Sanctuary (AH 17) - Naval Cruise Book

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sHiFr cotonsz UNDERWAY The Colombian congregation on hand to bid SANCTUARY farewell wasn't quite as large in number as the crowd that met us on our arrival, but what this group lacked in number, it made up in enthusiasm. On hand, as we prepared to shift colors and leave Buenaventura, were the friends we had made there, either through our Project Handclasp activities or on a personal level. There to say goodbye were the Catholic Nuns whose orphanages received much needed Handclasp supplies and materials, many of the patients who had been given a second chance through surgery or therapeutic equipment from the ship's hospital, the Colombian interpreters who had helped bridge the communication gap during our month's stay, a taxi cab driver who drove from Cali to Buenaventura to say goodbye to the crew members he had made feel welcome in his home town, and, of course, Henry from the International Club. As we pulled out to the sounds of the Colombian and American National Anthems, it was hard to accept the fact that most of us would never make it back to continue the friendships we had made during our short stay in Buenaventura. But our mission was only half complete, and there would be new people to meet and more Project Handclasp duties to perform. So it was Goodbye Colombia, next stop Panama Canal and Haiti.

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PANAMA CANAL You had read about and seen pictures of the Panama Canal, but to actually be going through it was quite an experience. We did just that on 9 November 1973, and, with a boatful of visitors to share the day with us, we got to see the marvel of this waterway that joins the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Just the chance to see and have the mechanics of the operation explained to us was well-worth the 8-hour transit, but with the scenery along the canal, the overnight stop in Panama City, and just the knowledge that we were taking part in something that most Americans never get a chance to go through, this had to be one of the memorable parts of our SANCTUARY Experience. The canal itself was opened in 1914 after almost 40 years of attempts and failures by France and the United States to get the waterway completed. The original idea was to build a sea level canal to link the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, but this concept proved not feasible, and was replaced by the lock-type canal we saw in our transit. Each chamber in the lock system is 1,000 feet long and 110 feet wide. The water employed to fill and empty the lock chambers is fed by gravity through large culverts in the sides and center walls of the locks. This water finally flows down from Gatun Lake into the sea as the chambers empty. A complete ship transit from ocean to ocean results in the release of 52 million gallons of fresh water from Gatun Lake into the ocean. The limitations imposed on ship sizes by the locks and the channel depth, maintained 42 feet through Gatun Lake and Gaillard Cut, prevent a number of the world's largest vessels from using the canal, a vast majority of the world's ships, however, can make the passage. Tolls for use of the canal are based on Panama Canal net tons, computed on the basis of 100 cubic feet of revenue space. Average tolls are about 35,100 for oceangoing commercial vessels. Using the canal rather than circling South America may save shippers 10 times the cost of passage. The Canal -Zone extends generally five miles on each side of the Panama Canal. Its area is 557 square miles. No private business is permitted except that which is directly related to the operation of the canal. With few exceptions, only persons working for the United States government may reside in the zone. The population is 42,122. The Canal Zone is the headquarters for the Southern Command, which directs the United States Military effort over 7.5 million square miles of the Latin America land mass.