S4M-12759 Kinghorn Lifeboat Station (50th Anniversary)

The Deputy Presiding Officer (John Scott): The final item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S4M-12759, in the name of David Torrance, on congratulations to Kinghorn lifeboat station on its 50th anniversary. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.

Motion debated,

That the Parliament congratulates Kinghorn Lifeboat Station on its 50th anniversary; understands that the Kinghorn station covers an area from Elie to North Berwick and all the way to the Forth bridges; understands that, since its establishment in 1965, the station has provided crucial services and launched over 1,000 times to save lives at sea and along the coastline; recognises that, in order to raise money for the Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI), Kinghorn Lifeboat Station regularly organises fundraisers, which include an annual Halloween-themed event with spooky walks and refreshments as well as the Kinghorn Loony Dook to welcome the New Year; further recognises that, in 2015, 80 people took part in the dook, raising a total of £620; welcomes the close links between the lifeboat station and the community, which it believes contributes to the great success of these events; understands that, because of this cooperation, a golden theme in celebration of the anniversary and the lifeboat station’s long-standing services on the Firth of Forth has been included in many events organised by community groups, such as the Children’s Gala Parade, Kinghorn in Bloom and the Kinghorn Historical Society, and wishes everyone involved the best of luck for these events as well as all future endeavours.

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Stewart Stevenson (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (SNP):

Let me start, as I properly should, by congratulating David Torrance on bringing this subject to Parliament’s attention and giving us the opportunity to debate it.

The lifeboats are a very important part of my constituency. We have four lifeboat stations—at Buckie, Macduff, Fraserburgh and Peterhead—because, of course, we are essentially a coastal constituency. I know how much my constituents value having the lifeboats, which provide the security of knowing that there is someone on standby who knows what they are doing and has the equipment to do it. Given what goes on in Kinghorn, it is no surprise to find the esteem in which the lifeboat service is held there.

Of course Kinghorn has had many maritime connections, such as the death of Alexander III in 1286, which meant that the Maid of Norway became the Queen of Scotland at the age of three. She then drowned off St Margaret’s Hope in 1290, which caused the wars of independence that underpinned much of the history of Scotland of those times and which resonate today. Kinghorn has a history around the sea and a history around the lifeboat.

I was interested to read about the early experience of the lifeboat in 1965, when it rescued leisure sailors—or perhaps did not, because they did not want to be rescued. I used to do a lot of dinghy sailing. I am not quite sure that I was out at Kinghorn on that particular day, but I would love to go back and look at my records and find that that was the case. However, I am pretty confident that it was not.

Lifeboats in Kinghorn and elsewhere are quite high tech now. The first rescue boats were cobbles. A couple of guys rowed them and somebody would be in the stern steering the boat towards the vessel in distress. We have made a lot of progress in professionalising and improving the quality of support.

Claire Baker mentioned the respect the water campaign. It is as well to remind ourselves that the sea is a cruel mistress and can be very dangerous. I do not know how many members are aware that a cubic metre of water weighs a tonne. Therefore, it is not a trivial matter when water comes in waves. That is not like the water in the bath that we feel is comfortable and warm in surrounding us. Once we are out at sea, water can be one of the most dangerous prospects. It can be so for any fisherman in my constituency, leisure yacht in Kinghorn or, indeed, aviator who has taken off from Edinburgh airport and come to grief in the Forth, as has been the case.

On one particular occasion, a lifeboat—I am slightly uncertain about whether it was the Anstruther boat or the Kinghorn boat—even went to the rescue of the pirate radio ship LV Comet, from which Radio Scotland broadcast between 1966 and 1967. That was off the Bell rock. When the anchors were drifting, the lifeboat had to go out and help. The lifeboats therefore get involved in a wide range of activities.

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