The Eastern Pacific - Pacific Crossing Notes: A Sailor's Guide to the Coconut Milk Run - page 253

The Transit of Venus
A more sedate, slow-motion highlight of the passage was the transit of Venus. We had our
protective eclipse glasses ready in anticipation of the event, but would the clouds cooper-
ate? As we anxiously scanned the sky, counting down the moments to the big event, we felt
a close affinity to Captain Cook. Unlike him, we were not sent into the Pacific specifically
to observe the transit of Venus, but like him, we were under considerable time pressure.
After all, the next time Venus travels across the face of the sun will not be until the year
2117!
At the same time, the tower marking the northeast corner of Fakarava was just pulling into
view. As usual, everything was happening at once. Luckily, the clouds parted enough for us
to get a good look at a dark speck crawling slowly across the face of the sun. This also
provided good visibility for navigating the pass of our very first atoll. By the time we ran
the north pass and entered the lagoon, Venus was halfway through its transit and the sun
high overhead. A few hours later, with Namani's anchor down off a palm-lined tropical
paradise, Venus slipped off the opposite edge of the sun and continued its journey through
space. We had been just in time to catch the event, just as our passage was completed in
time for a nasty series of squalls to descend over the area.