There was snow at 5am they said (I wasn't up then but slept in snatches due to the anticipation). When I looked out I could just see cloud. It rained. It was choppy. But against the odds our captain got the Boudicca into an area of patchy cloud for 9:45am (we had gone back to UK time), and the Totality was clearly visible!

Virginia saw it up in the Observatory, I lurked on the Lido Deck. Through the eclipse glasses provided the night before one could see the moon slowly eating the sun. But even close to totality the sun was still brightness too bright to see. But suddenly as if someone had turned a switch or a conjuror done a trick the sun was replaced by a burning jet black moon! Totality lasted two to three minutes, it was bodacious. The crew sang something, oohs and aahs, magic in the sky. Wild applause as the moon slipt off the sun and the full effulgence returned.

The sea is a big place, besides the Boudicca Fred Olsen's Braemar and Black Watch were also around the Faroe Islands, and there was a P&O ship and other ships too. But we were alone where we were. Later on the Fred Olsen ships met up to sail in formation for a while.

I had to rent an adapter to recharge my razor as its charger didn't fit the socket in the bathroom. Silly me. The genial waiters performed the 'Happy Birthday' rite at the evening meal (seemingly at the wrong table to start with). They are friendly, the staff try to accommodate the passengers (so Virginia got to see tomorrow's menus for her dairy free diet). Perhaps because it's a smaller ship the staff get to know you, get to know I have green tea after the evening meal, one gets to recognise them. Virginia admired the pens the waiters had which had small lights at the nib end, would have made a good souvenir!