We could see the sun’s rays on the sea 500m away — and we were not going to move.
For the Faroe Islands we picked a ship, the MV Norröna, precisely because a ship can sail away from the clouds. What we hadn’t researched well enough was this particular ship. It was billed as a “floating hotel” at the docks of the Faroes — and that is exactly all it did. It stayed docked.
Meanwhile we sat under a thick layer of cloud. Out in the bay, perhaps 500 metres away, we could see an opening — the sun’s rays beaming down, glistening on the sea. We could see other cruise ships moving steadily towards it. But we were anchored, and we were definitely not going anywhere. So close, and yet so far. Extremely frustrating and agonising, for everyone aboard.
We experienced the darkness under cloud cover, but no totality, no diamond ring. One of our failed trips — and a lesson: choose your ship as carefully as you choose your sky.