Wednesday, August 11th, 1999 TOTAL ECLIPSE

by Pete Turner aka Arthur Ransome

Yesterday Jane and I went out in Spencer Boy's boat to witness the Total Eclipse. The crew, Me, Jane, Colin, Mark and Kirsty left Cowes at around 6.00am, most people haven't even stirred by then but we slipped out of the harbour heading West towards the Needles.

It was going to be a long day as the tide was running hard against us. Gurnard always looks asleep from the sea, it doesn't reveal all the live music which lives within it's neat litte house and huts that line the sea shore.

Thats the cliff where Keith Gore lives, and the village that hosts gigs at the Portland Inn which are arranged during drunken conversations on many a night.

Still onward we go out past Gurnard Ledge, Saltmead, Hampstead Ledge, Bouldner, Yarmouth the former home of Robyn Hitchcock, a lovely view of the Church tower from the Respect album, in the background and bright and clear on the radar are the downs of Afton where all those years ago I sat as young teenager and started dreaming about Isle of Wight Rock while watching the Doors and all, then it's Fort Victoria, Fort Albert,and as we slip into Totland Bay Colin Downer produces drinks from the galley.

There we are sipping tea and coffee and about two miles away is the Waterfront where on a Friday or Saturday you'll catch SG and Paul Athey picking their way through a multitude of songs. As we round the point we see the Needles rising like jagged teeth out of the sea. The white cliffs soaring high with the road on the top that Keith Gore drives and conducts on everyday. The Diamond Wight Island sure looks good from here.

We turn from the Needles and head south. It's about 9.00am the sky is patchy we spent alot of the time in the Solent practising on how to view the sun with cardboard boxes painted brown with a mylar hole in the middle. Marks mum had made them and they worked a treat.

We had travelled 15 miles south of the Needles Lighthouse when Mark decided we had gone far enough. It was about 10.15am. Now Colin and I had decided to bring our fishing rods, no bait, just feathers. for the next 2 hours right through the eclipse we were hauling in mackerel. Kirsty and Mark were hand lining and Jane was enjoying the spectacle.

And then it happened at around 11.11am the sky went dark, it was a strange feeling and we could see that in the West it was as black as your hat. Then it was darkness and you could see the Island glowing away in the distance. St Catherines Lighthouse started beaming out it's signal and we were still catching fish, and Jane was taking photo's and oh hell it was brilliant.

Then it was all over. Just like someone switching the light back on. So we carried on fishing for an hour then headed back towards the Island. Colin and I were like to old men of the sea gutting the fish and feeding the gulls as they swooped and screamed over our heads. We got wet feet, but that was because Jane was steering the boat.

Anyway one hour later we finished our chore and went up front only to find that the Island was still about 8 miles away. So I went down in the galley to prepare fresh mackerel. Within 15 minutes we were tucking into a fish dinner that Jane couldn't believed I had prepared. We rounded the Needles Light and waved to a bus on the twisting road hoping it was Keith Gore.

By now I was knackered so I went to sleep and woke up around Hampstead Ledge. We entered Cowes Harbour at about 15.50pm. Good timing seeing as Mark was off to Lymington with the tug at 16.30pm to do a towing job.

A great day, the only thing left to do apart from divide the fish out was get cleaned up and head for Blackgang to watch Pulse perform Dark Side of the Moon. Swallows and Amazons for ever !!!

Pete Turner aka Arthur Ransome See also Pulse at Blackgang