Arbroath lifeboat is on course for one of its busiest years on record.
The brave RNLI team at Arbroath harbour have already attended 23 shouts since the turn of the year.
With the traditionally hectic summer period now getting into full swing the crew is expecting the final total to rank high among its most manic years.
Alex Smith, lifeboat operations manager at Arbroath, said a varied range of incidents had been dealt with since the first call of the year in January.
He said: “It has certainly been a busy first few months of the year for us here at RNLI Arbroath, with a total of 23 launches so far and that’s before we have really come into the busier summer period.
“With more and more people taking to the water, for leisure purposes in particular, we are expecting to see the number of launches increase year on year anyway so it isn’t a huge surprise that it has been like this.
“The crew have been fantastic and have had to deal with a variety of different incidents, some unfortunately with a tragic outcome, but most have been positive and had a happy ending.”
All-weather lifeboat the Inchcape was launched at 9.35am on January 15 after a fishing vessel suffered engine failure. In stark contrast the next launch was to recover a body from the water around a month later.
Both the main boat and smaller inshore vessel went out on several occasions to aid the search for missing Arbroath marine Ralph Hebden, who was found dead at the foot of cliffs outside the town on April 1.
A false alarm sparked an emergency shout the following day and just six days after that the volunteer crew rescued a teenage girl from drowning off the coast of Carnoustie.
Two subsequent calls on April 9 and 13 marked the fourth and fifth launches in an exceptionally busy month.
A missing person was traced following a launch on May 12 and then two incidents on May 31 saw a distressed person helped from Arbroath Harbour and two people and a dog escorted to safety from a cliff ledge.
Mr Smith said it would be impossible to run the vital service without the support of the public.
He said: “I would like to pay tribute to everyone who provides support to the RNLI both financially and in terms of time and effort with fundraising and everything else needed to keep lifeboat stations operational.
“Here in Arbroath particularly we have a very special bond with the local community and it is their continued support that allows us to provide the service we do.”
Another 18 shouts before the end of the year would see the crew equal the 41 launches made in 2012. Arbroath councillor David Fairweather said the volunteers are the “unsung heroes” of Arbroath.
He said: “This is a volunteer service that does a fantastic job. These people are all giving up their own time to do this and they put in an awful lot of work which is something I have seen from watching their training sessions.”
Arbroath lifeboat shouts: 2008 46; 2009 33; 2010 37; 2011 31; 2012 41.