by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
Jeanne Miller, the division chief of Legislative Affairs for the City Council, recalls how, before the start of a recent meeting, Council president Lad Daniels asked everyone in the room to reveal something about themselves that many may not know.
Miller stirred only for a moment, while others seated around the conference table revealed mostly tame past accomplishments, before remembering a piece of her past long forgotten and rarely discussed.
A self-described “Navy brat,” Miller lived in Panama for several years and, while in high school there, competed in a three-day, 50-mile boat race through the waters of the Panama Canal where “anything can happen.”
“I’ve been waiting for someone to ask about it,” said Miller, who became proficient in Spanish while there. “My father was a pilot in the Navy when we were transferred [to Panama], and it was one of the most amazing periods in my life.
“There’s a tremendous amount of water and it’s just absolutely beautiful. A lot of the kids competed.”
In a tradition started by U.S. explorer scouts, the boats used by competitors in the race — known as “kayucos” —were constructed out of large trees and later reinforced with Fiberglas and slick paint. Miller’s boat, “The Southern Comfort,” held four.
“But if you were to look at them,” said Miller, who trained for several months before the race, “it would be obvious the boats are very, very rudimentary by today’s standards. There’s practically no padding in them and many people who competed got terrible bruises and blisters.
“I’m talking about huge, painful blisters. There were also a lot back and leg injuries.”
The first leg of the male-dominated race — Miller’s female team was one of the few of its kind who competed against nearly 60 other boats — began early in the morning a couple of miles out in the Atlantic Ocean.
“The distance wasn’t the really hard part,” Miller insists. “The real challenge was maneuvering yourself through the pull of the tides and the current. You had to be fast because, more than anything, it was a test of speed.”
Once the competitors made it ashore, they made sure to get plenty of rest that evening because the most difficult, 40-mile leg of the race — through the Gatun Lake — lay ahead the next morning.
“The second day of the race was really a test of endurance, and it was definitely the part where most people either failed or dropped out,” said Miller. “It was really intimidating and I can remember thinking that I had never been so exhausted in my entire life when I got through it.
“We even had to take turns eating while we rowed, but the good part was that everyone really tried to help everyone else out the entire time.”
Miller further recalled that during the first year she participated, there was another unexpected obstacle.
“We had a bit of a problem with African killer bees,” she says with a laugh. “The officials tried to tell us what to do if we encountered them during the race before we started and it was basically just to stay out of their way until the swarm passed. There was wildlife mixed all throughout the lake portion of the race; alligators and things like that.”
But the scenery revealed more than just wildlife.
“It was absolutely beautiful,” said Miller. “You were able to take in so much of the landscape and even how the mountains were cut. It was remarkable.”
The third and final day of the race through the canal locks began in the afternoon.
“It was a definite change of pace from the day before,” said Miller of the comparatively more leisurely stretch. “You would paddle for a while and then you would have time to rest while the waters lowered and you moved on to the next lock.
“It was the most relaxed part of the competition because of the stop-and-start process.”
The race concluded in the Pacific Ocean, and, following some much needed rest, the competitors reflected on the events of the previous three days.
“It was a great feeling,” said Miller. “You felt like you had really worked hard at something and that you had proved and pushed yourself.”
Now a mother of two who’s long since hung up her rowing paddles, Miller said she still hasn’t given up on the idea of visiting Panama again in the future.
“I’d would like to go back one day, or maybe I’ll look into rowing here,” said Miller. “It was a lot of fun and there really is nothing else like it.”