November 30 :: Panama City

Somewhere along the lines of my research I read that travelers wishing to sail from one ocean to the other via the canal could easily find work as a 'line handler' on a private yacht. By law, each boat passing through the canal needs four line handlers, and if they were short, some captains would take on a novice just to meet the hands quota. So, first thing in the morning I took a cab to the Balboa Yacht Club where, sadly, there was less than nothing going on. I had envisioned sailing off for a couple of days on some yacht, capturing the experience of physically passing through the canal locks standing on deck. But, alas, it wasn't to be. One captain I did speak to said my best bet was to put my name in the office and wait it out. That simply wasn't going to happen. Though discouraged, I decided, nevertheless, to head over to the more upscale Flamenco Yacht Club further up the causeway. Maybe I would have better luck there. So, I started hoofing it along the water's edge. Briefly. I hadn't eaten breakfast, and it was rather hot and humid, so I abandoned my walk and hailed another cab. By this point, I had sort of lost my optimism for getting work on a boat, but I was excited to get to this particular yacht club because I had heard from somebody in my hostel that Tom Perkins' personal yacht, The Maltese Falcon, was in the dock. And there it was! The most expensive personal yacht in the entire world. I first became familiar with the name Tom Perkins when I was wowed by his feature on 60 Minutes. More recently, I had just finished reading his autobiography, Valley Boy. The final chapters of his book detail the construction of this amazing craft, and how it's since been the talk of the entire boating world - a true scientific and engineering wonder. What luck that it was docked, right here, right now, in Panama City, with it's giant carbon fiber masts towering into the sky. Totally worth the cab ride, despite the fact that the line handling situation was similarly bleak.