A few bits of Panama Canal trivia:
The original lock control towers had pretty tiled roofes with eaves. After ships became larger, the eaves got in the way and were reworked with hinges, which flipped up when a big ship travelled through. Now, with large ships being the majority, the eaves were sliced off, giving the buildings a rather shaved appearance.
Smaller ships travel at night. At critival bends in the canal are two set of ranges, one (with a cross) puts large ships into mid canal, one (with a vertical stripe) leads smaller ships into a passing lane keeping to starboard of the channel.
Ships waiting at Panama Bay at anchor for permission to transit, are not allowed to point their bow to the canal entrance. That is to make it easier to spot the moving ships on video, in case one has to be stopped for security reasons.
The Panama Canal Yacht club is abanconed now for security reasons, but a couple of derelict boats overgrown with vines, remain on the fenced off property.
Cities, ports and roads are located on the east side of the Canal, to leave the west side free for lock expansions. New sets of locks at either end of the canal are scheduled to operate on the 100th anniversary of the canal, in 2014. Excavation is in full swing, and concrete plants are constructed to fulfill the need for concrete.
The transoceanic highway between Panama City and Colon has been constructed by Mexican and Brazilian contractors.
The new canal locks are financed by Panama, as to avoid unintentional 'ownership' by foreign banks.
All the 'made in Asia' goods travel from the Pacific to the Atlantic, all the 'Western Goods' travel the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Cruise Ships make up 2% of the total Canal traffic.
The Canal earns 200 million dollars per day.
Some Mega Yachts transit the Canal piggy backing on 'Dock Wise Transport', huge carriers loaded with gleaming crafts.
A large warship took 16 hours to transit the canal, as it had only 5 inches to spare on each side. The fasted ship was a military hydrofoil, which transited in two hours.
The lock-panels, some 86 feet high, are closed and opened by 18 horsepower engines.
The locks panels are filled with air, so they float if they have to be lifted out by huge cranes for repairs or maintenance . There are a number of spare panels, all originating from early 1900.
Each transit looses about 100 million gallons of water from Gatun Lake into either of the two Oceans, hence the desire for very rainy Rainy Seasons.
We enjoyed a pleasant transit, with a bit of rain thrown in, which turned our offered Panama Buns (downuts filled with peach jam) into a bit of a soggy mess, nevertheless quite tasty. The passengers on Amsterdam were spoiled all through the journey with snacks, drinks, and coffee and tea carried around by attendants.
A helicopter rented by the ships photographer recorded the whole enchilada. However, friends in Canada watched the Panama Canal webcam (www.pancanal.com) for the appearance of Amsterdam in the locks. A received an e-mail with an attached photo of Amsterdam entering San Pedro Locks, an hour after she exited it. Modern technology marvels beside an old world engineering marvel.
