The Canal authority decided to keep the schedule unaltered and thus I was on the bridge at 0400 hrs. to start operations. Shortly before 5 we started picking up the anchor and as the holding ground is so good here, (very thick grey clay) I had to run the anchor over the top to break it out of the ground. (This is a maneuver whereby you slowly steam forward until the anchor is past the bow of the ship and is forced by the ships pull on the chain to “flip over” causing the flukes to break out of the ground). The one danger it has is that the flukes then fall the wrong way when coming up and the anchor does not want to fit in the hawse pipe. When the anchor party had finally washed about 5 tons of mud from the anchor it showed indeed that the flukes had falling the wrong way. So we kept the anchor outside the hawse pipe and slowly steamed towards the pilot waiting area. While there we let the anchor go again and when it hit the sea bottom the flukes fell back the right way and we could put the anchor in its housing.
While I was happily occupied with this, the Canal Circus was going on at the gangway. Agent, Canal clearance party, narrator, canal technician delivering the navigation computer for the pilot, T shirt supplies and the photographers going off (for shooting photos in the locks). The only one who was missing was the fumigator. It was a holiday today in Panama and maybe he assumed that there are no bugs around on such a day.
By 0600 we were on our way, heading slowly to the first locks, arranged for us at 08.15. We were directed to the East Lock of Miraflores, which was a bit strange as the West lock was already available. All was revealed shortly after as N20Z had missed the convoy and had to catch up. So we, N21Z, were moved aside into the other chamber, making it possible for N20Z to overtake and get into line again.
The concrete sides of the new locks can now we be seen taking shape.
Once that was sorted out the convoy happily moved through the Canal, as scheduled. N20Z (which means nbr. 20 of the Northbound Convoy) was a slow bulk carrier making only 10 knots and thus the whole parade had to sail accordingly. It did not give me the chance to go a bit faster and to nibble some time off the crossing. Guests do not notice that, as for them there is no difference between sailing through Gatun Lake with 7 knots or with 14 knots but I can save 90 minutes that way and thus a lot of fuel during the stretch from Cristobal to Cartagena. Not such a thing this time, we left the Canal exactly on schedule.
The Seabourn Sojourn. (Stock Photo; Seabourn)
We had two highlights during this transit, first we could see the new locks near the Miraflores Locks taking shape with the concrete sidewalls going up and 2ndly we passed the Seabourn Sojourn who was coming the opposite way. As Seabourn is now part of Holland America, we are all colleagues and thus a good reason to honk the horn. Which was nicely answered by also giving three long blasts in return.
In the last locks we had a small motor/fishing yacht going through with us which parked itself under our bow, while we descended the 89 feet down to Atlantic Sea level again. According to the wisdom of the pilots, somebody had bought this sport fishing boat and now it was sailed to its new owner from the Pacific to the Atlantic. It was quite windy once we left the Canal behind giving them a bumpy ride to wherever they were going.
We are heading to Cartagena, Colombia, and I am scheduled to be at the pilot station at 08.45, for a 10 am. docking. The plan is to go stern in, as the lifeboat committee (still testing things) wants to lower the portside lifeboats. The other side of the dock is occupied by the Island Princess and thus I cannot dock nose in.
Stern in/nose out is then better anyway, as the I.P is supposed to leave at the same time, and if they go first, then I will be delayed by 45 minutes while they swing around. If I can get off the dock first, I can shoot straight out, do not delay them and do not get delayed myself.
It will be a windy night while we are at sea, but Cartagena is a sheltered port for North Easterly (trade) winds and it should be wind still in the port and very warm.
November 7, 2012 at 12:31 am
Captain, what type of anchor does the Statendam have?
November 7, 2012 at 7:28 pm
Good morning,
The statendam has three anchors. Two at the bow, one on each side, and one at the stern. They are made from heavy duty steel, so they do not crack on impact when hitting the bottom of the sea. Weight is about 12000 pounds (6000 kg) and the two flukes can swivel around a shaft going through the anchor stock (that is the pole in the middle) so that when the anchor hits the bottom, the flukes turn to the bottom and then it digs itself in and hold the anchor chain, with the ship, attached in place.
Best regards
Capt. Albert
November 7, 2012 at 9:05 am
One made of metal I would think…..
November 8, 2012 at 12:51 am
Thank you very much, Captain! Must pay more attention to the “fluke” anchor once you’re back in the harbour. I found out, viz., that there are Admiralty Pattern, Stockless, Delta, Claw style anchors, etc. Most of all, I remember that, once upon a time, you had more than one experience with hooking into
“mushroom” anchors 🙂