Northern Exposure

By Northern

Chust a peedie bit rough.

Had the pleasure of going out to Eday again today for a client's product launch. There was a boat chartered for press, VIPs and me.

The trip out was very pleasant but the guy driving (that the right term?) was warning us that bad weather was forecast for later in the day.

The launch went very well. Short speeches, lots of compliments and a fantastic buffet. We were in a marquee which of course, with the wind starting to gust, was threatening to blow away. But the rain stopped and the sun broke through for just long enough for photos of everyone and all worked out just perfect.

We were then whisked back to the boat and set off for home. It very quickly got choppy and the boat was rocking through the swell. At first this was most exhilirating and we all stood out on deck showing that our sea legs were as good as the next buddies. I demonstrated how tough I was by taking this pic.

Then it got rougher!

I'm sure folk who are used to being on the sea in a wee boat would have thought nothing of it. Certainly our captain wasn't in the least bit faized by the conditions. Which made us all a lot more calm than we might have been as the waves crashed over the roof.

To avoid the worst conditions he took us down the East of Shapinsay. A stunning coastline with high cliffs and fantastic caves cutting into it. This proved a good decision as it wasn't exactly calm but it was better than the first part of the journey.

Unfortunately we had to come back into the rougher sea on the last leg. But this time instead of rocking backward and forward into the waves it was rolling side to side, not pleasant! There was a bizarre moment when most of us were clinging onto anything we could find, trying to keep our feet on the floor meanwhile there was a conversation going on between the captain and one of the passengers about which kind of fishing bait they preferred... which was actually strangely calming.

We made it back safely, if more than a little salt sprayed, and decided that even if it was a bit rough we could think of a lot worse ways to spend a Monday.


Comments
Sign in or get an account to comment.