A Totally British Eclipse!
True to form the British weather conspired to dash all
hopes of viewing our Total Solar Eclipse of 11th August 1999 but regardless
a boat load of gallant observers from Wessex Astro Society and friends
departed from Weymouth before dawn on the cargo steamer S.S. Shieldhall.
This fine old steam ship was in fact one of the last steam ships to be
built about 40 years ago and spent much of its life on the Mersey hauling
sewage waste for dumping at sea but had now taken on a new lease of life
as a tourist attraction steaming around south coast ports.
The sky was overcast and cloudy when we left at 6 a.m.
but there were just a few breaks with the occasional glimpse of the sun.
We spent fours steaming out to mid Channel and
caught a few brief views of the now partially eclipsed sun.
Alas the moment of totality alluded us although
the darkness which descended on us for the brief two minutes was quite
uncanny. Here is a photo montage of our experiences of this eclipse all
captured from video frames taken during the day :
