The Doldrums

Hi everyone.  I'm writing this as we motor sail across the doldrums.  We are 300 miles out from the Panama Canal having had a really easy transit.  All the yachties have been paranoid about getting into a big lock with a ship of 30,000 tons as the water that gets shoved around by such a big vessel causes unbelievable surges which can easily snap the lines holding your yacht in the lock.   Usually you get rafted up with another couple of similar yachts and go into the first flight of three locks all side by side.  Then the two outer yachts pass heavy lines (often rented specially or borrowed) to line handlers on the lock side who then make fast to bollards.  The going up and coming down ain't too bad, but there is often a wall of water shoved back onto you as the ship ahead moves off. Fortunately the boat we should have transited with overslept so we went solo and the ship in front was very careful so we had no problems.  One or two yachts we know of recorded 15 knots of current under them (bearing in mind they were still tied to the lock sides!) as the ship moved off.  As you'll imagine, if any of your lines break or are let go at the wrong moment there can be terrible damage.  Still as I say we got through no worries and (contrary to what I was led to believe) the pilots you are allocated for the transit are, for the most part, highly professional young men who are training to become ship pilots.   Apparently one error at the training stage (damaged yacht for example) can mean a complete stop to a career!!

 So the doldrums are everything they are supposed to be.   Hot, airless no wind sheet lightning all around the sky every night.  We have heard that the safest place to keep electronic equipment to avoid damage from high energy lightning nearby is (wait for it !!) in the oven!!!  SO long as you remember to take it out before baking bread.  The metal oven works as a faraday cage and is supposed to help.  We put the handheld GPS and Navico radio there last night.  What else can you do??

 Just now we're motoring at 5 knots with a very slight breeze from almost dead ahead in the hope of crossing the doldrums area and getting into the SE trades by the end of tomorrow.  Hopefully the Mercedes engine and the old gearbox won't mind and then we can give them a rest as we sail the remaining 500 miles to the Galapagos Islands where incidentally they have relaxed the rules to allow yachts to stop over. 

More anon.

 Peter, Sally Suzy and Sophie.