Polish migrant worker Grzegorz Gerle arrived in Tayside with nothing more than a dream of starting his own boat tour business.
After three years of hard graft in a Dundee factory, the 29-year-old finally scraped together enough for a vessel and then painstakingly laboured for six months to restore it at a cost of £6,000.
But fate was to deal a cruel blow.
A freak storm on May 24 swept the 28ft cruiser he named Golden Rose from its moorings in St Andrews and wrecked it on rocks off the East Sands.
With only third party insurance, Grzegorz’s life savings vanished overnight.
He was left with debts to friends who had invested in the project and a bill from the council to shift the wreckage from the beach which he could not afford to pay.
“I bought the boat from Whitby last year and I decided I would repair this boat and spent half a year doing it,” he said. “During the night (of the storm) the coastguard phoned me to say my boat was drifting and in the morning my boat was on the beach and the bottom had been damaged by the rocks.
“I could only sell the engine to another boat for £300 and equipment from the boat like lifelines and flares. I have lost everything. I put all my life into this boat.”
Facing an expensive truck rental to dispose of what remained of his pride and joy, a devastated Grzegorz was at his wits’ end until an Angus heritage group heard of his plight.
The Easthaven 800 group, set up to organise celebrations for the village’s Octocentenary next year, are to pay for the uplift of the vessel for use as a showpiece to reflect the community’s fishing connections.
Leader of the steering committee Wendy Murray said: “Residents agreed that a fishing boat placed at the gateway of the village would help to strengthen Easthaven’s identity as a former fishing community and provide a stunning visual impact for visitors.
“Local resident Hugh Scott managed to identify what residents believe to be the ideal boat berthed on the East Sands at St Andrews.
“When Grzegorz heard about Easthaven’s 800-year anniversary in 2014 and its plans to recognise its fishing heritage, he agreed to gift his pride and joy to the village.”
Angus Council are supportive of plans for Easthaven 800 and the group is exploring options to raise funds for transporting the boat back to the county.
Grzegorz has not been disheartened by the disastrous episode and is planning to start from scratch, hopeful that an investor may come to his aid.
He said: “I have to build myself some more money, but I will not give up. I hope that next year I can start again.”