We arrived at 06.00 hrs at the final approach point to the anchorage and I was happy and not happy at the same time. Happy because the swell was not running into the bay and unhappy that there was still about 15 to 20 knots blowing inside the bay so I could not stay on the engines to enable a close tender distance and speed up the tour departure. The only option was to go directly to the anchorage and get the tender show underway as soon as possible. The authorities were so nice to pre- clear the ship from the dockside and that meant that we could start while they came on board a little bit later to do the paperwork. The Carnival Splendor showed up an hour later at 07.30 and the Carnival Spirit shortly after. They being the bigger ships and being on a more frequent run were assigned to the better anchorages. The Carnival ships do not use their own tenders at all, only shore tenders, but as there are plenty of them we normally also rent  two so we can cover the long distance to the shore with six tenders, 4 of our own and 2 from the agency. Continue reading

It our utter amazement it was a very small world outside when the dawn arrived. As soon as it became daylight we ran into a very low hanging cloud. We never use the F word on the bridge F.O.G. but prefer to talk about restricted visibility or about very low hanging clouds. We had such a cloud this morning and it was hanging very low. The bridge called me just at sunrise when they saw it lying in the distance.  I had a good look at the weather outside and then I realized what it was: Arctic Sea Smoke.  Due to the nearly wind still weather in this area for the last few days it had created the perfect environment for this sea smoke to develop.  Further to the north, abeam of Cabo San Lucas, it is a phenomenon that we expect because cold and warm current come together and with the right wind it can develop here quite easily. In the same way as there is a lot of restricted visibility on the Grand Banks east of Canada. But south of Cabo, just off the coast of Mexico, before we cross the Golfo de California, it is a different story.   However today the conditions were just right. Continue reading

The very calm weather that this area has been having here for the last ten days or so, results in some peculiar situations. The visibility is varying greatly without really following any pattern. Coming up to Hualtalco we had a very clear horizon for a while and today it is really hazy. Acapulco only 12 miles on our starboard side cannot be seen at all. Still it is a lot better than stormy weather and we can have a nice cruising day at sea. Tomorrow there will be a 2nd one when we transit the Golfo de California. There we can expect some cold air flowing down from the upper area that is mostly known as the Sea of Cortez. Quite often that flow can build up to a wind force 5 or 6, only to die down again when we come into the lee of Cabo San Lucas. Continue reading

 Tehuantepec behaved itself and the maximum wind we observed was 27 knots and that is very little for that area. I would be very happy if we had that all the time. As soon as we came under the lee of the land again, the wind died away completely. And with that I mean wind force zero, calm of wind, not a ripple on the ocean. Hualtalco is protected from the wind on all sides except from the entrance side to the South East and that normally means that the wind in the port is very light, but to have a flat calm is something you seldom see. Even in the afternoon, when normally a land wind rises, the wind velocity did not go above 8 knots. Perfect Easter weather as far as I am concerned. By 10.45 am we were at the pilot station and by 11.30am the Chief Officer had safely docked the ship, while I did his job for a change. All of course under the watchful eye of the pilot, who made the appropriate noises in his walkie talkie to keep the linesmen under control and the navy boats out of the way.

Continue reading

 With the Pedal to the Metal we sailed away from Puerto Caldera soon making up for the lost time. I knew the weather was going to be as smooth as could be and that would all help with making speed. With no adverse wind around, nor having been around for the last 7 days, the currents would be predictable and they were. Along the coast of Costa Rica and Nicaragua they gave us an extra push of 1.5 knots until we came abreast of Guatemala. By now we were about 80 miles from land due to this curve in the continent, while we were on a straight course. Here the current keeps following the land but when near Puerto Quetzal the land becomes straight again so the current is directed back to the south and then we get that 1.5 knot against us for about 5 hours. Still over the whole distance between Puerto Caldera and Hualtalco we have on average the current with us and that is always pleasant. Continue reading

By 05.00 I dropped the anchor as close to the dock as possible and by 05.30 we had our tender service in full swing. There was hardly any wind as was forecast and little change was expected, so although we did not dock we could live with it. The dock was occupied by a self unloading bulk carrier and a car carrier. Hence the reason that we had to anchor.  I had tried to arrange for the tours to return in the same way as they departed bus by bus load but most busses came back at the same time and although we had a perfect tender service running, it delayed the return of our guests to the ship as you can only load one tender at the time.  As a result it was passed our official departure time before the last guest was back on board. Then we had an un-expected disembark and that meant that we left the anchorage more than an hour late so I was not a happy camper. Hopefully we can convince the port authorities that we have to dock next time.  Still I will be able to make up the lost time and reach Hualtalco on time. Continue reading

