Flowers were laid on the water as 10 local vessels played their part in the Seafarers Memorial ceremony on Saturday by forming a flotilla in Wick Bay.

Longhope's relief lifeboat Peter and Lesley-Jane Nicholson and the Wick lifeboat, Roy Barker II, were joined by local yachts and small boats as well as the Caithness Seacoast RIB Geo Explorer, operated by William and Adelaine Munro.

Wick lifeboat let off a flare to mark the start of a two-minute silence, followed by a flare from the Longhope vessel to conclude it.

Mr Munro manoeuvred the RIB to allow passengers good views of the lifeboat flares and the flowers being placed in the bay.

"As a professional seafarer – I'm 44 years Merchant Navy and involved with the lifeboat service as a safety officer – it's good to commemorate all the people who have lost their lives along this coast," Mr Munro said.

"It's very challenging along the east coast of Caithness, and to some extent the north coast, where there is very little shelter. It's very exposed and tragically we've lost a lot of lives over the years.

"It's important to remember that people are still losing their lives.

"It is about all seafarers – not just professionals but also those involved with pleasure activities such as wild swimmers, divers and canoeists, for example.

"It's a fairly busy coast but people have to respect the water. Not respecting the water enough causes a lot of the deaths around this area."

He added: "In the old days of the herring it was desperate times and people needed to make a living. It was fitting that there should be boats on the water commemorating the statue."

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