I have been fascinated by the Panama Canal since I was fortunate enough to help deliver a boat from Antigua to San Francisco. Transiting the canal was one of the highlights of the trip.
The canal was opened in 1914 and removed the need for merchant ships to sail around Cape Horn in order to travel between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Currently 14,000 vessels pass through every year including many private yachts. Ship sizes have increased since the canal was first built and today the largest merchant ships are unable to transit the canal. Work is about to commence on new locks which will accommodate bigger ships, with completion scheduled for 2015.
For those who might never get there by boat or who are planning a trip the Panama Canal Authority has a very comprehensive website with web-cams, photographs and history. Also I found this great video clip of a ship transiting the canal.
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