from Phoenix will be joining us for the holidays.
Please keep in mind Christmas is a time for giving. There are a lot of less fortunate people in this world who are suffering. So remember the “Keep Ferdy Cruising Fund”, a dollar spent today keeps Ferdy farther away.
From the decks of Pipe Dream
Ferdy and Jutta