A major safety event has been held at one of Fife’s busiest ports in a bid to lessen the potential for tragedy at sea.
Fisher folk from across the country visited the east Neuk on Friday as the RNLI staged the first workshop of its kind in Pittenweem to advise fishermen on the best methods of recovery if someone enters the water.
More than 40 people discussed the current safety equipment they have aboard their vessels, with safety experts on hand to showcase the various life-saving methods available to crews should the worst happen.
The event took place against a backdrop of high profile fishing tragedies on the Fife coast in recent years. In 2015 friends David Stead, Birrell Stewart and Jason Buchan lost their lives when their boat capsized just off the shore at East Wemyss.
Richard Scott, the RNLI deputy second coxswain stationed at Anstruther, said Friday’s event aimed to support efforts to eliminate preventable loss of life at sea.
Mr Scott, himself a fisherman for over 17 years in Pittenweem, explained: “This event is a good opportunity for local fishermen to come and hear for themselves the different options available to them and trial some of the equipment we will have with us on the day.
“I was fortunate enough to travel to the RNLI College and take part in the simulator where the temperature was higher than that we would experience here in the Firth of Forth but the effects it had on the body was astonishing.
“I lasted five minutes without a lifejacket and afterwards felt like I had run a marathon.
“The cold water shock affected different people in different ways and it has certainly given me a different outlook on the dangers involved.
“I have since changed my recovery equipment to suit my boat and the ultimate aim of the afternoon is to allow others the same opportunity.”
Mr Scott and Anstruther coxswain Michael Bruce, who is also a fishing vessel owner at Pittenweem, recently visited RNLI headquarters in Poole on the south coast of England and participated in man overboard (MOB) simulations in a purpose built-training pool.
As well as passing on their expertise, the event highlighted various safety options on the market, the different alert systems available to raise the alarm to the authorities when a fisherman enters the water and also raise awareness of the extreme effects on the body of cold water shock.
They will also be joined by the Anstruther inshore lifeboat which carried out live demonstrations on the recovery of a person from the water using the different equipment on offer.