South Pacific Cruise to Totality

Description

Eclipse Cruise Destination: South Pacific

Finding the best spot to view a total solar eclipse can be challenging on a planet whose surface is more than 70 percent water. Sometimes the secret is to charter a small, nimble ship that can get you exactly where you need to be. And when the ideal route takes you across the South Pacific, island hopping among tropical gems, you have an unmatched opportunity to keep one eye on the heavens while experiencing a spectacular taste of paradise right here on Earth.

At the turn of the 20th century, post-Impressionist painter Paul Gauguin traveled to French Polynesia to create some of his most renowned masterpieces. In the summer of 2019, a privately chartered vessel bearing Gauguin’s name will transport our small group of TravelQuest adventurers to the same remote corner of the South Pacific, including famed Pitcairn Island, as we spend 15 days exploring exotic archipelagoes and then on July 2 gather at a perfect viewing point to witness the total eclipse of the Sun.

Pitcairn Island

During the total solar eclipse on July 2, 2019, the Moon’s shadow will mainly pass over the Pacific Ocean – including a point just north of Pitcairn, the only inhabited island in a remote volcanic archipelago. It was here that the notorious Fletcher Christian and eight other mutineers from HMS Bounty escaped British naval law by founding a “free” settlement in 1790. Even today, Pitcairn is visited by only a small number of ships – most arriving with too little time for passengers to disembark.

While a Pitcairn landing is not guaranteed on our TravelQuest voyage, we’ve designed our itinerary to allow a window of about 36 hours in which we hope to set foot on this two-mile-long speck in the vast Pacific. Highlights ashore include a visit to Pitcairn village to see the anchor of HMS Bounty and the ship’s Bible – plus chances to meet local residents, some of whom still bear the surnames of the original mutineers.

What to expect on eclipse day

by TravelQuest Eclipse Meteorologist Jay Anderson

Shipboard eclipse expeditions have an advantage over those on land because of their nearly unlimited freedom to move to find an opening in the clouds. The July 2019 eclipse track lies beneath the subtropical high-pressure area that dominates the Southern Hemisphere mid-latitudes, and so cloud cover is tropical in character with many openings between convective buildups. Satellite images reflect this climatology, with average cloudiness above 60 percent along most of the oceanic track. Computer models of cloud cover at TravelQuest’s planned observing site show that 6 days of the month are sunny and 6 days overcast, leaving a partly cloudy skyscape to the remainder of the days. Ship mobility, guided by high-frequency satellite images that reveal cloud movement and development, will allow the TravelQuest eclipse expedition to exploit this uneven nature of tropical cloudiness, greatly increasing the odds of a successful expedition.

This is your chance to experience the ultimate in relaxation as you explore pristine tropical sanctuaries and discover the rich legacy of Polynesian civilization. And as an added bonus, in the months ahead TravelQuest plans to offer an optional pre-cruise add-on excursion from Tahiti to legendary Easter Island. Find more about the south pacific travel.