Photo by @taylorglenn // The Gatun Locks of the Panama Canal slowly close to begin filling with water from Lake Gatun to raise our sailboat through the next portion of the locks. Did you know the canal allows private vessels along with all the commercial ships making transit between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans? If you need to get your boat from one ocean to the other then you can arrange passage through one of the modern engineering feats of humankind. Started by France in 1881 and finished in 1914 by the United States, the Panama Canal is one of the most ambitious projects ever conceived. It is a fascinating story and worth taking time to read. Amazingly the original locks and equipment are still flawlessly operating today. Positioned at each end of Lake Gatun, the locks raise ships to the level of the artificial waterway for crossing and then lower them at the other end back to the ocean. Scroll through the slides here for a bit of what I saw from inside the canal on a recent transit from the Atlantic to Pacific. 1) Inside the Gatun locks as the gates close. 2) Harbor pilots board a commercial vessel to assist in navigation into the locks. 3) A lineman works to position us inside the lock. 4) A ship enters into the lower Gatun lock. 5) We shared the transit of the Gatun locks with this large ship. 6) At first light the next morning a harbor pilot boards our vessel to sail us through Lake Gatun. All ships require a Panamanian harbor pilot for transit of the canal. 7) Lake Gatun and the Centennial bridge. 8) A lineman with the Miraflores Locks works with our crew to guide our vessels into position. 9) Tourists at the Miraflores visitor center observe ships making transit of the locks. 10) The final lock opens and the Pacific Ocean is ahead. #sailing #canaldepanama #panama #panamacanal #travel #engineering Follow me @taylorglenn for more travel and adventure around the globe

natgeotravelさん(@natgeotravel)が投稿した動画 - 2018/02/13 05:17:37