The Thin Line Between Love and (Haiti) - (almost) Iron Maiden

As ever ‘ambitions and projects’ were buzzing around my head as 2012 was about to come to a close, but who could have imagined how most, if not all, of the eggs would fit neatly into one basket? Of these, and despite a close on 50 years career as a mariner, there were 2 things in that direction which had evaded me, (1) crossing the Atlantic Ocean from coast to coast and (2) transiting the Panama Canal but no such issue with Suez! On occasion we had worked 5 - 6 -700 miles into this mighty seaway, but never anywhere near that full 5,000 miles, and just the once, during the 3 Amigos'

 Rather Rotund William

(political correctness doesn't allow for the usage of such profanities as)

Big Fat Billy

 Moi

 Jim the Medic

 transit of all 7 countries of Central America from 

Mexco City to Panama City and seen here as guests of the 

Crawford Family and Deputy Prime Minister of Beleize at the 

Crooked Tree Fish Festival in 2004,

did Billy and I later stand on the parapet of the

 PANAMA CANAL

 Down She Goes

With these 2 projects most forward in my mind there was also the consideration of visiting the final dozen or so Countries and/or Island Nations of the America’s, not thus far gotten round to, which would likely make it the longest single ‘pleasure junket’ ever made.

but we digress!

The logistics of such a venture were considered enormous and there was much 

searching of the Internet to find a vessel going my way and even considering

Working My Passage

It really should have been my 'first port of call' so to speak during that search as having

visited the most wonderful place on earth

ANTARCTICA 

with Voyages of Discovery in 2007 on the vessel of the same name, Discovery that is.

Clicking their site it was found that her sister ship the SS Voyager was about to set sail

on a mammoth trans-Atlantic from Portsmouth, through the Caribbean, transit the Canal, rounding

Cape Horn and a bit more of the Caribbean before returning to Pompey!

Lady L**k

(we don't like to use the word for fear that she might run away)

was surely on my side but there were some stumbling blocks to negotiate.

Firstly there were only 2 cabins left and both doubles for which there could have been a premium, but also fell to my advantage, stowing my un-needed kit onboard while making my own way and then leaving the vessel at the southern end of the Panama Canal. Taken as read, the fact that I would have to enter myself into the country and pay all dues and customs was a foregone and then picking the ship up again, at a convienient port, for the return voyage, which turned out to be

Kingston, Jamaica.

Of all the prospective counties to be visited while solo

one stood out like a sore thumb and had to be approached with trepidation!

TO BE CONTINUED