Lybster, like many a coastal Highland village, made use of all kinds of ritual and magic to elicit some control over the weather. Weather conditions that were less thank ideal could wreck a good season, or ruin a fleet. This story tells of a ship of Lybster sailors who tangled with a knot tying witch from Portmahomack.
On a fine day, somewhere around the mid eighteenth century and bang in the middle of herring fishing season, a boat put out to Portmahomack for a cargo of barrel staves. They arrived in good time and loaded up the cargo, ready for the homeward journey. On the day they were to leave, the wind died away completely, forecast to stay that way for a few more days at least. Jamie, the skipper was all a swither knowing the coopers were at home not able to make the barrels and worse, his own crew wouldn’t be able to get to catching the herring.
After much worrying about when ‘e win will rise’ and the threat of it being ‘mibbe a week or mair’, a friend suggested a visit was needed to ‘e auld wifie livin’ up e road and till yer richt in a sma’ wee hoosie wi’ a thatched roof”. On arriving at the sma’ wee hoose, Jamie found the old woman busy at her spinning wheel. He told her of his problem and for the fee of ‘half a croon’, she tied three knots in a thread and handed it over. She instructed him to untie the first not when they were in the boat and ready to sail, whereby a soft breeze would stir up and waft them along their way. Untying the second knot when they were well on their way would freshen the wind and increase their speed. She warned, under no uncertain terms that they should, under no account, undo the third knot.
Jamie thanked her and rushed back to the dock, getting everything ready to set sail the next morning. Sure enough, the first knot was undone, a gentle breeze stirred and caught their unfurled sail, gliding them gently out to sea. When they were about halfway home, skipper Jamie untied the second knot and the boat ran before a freshened wind before, in no time, they were within a stones throw of the entrance to Lybster harbour. One of the men, thinking nothing could go wrong now (of course), persuaded Jamie to untie the third knot, and immediately he did, the wind wheeched round to the opposit quarter and blowing at gale force, sent the boat straight back out to sea and eventually to the relative safety of Portmahomack harbour that they’d left ten hours before.
Waterlines — The Story of Lybster