!! Dress rehearsal of the eclipse so people could figure out where to stand, how to fit their equipment into the space, which lounge chair to place where and so many other details were all above us. We watched in amazement as true solar eclipse chasers set up and examined the sun's path 24 hours ahead of eclipse time. Light meters and wind and speed of the ship all factored in to their calculations. It was fascinating. We even discussed eclipse etiquette!!! Four planets will be visible -- Mercury, Saturn, Venus and Mars and all first magnitude stars.

Hand held viewers are mandatory as well as filters over your camera lens.
No flashes are allowed and the lens should be covered with black tape. Do not look through the view finder during the 1st and 3rd contacts. You may consider putting an eye patch on your one eye to acclimate the eye to see the corona of the sun clearer so you do not have to wait for your eyes to adjust to darkness.

Day's Limerick: “At rehearsal the heat was a rotter. High temperatures made us all totter. But if you’re with me today, you’ll know why I say I hope that eclipse day’s much hotter.” Neil Speirs

“As we set up your telescopes we do so with highest hopes that the clouds go away so we can see today how the moon makes the sun get the mopes!” Janet Hoult

“In my battle today to produce the best I can hope for’s a truce. To describe totality with any reality, words aren’t a whole lot of use.” Niel Speirs

“We’ve all studied Kepler’s eclipse, but few have set out on sea trips, braving the crowds, dodging the clouds to observe a solar eclipse.” Karen Bojuda and Shirley Letcher