We finally entered the canal a little after 5:00 am. It's pretty amazing, since there is only a negligible difference between the sea levels of the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, the canal is just one long cut through the desert, with no locks necessary. Our transit time will be about 10-11 hours, we will be sailing the Mediterranean mid-to-late afternoon. But it remains to be seen what will need to be cut from the remaining itinerary, we are still between 24 and 48 hours behind schedule.