Lifeboat crews had to battle heavy rain and stormy seas to rescue two men whose boat had run aground on rocks in the East Neuk of Fife.
The men, from Liverpool, were travelling from North Shields to Peterhead when their steering failed at about 1am and they struck rocks next to Sauchhope Caravan Park, near Crail.
The alarm was raised when the fluorescent markings of their lifejackets were seen from the shore by a member of the public at the caravan park.
Both the Anstruther inshore and all-weather lifeboats were launched.
Battling gusting winds and heavy rain, the Anstruther inshore lifeboat arrived on scene first and discovered the wooden, 1940s refurbished lifeboat on its side, with the two men clinging to a railing on deck.
The men, who were able to send up a flare, were transferred to a lifeboat and treated by paramedics waiting on shore.
Second coxswain Alex Purves, who was in command, said: ”The men set off in daylight, but had a mechanical problem with the steering and they ran aground on the rocks.
”If we hadn’t arrived when we did, the boat would have broken up and they would probably have ended up in the water.
”The boat, an old wooden lifeboat from the 40s or 50s, was already on its side. The helmsman of the inshore boat, which reached them first, said they didn’t have long.
”The men were on the top rail and contemplating jumping into the water, which would have been a very dangerous last resort because of the rocks.
”They were on the rocks for about 10 minutes, but it would have seemed a lifetime.”
Their vessel had started to break up on the rocks and was left to flounder on the rocks 50 metres offshore. It will be a total loss.
Mr Purves said the rescue involved a total of up to 30 people, including 20 lifeboat staff as well as Coastguard and ambulance crews.
He added: ”It was certainly challenging, but everyone performed well.
”The men were shaken, but there were paramedics waiting on shore to check them and they were otherwise uninjured.
”They don’t appear to have been at fault – people sail overnight all the time – but had a mechanical steering problem.”
The men were on passage transferring the vessel to the Isle of Man and were on a leg of the journey heading from North Shields towards Peterhead. It is understood the lifeboat was being refurbished as a houseboat.
They were put up for the night by one of the lifeboat crew before setting off for home. HM Coastguard at Fife Ness co-ordinated the rescue.