25/08/2008

Bha mi ann an gheat ann an cala Stromness. Tha sin ann an Arcaibh. Bha sinn a’ feitheamh ri sìde a bha freagarrach airson seòladh. Airson dà latha cha robh sinn a’ seòladh. Bha a’ ghaoth aig ìre gèile. Bha i ro gharbh airson seòladh.

Ach mu dheireadh thall sheòl sinn. Bha i fhathast garbh, ge-tà. Bha am bàta a’ tulgadh gu mòr. Bha mi aig an stiùir airson greis. Bha an einnsean air. Thàinig an t-òrdugh bhon sgiobair. Togaibh an seòl-cinn! Cuiribh stad air an einnsean!

’S e an seòl-cinn an jib. ’S e sin seòl aig toiseach a’ gheat. Bha a’ ghaoth làidir làidir. Cha robh feum againn air an t-seòl mhòr. Bha sinn a’ seòladh luath gu leòr leis an t-seòl-chinn a-mhàin.

Bha e a’ còrdadh rium gu mòr. Bha am bàta a’ dol gu math. Bha sinn a’ dèanamh air tìr-mòr na h-Alba.

Tha mòran agam ri ionns-achadh mu sheòladh fhathast. Ach air an latha sin, dh’ionnsaich mi rudeigin cudromach. Cha do chòrd e rium aig an àm. Ach bha e feumail dhomh. Airson a’ chiad turas riamh, bha cur na mara orm. Tha mi air a bhith ann am bàtaichean fad mo bheatha. Cha robh riamh cur na mara orm. Uill, cha robh chun an latha sin.

Chan urrainn dhomh a ràdh carson a thàinig e orm. Bha a’ mhuir garbh. Bha suaile mhòr ann. Bha sguailean dona ann. Bha sinn a’ tulgadh. Ach bha mi ann am muir mar sin roimhe.

Às dèidh dà uair a thìde aig muir, cha robh mi a’ faireachdainn gu math. “Tarraing air an sgòd!” thàinig an t-òrdugh. “Ruairidh – tarraing air an sgòd!”

I was in a yacht in StromnessHarbour. That is in Orkney. We were awaiting weather that was suitable for sailing. For two days we were not sailing. The wind was [at] gale force. It was too rough to sail.

But eventually we sailed. It was still rough, however. The boat was pitching heavily. I was at the helm for a while. The engine was on. The order came from the skipper. Raise the jib! Stop the engine!

The seòl-cinn is the jib. That’s a sail at the front of the yacht. The wind was very strong. We had no need of the mainsail. We were sailing fast enough with just the jib.

I was greatly enjoying it. The boat was going well. We were making for the mainland of Scotland.

I still have much to learn about sailing. But on that day, I learned an important thing. I didn’t enjoy it at the time. But it was useful to me. For the first time ever I was seasick. I’ve been in boats all my life. I never had seasickness. Well, I hadn’t until that day.

I can’t say why I suffered it. The sea was rough. There was a big swell. There were bad squalls. We were pitching. But I had been on a sea like that before.

After two hours at sea, I wasn’t feeling well. “Haul on the sheet!” came the order. “Ruairidh – haul on the sheet!”