Hello btaft:
I can answer only the first question, for the second, you will have to wait until another kaleun reads it.
If you are using SH3 Cmdr, then you can change your time compression setting there, you must look for the line that says: " Land Proximity:" or something like that, the best value u can use there to go through the Canal is 128X.
I know tthat there is a .cfg file you can edit too, but I can't remember the name right now and can't look at it, I am at the office.
CapZap