A gentle motor with the incoming tide towards Helmsdale. We did encounter some local patches of sea mist were the visibility dropped to around 500m. With the AIS we could see any larger vessels, but there wasn't any for miles. Smaller vessels and fishing boats don't tend to have the AIS transponders, so we had to keep an eye out for those, as well as the fisherman’s lobster pots.
My AIS transponder doesn't seem to be working. I get position information on other vessels, but I'm not transmitting. When I plugged the computer in for the diagnostics it told me that the signal from the GPS aerial was suspect, but I haven’t been able to work out what the problem is.
We arrived in Helmsdale at 20:00, and rushed straight up to the pub for a fish & chip supper, with a couple of the single malts.
Helmsdale was spectacularly beautiful, the small village being surrounded by bright yellow gorse.
The harbour master had left his bill on the boat. I left the money in the toilet block and phoned him in the morning to apologise for missing him.
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