Sanctuary (AH 17) - Naval Cruise Book

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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.

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Entering the Atlantic