After about 48 hours in Panama City we had to leave again. The alarm was set for two o’clock in the morning as we had to be on the boat before three. Shortly after we left and headed out of the marina and around the island where we had to wait for the pilot. In the end we waited one and a half hours before the pilot boarded and we could head for the canal.

The lock we had to share with a big ship as is common practice. For the first two chambers it was a tanker. While it was attached to locomotives that would automatically keep the lines under tension, we had to take them up manually as we wen up in the lock. For this purpose we had been rafted up with CV23 – Scotland before getting into the lock. Thus only one bow and one stern line had to be handled per boat. Already in the first chamber we were reminded why swimming in the canal was not recommended. A crocodile was drifting past us, feeding on the fish floating belly up near the surface.

After the first two locks followed a short drive before the third lock brought us to the final level. A true marvel of engineering ingenuity, which had cost thousands of lives during its construction. The following passage was not too exciting, except for the encounters with the big ships passing only a couple of metres away. Due to the early morning I decided to take a nap after lunchtime. Despite the still high temperatures I slept better than expected. Thus I missed our arrival into the Atlantic. Apparently the night before had been short enough. Nonetheless it is a huge step to be back in the Atlantic. In a few weeks time we will close the circle as we head back to Portsmouth.

But before we are heading to Washington DC. Just after leaving the canal we met with the other boat, which had completed their canal transit the days before. Together we were going towards the agreed starting point for the race. And since lunchtime today we are back racing. The first target is a gate of marks between Jamaica and Haiti. After that we continue heading north past Cuba and the Bahamas. If everything goes well we might arrive in Washington in just over a week.