Home » Panama » DYED IN THE WOOL - AND THE 15 CAN TRANSIT…

Or is that……died in the wool…..some kinky kiwi sexual asphyxiation fetish….and what inspired that thought?…..I'm just recovering from the 15 can transit, yes, I’ve pulled it off, right thru’ the far canal in a yacht!

Where were we?…..I think leaving Bogota was last up, I’m still trying to summarise the last 6 months in south America, so hard to get my thoughts aligned, so much was there.

DYED IN THE WOOL - AND THE 15 CAN TRANSIT…

Bill Shum
2006-08-21 17:16:49

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a charming young woman from a local restaurant, who needed some English tuition and I agreed to help her, something like that….omg

Thursday night I went aboard Phaedra as we had an early start, hopefully, on Friday, all traffic thru’ the canal is highly organised but many of the yachts were getting times bounced, jumped and confusion and uncertainty are the order of the day. Hanging out at the sort of marina, several dozen yachts, massive container ships hanging around, a bit further out, slouching around, waiting their turn, from time to time one would fire up, edging its way thru’ the crowd, oozing up the canal entrance, quite fast for something so huge, I’d been down a few nights earlier to help get Phaedra back in the water and as we drove up the channel to the marina, a fcuking great container ship just smoothed by us, like at 20 knots or more, scary stuff, they are pretty intimidating when you’re in a 45 footer about 50 feet away, all you can see is a gigantic wall of steel.

From shore you can hear, almost feel, the throb of mighty diesels, propellers thrashing the water, surprisingly little wake, must be good design, the tugs and pilot boats, by comparison, throw out huge washes that have all the yachts bucking and twisting like a mob of frightened horses. Last supper ashore, pizzas on Mondays so a meat fest Thursday, Argy style if not quite the quality or quantity, but hey, a bucket of meat is a bucket
of meat, several beers and a (last) bottle of good old Casillera del Diablo from Chile, man, this wine turns up everywhere, as ubiquitous as Rawsons Retreat and about the same quality so when you get it for 5 bucks in the stupourmarket you reckon you’re ahead of the game, 20 bucks in a wannabe restaurant and you balk.

Friday morning, tension mounting, we have 20 tyres hanging off the sides, 120 foot ropes, big, thick suckers, in each corner, in the locks we will be strung out like a cats cradle from 4 corners, ...