Crowds mesmerised by solar eclipse
Tourists flocked to Bermuda’s beaches yesterday to watch the solar eclipse.
More than 200 were on Horseshoe Bay to watch the Moon partially obscure the face of the Sun.
Cory Minors, manager of the beach attendants at Horseshoe Bay’s Rum Bum Beach Bar, greeted tourists as they hit the beach.
He said: “On face value today is a normal day at the beach — but it seems like the world knows there is a solar eclipse.”
Mr Minors added: “Some have come down specifically to see the eclipse because it’s an open space.”
Beach attendants Cameron Bell, 17, and Gianluca Cacace, 18, said the event had turned an ordinary working day into something special.
Mr Bell said: “We’re pretty amped. We’re pretty excited to be honest.”
Mr Cacace added: “There is no better place to see something one of a kind than on a one of a kind beach.”
The beach was crowded despite early rain and overcast skies, which had threatened to block views of the eclipse. Royal Caribbean Cruises’ Grandeur of the Seas passengers the Flynn family, from Pennsylvania, were among the crowds on the beach.
One family member said: “When we booked our trip we had no idea it was going to be during the solar eclipse.”
She added: “It’s pretty cool. In my lifetime I’ve never seen one before.”
Many US states experienced a full blackout of the sun, although Bermuda had 81 per cent coverage at the peak of the eclipse just after 4pm.
The Cherry family from Maryland said they had no idea there would be an eclipse during their vacation when they booked a cruise. A family member said: “I’ve seen a partial one in ’96 in Chicago but this is the first time with glasses and the whole nine yards”
He added: “We’ve been to Jamaica, Mexico and Punta Cana — this tops it by far.
“We figured Horseshoe Bay was the best place to go because of the pink sand and we could explore the caves.”
For those who missed this eclipse, Nasa this week predicted another total eclipse of the sun in some areas of the US in 2024. But a solar eclipse on the scale of yesterday’s will not be seen for nearly 300 years.
400
The multiple by which the Moon is smaller than the Sun and closer to Earth, allowing it to completely cover the Sun’s disk during a total eclipse
2.40
Duration in minutes and seconds of the totality of the eclipse. In Bermuda, totality reached a little over 80 per cent of the Sun
38
Years since the mainland United States witnessed a total eclipse — the last being February 26, 1979, when the eclipse skirted its northwest
70
The width of the path in miles of the total eclipse, in miles, from Oregon to South Carolina — an overall distance of roughly 2,600 miles
1918
The last year that a total eclipse crossed the US from coast to coast
90
The time in minutes for the eclipse to make its way across the US
14
Number of states that were covered in the path
64
The figure in millions of dollars for lost American work hours as throngs of spectators turned out for the celestial event
2024
The next year that a total eclipse occurs over the continental US — on April 8
