Carribean Sea and Panama

Between Trinidad and the Panama Canal we encountered some very tranquil seas. The water was as smooth as glass. Large sea turtles were surfaced and their backs were dry. Perched on the back of each turtle was a sea gull. The temptation was to great. Some of our officers broke out small arms and tried to pick off the sea gulls.

Most of the crew was looking forward to liberty in Balboa after going through the Canal. It took most of the day to make this trip and we did not secure the ship until 2042 hours in Balboa, at which time liberty commenced. The length of liberty was approximately 1 1/2 hours duration. How so many sailors filled their own tanks in that time interval must have been some kind of record.