We've crossed back to the mainland across the Pentland Firth. This can be a dangerous stretch of water due to the strong currents.

At most we had nearly 8 knots of current with us - on top of about 6 knots of boat speed. The current was making the water very flat, but with glassy whirlpools which caused the boat to swerve. We had a head wind but it was under 10knots, which is good because a strong wind against a strong current can cause very unpleasant seas.

We then had the choice of stopping at Wick, or going on all the way to Lossiemouth. With a new gale warning for sea area Cromarty (force 9, expected imminently) we thought that it might be safer to pause. There is another storm forecast for Sunday night - the remains of tropical storm Bertha. However we should have plenty of time in the morning to get to Lossiemouth on the flood tide.

There's not a huge amount to see in Wick, but we did find the Old Pulteney distillery. A nice informal tour and a unique touch is the option to bottle your own bottle direct from a cask of 14 or 24 year old casks.