Birds fell silent, the temperature dropped and traffic dwindled, as an eerie darkness descended on the island on the morning of Wednesday 11 August 1999.
The following day’s Guernsey Press devoted four pages of broadsheet coverage to the much anticipated total eclipse, with the front page headline, ‘Once in a thousand years and it’s cloudy’, providing a sense of the disappointment the day’s weather had brought.
But with 100% totality in Alderney and 99.9% in the other islands, the northern isle was the top place to be for serious eclipse viewers and the thousands who had flooded the island let out a cheer as a well-timed gap in the clouds in the final moments of totality revealed the famous diamond ring effect.
The BBC switched part of its live coverage to Alderney and hundreds of people who had headed to Devon and Cornwall for the event made last-minute attempts to get to the island in pursuit of better weather, but were left frustrated as boats were full.
Amateur and professional astronomers gathered at Fort Albert, with Guernsey astronomer David Le Conte describing it as a ‘very emotional experience’.
Back in Guernsey, Town businesses came to a halt as hundreds of shoppers, shop workers and office staff flocked to the seafront to watch the astronomical spectacle.
However, some parents opted to stay inside for the sake of their children.
‘I was just so worried about damaging their eyes,’ said one.
Town Carnival organisers made the most of the extra crowds and put on a fireworks display over Castle Cornet, although some spectators complained it was difficult to see the daylight display and said it should have been timed to coincide with totality.
L’Ancresse Tower No 5 owner Nancy Dorey opened her tower to the public to allow people to enjoy the ‘marvellous view’ from it.
Pembroke slipway kiosk owner Lynne de Carteret made the most of islanders’ lack of planning by selling eclipse glasses on the day and said she had sold out ‘within minutes’.
Guernsey Brewery also sold out of a specially-brewed Eclipse Ale.
A party of 80 people enjoying a champagne barbecue at Pembroke even managed to be enthusiastic about the cloud cover, since it allowed them to ‘pretty much watch the eclipse without the glasses’.
Phil Martin made the most of the eclipse by proposing to his girlfriend, Linda Girard, as they watched from the grounds of the Princess Elizabeth Hospital.
‘It was the most romantic moment of my life,’ she said afterwards.
The next total solar eclipse in the Channel Islands is due in 2081, but there will be plenty more partial eclipses like this year’s in the meantime.
‘The birds went quiet, it was really special’
Jane Walden is among the islanders eagerly awaiting this evening’s solar event, as she fondly remembers watching the last major eclipse 27 years ago from the golf course at L’Ancresse.
The 1999 occasion became even more memorable for the local former teacher, as Mrs Walden was photographed enjoying the moment with her children, friends and visiting family, and their picture appeared on the front page of the Guernsey Press the following day.
‘It was a great photograph,’ she said. ‘And it caused great excitement with our little group to see it in the paper and relive it all.’
Mrs Walden was joined by her niece Jenny, who was 15 at the time and visiting from England, her daughters Harriet and Sophie – who were nine and 12 – one of their friends, work colleague Martin Mitchell.
‘We were kind of an eclectic group,’ she said.
‘I remember it was earlier in the day last time, and lots of people were working. But I was in teaching, so I was off on summer holidays. My memory is that we all walked from the Tertre Lane in the Vale, through the lanes to L’Ancresse. And we found ourselves up a raised mound near the 15th hole, and we waited. It was cloudy, I remember that, but it did go dark and there was an eerie sense about everything. The birds went quiet, it was really special. It’s such a memorable event, lots of people were going up to Alderney and people were gathering around the coast. It was nice to be part of. And I’m really looking forward to it this time.’
More than a quarter of a century later, Mrs Walden and her fellow eclipse-watchers have their protective glasses ready – although the group will be more spread out this year.
‘We’re all going to in different places, but we’re all excited to see it again,’ she said.
This year, Mrs Walden plans to watch from the water.
‘There’s a special sea swim from Portelet Beach to L’Eree car park, and we’re all going for a curry at the Taste of India afterwards,’ she said.
‘They do this swim every year, and I think they hadn’t realised when they booked it that it was going to be the eclipse. It will be quite interesting, though.’
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