# Crail Lifeboat Station

Crail Lifeboat Station was located 2 miles (3.2 km) north-east of Crail, at Balcomie Links on Fife Ness, a headland at the most easterly point of the Fife peninsula.
A lifeboat was first placed at Crail in 1884 by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).
Crail Lifeboat Station was closed in 1923.

## History

In 1884, with the promise of local support, the RNLI established a new lifeboat station at Crail, located midway between the existing stations at St Andrews and Anstruther. A boathouse was constructed on Balcomie Links, on land granted to the RNLI by Col. James Robert Blackwell MonyPenny, 26th Laird of Pitmilly.
On 6 November 1884, a 34-foot self-righting 'Pulling and Sailing' (P&S) Lifeboat, one with both oars and sails, arrived at the railway station in Crail, transported by the Anstruther and St Andrews Railway. Led by the 'Anstruther Volunteer' Band, the Town Councillors, Lifeboat committee and crew, and some 2000 people, followed the lifeboat, drawn on its carriage by 5 pairs of horses, the two miles to the boathouse at Balcomie Links. At a ceremony at the boathouse, the boat, bearing the legend " Ready, aye ready," , was named George Paterson (ON 91), having been funded from the legacy of the late Miss Paterson of Edinburgh.
The George Paterson was replaced in 1910. In 26 years on service, she had been launched only three times, and recorded no lives saved. A slightly larger 35-foot self-righting (P&S) lifeboat was placed on service on 4 January 1910, and named Edwin Kay (ON 601) after the late donor of Southsea.
On 27 December 1914, the Crail lifeboat Edwin Kay (ON 601) was launched at 06:00 to the aid of the Royal Navy vessel HMS Success, a B-class torpedo boat destroyer, which had run aground at Kingsbarns with 67 crew aboard. Despite skilful seamanship in testing conditions, the lifeboat was holed, and Coxswain Cunningham and another crew member were washed overboard. The two men were recovered, and the lifeboat went on to rescue 20 men from the Success. Two more trips rescued a further 34. The St Andrews lifeboat John and Sarah Hatfield (ON 600) rescued the last 13. Coxswain Andrew Cunningham was awarded the RNLI Silver Medal, and the crew were awarded £7 from the officer's mess of the Cape Light Horse Regiment in South Africa.
Crail Lifeboat Station was closed on 31 March 1923. The lifeboat on station, Edwin Kay (ON 601) was transferred to the relief fleet, later being used for demonstrations. In 13 years at Crail, the lifeboat was launched 12 times, and saved 84 lives. She was sold out of service in 1938. The boathouse is located on the Crail Golfing Society course at Balcomie Links, and is used as a greenkeepers store.

## Station honours

The following are awards made at Crail.
* RNLI Silver Medal
       Andrew Cunningham, Coxswain - 1915

## Crail lifeboats

| ON | Name | In service | Class | Comments |
| 91 | George Paterson | 1884–1910 | 34-foot Self-righting (P&S) | |
| 601 | Edwin Kay | 1910–1923 | 35-foot Self-righting (P&S) | |
    Station Closed in 1923
* ↑ ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat.
    Pre ON numbers are unofficial numbers used by the Lifeboat Enthusiast Society to reference early lifeboats not included on the official RNLI list.