Monday August 21, 2017
Morning: Eclipse
Afternoon: Sailing along Vancouver Island
Evening: Victoria British Columbia, Canada
Today we would be at sea for most of the day, sailing along Vancouver Island, heading towards our stop in Victoria, British Columbia. We would be in port for a short time that evening, from 7:30 to 11:30 pm. Apparently, the cruise lines have to make at least one international stop on every cruise to be eligible for tax breaks.
About a month before the cruise, Nate asked “What are the dates of our cruise?” Turns out that we would be cruising off the coast of Vancouver Island during the August 21 solar eclipse, a few hundred miles from the path of totality. The event would be after breakfast, in the 10 am to 11 am timeframe. We were able to get eclipse glasses (from ebay, express shipping) under the wire a couple of days before leaving for Seattle. Phew!
That morning, the last full day of our trip, we woke to the sound of foghorn blast every 5 minutes or so and ZERO visibility…
Well, it’s not like the eclipse can’t be rescheduled to a more convenient time with better weather, right?
I don’t have notes or pictures of what we did for breakfast. I think we did the brunch at sea. But maybe the morning buffet. Who knows?!?
We needed to be done by 9:15 because there was a lecture we wanted to attend.
“Whales Alive!” Learn about the fascinating habits and behaviors of humpbacks, orcas and other amazing marine mammals along the Pacific Northwest with our onboard Naturalist (Steve)”
The timing would be perfect since when it ended it would be time to go to see the eclipse (weather permitting)
We got to the theatre in plenty of time for the talk and waited.
And waited...
And waited...
And waited...
9:15 No Steve
9:30 No Steve
At some point, others who were waiting for the lecture headed out to find him. They were able to track him down. When he got on stage he gave some kind of lame excuse about the time change screwing him up. We set the clocks back that morning, so he should have been EARLY, not late.
Anyway, we stuck around for the abbreviated talk until around 10 am and then we left.
The Fun Times activities calendar listed a Solar Eclipse Gathering at 10 am “You’ve got the best seats on Earth for today’s solar eclipse aboard your cruise! Join us for a celestial viewing party complete with music and fun”
This is what the conditions were when we went out on deck. The extreme fog had cleared and the sun was in view!
There were a few families who had eclipse glasses, but most did not. Someone asked us if we purchased our glasses on board, and we had to tell them no. We shared glasses with others who did not have them.
Others just viewed with their naked eyes.
It was kind of awkward trying to photograph the eclipse using the glasses over our camera lenses, especially since it was so windy on the top decks.
Here is a shot without the glasses
And now, with the protective lenses:
Continued in Next Post