 A sea day with something to do in the afternoon is a nice way to relax after a long and dynamic day in the Panama Canal. I had been keeping my fingers crossed for Golfo Dulce as with the start of the rainy season it can rain here very hard. So hard that visibility can be reduced to less than a quarter of a mile. That does not help with scenic cruising of course as I have to stay half a mile from shore when doing so. The area is not very well charted for close- to-shore sail by’s. We know where the deep water is, but we do not know how deep the shallow area’s are and thus we keep a good distance. There are many rivers ending in Golfo Dulce and they all deposit sediment along the shores and that means that banks are forming everywhere, especially where the tidal movement does not churn the deposits away again. This is happening to the great delight of the fishermen as the forming backs seem to be ideal for clams and oysters. I can never get very excited about sand banks especially if I do not know where they are, and that means that I keep a good distance. We saw some heavy rain clouds nearby depositing a lot of water on the land but luckily it was to the west of us and we had a dry experience with good visibility. Continue reading

As usual it was a bright and early start with my telephone ringing at 03.30 with the wakeup call. When I arrived on the bridge it was a very nice morning, overcast, but no wind and with lots of ships around. The majority at the anchorage but also with ships approaching, ships coming out of the Panama Canal and traffic and in out of the container port of Manzanillo next to the Panama Canal entrance. It kept us all on the bridge happily occupied trying to figure out the best way of getting through it all. The air was full of conversations with varying degrees of understandable English spoken. Chinese English, Panamanian English and a very Greek voice that sounded as if its owner had been eating gravel for breakfast and had then washed it down with a least a litre of Scotch. As requested we entered the breakwater at 0500 hrs only to find our way blocked by a enormous dredger. We could not miss it, as it was lit up like a Christmas tree but Cristobal signal Station only advised to keep clear of it after I had already done so. We had been made aware of its existence by a rather heated exchange over the VHF between the Skipper of the Dredge and the Panama Canal Control about sitting on one side of the Canal fairway or on the other. When we entered the breakwaters it had just moved to the West, so we sailed by on the East side and then we drifted while the whole clearance routine took place. Boarding Officer, Fumigation Officer (disappointed again as we did not have Yellow Fever, nor cockroaches nor rats on board) Panama Canal Technician, Ships Agent, narrator and then finally the Pilot. Continue reading

 With the wind in the back we sailed away from Aruba and that following wind, nearly Gale force wind will remain with us until we come in the lee of Panama. For most of the day we will sail above an area (about 10,000 feet above) that is called the Colombian Basin. Basically the name indicates a fairly flat area (if you compare hilly ridges of a few 100 feet with the average depth of 10,000 feet) surrounded by high mountain ranges. The South and Eastern side are Panama and Colombia which come as land above sea water level but are basically nothing else than but tips of these mountain ranges. Because some of these tips are so wide and large we call them continents. As we are approaching Panama on a straight course, with somewhere behind us major ports and also the only route for ships to follow to get to the East side of South America, it is busy with shipping. Ships either coming or going to the Panama Canal itself, or to the port of Manzanillo just to the East of Cristobal. Manzanillo is a recently created container port which came into life when Panama started to redevelop the Panama – Trans Continental – Railroad. Now there is for container services the option to land containers at one side of the Canal, send them across by train and load them back on ships at the Balboa side. It saves the Panama Canal transit. Tomorrow we will see several times during the day one of the trains with containers coming by. Continue reading

 For those who are interested and want to try and catch our transit on the webcams:

http://www.pancanal.com/eng/photo/camera-java.html

The below was received today: Please note Panama Canal Authority has scheduled your vessel to commence Panama Canal transit at 0500hrs (GMT minus five hours), therefore you should adjust ETA to be 0500 hrs @ breakwaters entrance @ this time to pick transit pilots up. Once at radio range please contact Cristobal Signal station on VHF channel 12 for latest traffic and transit information.

 Transit will continue as follows:

Gatun locks (East Lane) Arriving 0630 hrs Departing 0815 hrs

Passing by Gamboa 1110 hrs

Pedro Miguel Locks (East Lane) Arriving 1240 hrs Departing 1320 hrs

Miraflores locks (East Lane) Arriving 1415 hrs Departing 1515 hrs

ETD Balboa 1700 hrs

Note: after 08.15, this schedule might be subject to extremely much change as it depends on the speeds of the other ships in our convoy and that of the opposing one. Time difference: 6 hours earlier than in Holland, 5 hours earlier than in England. 1 hr earlier than East Coast USA 2 hrs later than West coast US.