Last December, devoted Cape Gazette readers Anne Dumais of Rehoboth Beach and Gary and Shirley Letcher of Lewes visited the Panama Canal. The canal (Spanish: Canal de Panamá) is an 82‑kilometer (51‑mile) man‑made waterway that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. This vital shortcut dramatically reduces travel time for ships moving between the Atlantic and Pacific, allowing them to avoid the long and often hazardous route around the southern tip of South America via the Drake Passage, the Strait of Magellan or the Beagle Channel.