Shone when there was a gale out at sea (7)
I believe the answer is:
gleamed
'shone' is the definition.
('gleam' can be a synonym of 'shine')
'gale out at sea' is the wordplay.
'out' indicates anagramming the letters (out can mean wrong or inaccurate).
'at' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'sea' becomes 'med' (abbreviation of Mediterranean).
'gale' anagrammed gives 'glea'.
'glea'+'med'='GLEAMED'
'when there was a' is the link.
This may not be correct. Some or all of it may be part of another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for gleamed that I've seen before include "Shone" , "As eyes did" .)