Heads Up

So how many times has this happened to you? There you are, transiting the 8th (or 11th or 5th depending on which list you consult) wonder of the modern world with people you've never met before and people you barely know. You've planned and prepped for days to make a good...no, a stellar, impression. You want people to look back and remark, even years later: "Do you remember that time we crossed the Panamá Canal in that boat 'More Joy to All'.. or, 'Lots of Joy for Everyone', or whatever it was and it was so awesome? Man, those guys sure knew how to throw a canal crossing party! I've been through the canal 9 times since then on other boats and none of them were anywhere as much fun as that More Joy Something boat."

an una-door-able situation

And thanks to all your planning and, yes, very generous spending, you pull off an excellent, once-in-a-lifetime event.  Flawless, really, except for one small technical difficulty: the head door comes loose from its "hinge" (by design, a piece of plastic covered wire running its length) causing your translucent door to dangle precariously and leaving the unlucky occupant to wonder at how he or she could have misunderstood so egregiously the operation of a door. But they are an exceptionally hardy bunch and all is forgiven, if not forgotten and, after all, the rest of the transit does go beautifully and you arrive at your anchorage and your anchor sets perfectly on the first go and all is well.

"See You on the Other Side"

At Shelter Bay, we hear it alot. It conjures unnerving images of people in matching tennis shoes and large batches of Kool-Aid. But, no, no cult activity implied or intended, just a 47 or so mile trip up three locks, across a lake and a cut and then down three locks to the other side (in our case, the Pacific side) of Panama.

Ready to go!