Well, the story is that the freighter we were supposed to lock up with this morning got delayed, and the tanker that took its place was a Panamax, meaning there was no room left for me. So now, I am supposed to get the advisor at 3:30pm, and start locking up to Gatun about 4pm. But they are saying I will continue straight through, locking down on the Pacific side at about 1:30am. This would allow my crew to still make their flights home, but may also make the trip a bit more challenging, as we’ll cross the lake at night, lock down at night, and have to find the Balboa yacht Club at night.
Apparently I have some kind of departure/arrival jinx, as the weather can be perfect for weeks on end, but the day I want to leave, or the day I arrive somewhere, all hell breaks loose. Last night was looking great, with a full moon and light breeze. Then at about 1am, dark clouds moved in, and a fierce lightning storm erupted, flashing all around us, knocking out the electricity, and unleashing some torrential rain. It had lessened a bit by the time we left the dock at 5am, but the wind was still 15 knots in the harbor. So we’ll see what this afternoon delivers…
Ah well, it is what it is, and we’ll make the best of it.
5/4 8am back in Shelter Bay…