An Upper Largo schoolgirl was given a birthday present with a difference when she got to name a lifeboat.
Eden Russell was eight on Thursday and two days later found out she had won a competition to name Anstruther RNLI’s new vessel.
Her suggested name Akira, which means anchor, was picked by Katrina Bryan from the CBeebies show Nina and the Neurons.
The Kirkton of Largo Primary School pupil said: “We went on holiday to the Isle of Skye and I was asking my parents what the Gaelic names meant.
“I asked about Akira and was told it meant anchor.”
Eden and her proud parents Grant and Angela attended a prize giving ceremony in Anstruther on Saturday, when the winning name was announced in front of more than 100 people.
Ms Bryan, who has also starred in Taggart, said: “It was really hard to choose a winning name from so many great entries.
“Eden’s name of Akira was a winner because it had a lovely sound and a nautical meaning.”
Pupils at Waid Academy and nine local primary schools were tasked to come up with suggestions for what to name the new boat.
Guidelines for the competition included not to make reference to other boats and to avoid some of the superstitions that surround seafaring communities.
After the best entries had been selected from each class, a shortlist was submitted to Katrina.
Station coxswain Michael Bruce added: “The competition has helped our volunteer crews engage with children from the schools.
“We were absolutely delighted that Katrina not only attended the ceremony but took a great interest in our charity.”
Eden will be invited to the official naming ceremony of the D class lifeboat Akira, which arrives in Anstruther later this year.
It is not the first time something has been named Akira recently.
Academics led by the University of St Andrews discovered a new type of “red geyser” galaxy and a Japanese scientist in the team called it Akira.
In Japanese it can mean bright, clear or intelligent. The scientist named the galaxy after a manga character called Akira.
