The planned early start worked better this time, casting off at 0545 into a lightening sky with a moon rising above a cloud bank. The weather forecast was pretty accurate, as we motored into  0k wind along the coast of Assynt and into Sutherland.  Most of the time it was again "Move along folks, there's nothing to see!". However, the wildlife highlights, such as they were, included seal, basking shark (1), dolphins (1 large group), and puffins (lots, but all on the water, and diving as soon as they see the camera), and lots of gannets.  Interestingly their behaviour here is rather different from what we have seen before: they tended to skim the water and duck down for a shallow catch, as  opposed to the impressive Olympic style dive from 50ft.  (When you spend 10 hours motoring on a dead flat sea you have plenty time to ponder these matters!)
The scenic highlight of today was the impressive cliff formations, and in particular, passing close by the Old Man of Stoer to add to the OM of Storr on Skye: the next will be the famous OM of Hoy.  (Why are these stacks all Old Men rather than Women? Maybe their vertical nature has something to do with it?).  We had little more than odd showers during our long passage, but by Sod's Law, the heavens opened as we approached the near-invisible entrance to Loch Inchard for Kinlochbervie, our destination. We found the harbour at 1615, a passage of 10.5 hours, to find no space on the small boats pontoon, but rafted against a yacht from Brittany whose owners keep the boat over the winter in Scotland and sail here in the summer.  We certainly needed to refuel, and established by shouts to a boy on a bike on the fish quay that they were busy and we should come back in 'a couple of hours' and tie up against the enormous rusty and weed-covered jetty.  We headed instead to the harbour master's office, paid our £15, and went to the tiny shop for a few essentials. We then enjoyed our first shower for several days (see previous entry) in a Unisex facility in a fish shed (no kidding) - a first for both of us - and very welcome.  Unfortunately, we then had to return in the pouring rain to the boat, climb over our raft neighbours' foredeck, slip all our lines, adjust the fenders, motor 100metres to said rusty pier, and tie up to get fuel, Cate smartly catching and making fast to a long ladder.  The dock worker dropped the fuel line down to us and we refilled both tank and jerrycan. I then climbed the ladder, collected the docket, took it to the Chandlers (all still in p***ing rain), paid and came back, to find I had left the wheelhouse hatch open, so it was full of water! Meanwhile Cate had stood on the burning - correction p***ing - deck, fending us off and finding her 'waterproofs' less than efficient. Cast off again and back alongside our French friends, and started to strip off our wet gear.  Couldn't contact Stornoway Coastguard on VHF, and eventually found a land line number to report completion of our passage and get the next day's forecast (very light wind), and as I write we are tucked up cosy aboard with the promise of another early start, but a fine weekend in Orkney awaiting.