Total Eclipse

I've been missing in action here, but for a very good reason.  Ted and I flew to Fiji, then sailed to the New Caledonia area to see a total eclipse of the sun.

This had been on his bucket list for a while, and the opportunity to see a three minute eclipse was to good to pass up.  We sailed on the Paul Gauguin, with 300 like minded people.  About half the ship, including the captain, were eclipse virgins, but there were several people who had seen at least 10!

The picture above is at about 7:00 in the morning, and everyone is setting up their camera equipment for the 8:00 eclipse. They actually had a dress rehearsal the day before so you could get a good idea of where you wanted to be. The photographers on board suggested just looking at your first eclipse, not even trying to photograph it, but I don't think anyone listened to them.

Above is the "Diamond Ring". Isn't it amazing?  The whole experience was so very intense, it's hard to describe afterwards.

Here's Ted viewing the partial through a protective piece of glass.  Once the eclipse went total, you could look at it with the naked eye.

The ship's photographer went out on a lifeboat to capture the ship with the eclipse.

Here is a video I took during totality.