Come Onboard Reaper!

We need your help to tell the story of this rare survivor from the heyday of fishing.

Following a £1million conservation, the Scottish Fisheries Museum in Anstruther, Fife, is set to welcome visitors back onboard the iconic ‘Fifie’ Reaper, the last of the great First Class Scottish Herring Luggers and a ‘Rare Survivor’ from the golden age of sail.

One of the few vessels in the UK’s prestigious National Historic Fleet* kept in seagoing condition, the two-masted, 70 foot, 50 tonne Reaper FR958 will open to the public on Wednesday 4th August at her pontoon on Anstruther Harbour, once Scotland’s busiest fishing port.

But we still need your help.

Covid-19 and the lockdown that came with it, almost put a halt to the ongoing work on the Reaper. The Scottish Fisheries Museum Boats Club Volunteers have done a fantastic job on maintenance throughout the pandemic, alongside boatbuilder Ali Beedie. However, the Reaper now needs your support so that visitors can enjoy an amazing experience when they visit.

Our Crowdfunder campaign, Come Onboard Reaper! aims to raise vital funds for tour guides, interpretation, and signage so the vessel can reopen to the public and welcome visitors onboard. The Crowdfunder is part of the Museums Association #SupportOurMuseums campaign to support our fantastic museums and help them face the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.

Campaign manager and Director of Development at the Scottish Fisheries Museum, Simon Hayhow said:

“We are absolutely delighted to be welcoming the public back onto Reaper! Without the funding for guides, interpretation, and signage, we will not be able to tell the fascinating story of this iconic boat. We hope to see you on board in August!”

If you don’t know much about the Reaper, she started out life as a herring drifter after being built in the early 1900’s and once held the record catch of herring at around quarter of a million! The Reaper continued fishing until the outbreak of the Second World War when she was requisitioned by the Admiralty and saw service in the South of England. After the war she returned to fishing in Shetland until 1957. The Scottish Fisheries Museum acquired the Reaper in 1974.

In her time at the Museum, she has attracted over 300,000 visitors from more than 130 countries. The Reaper has appeared on Outlander and has even had very own episode on the show The Boats that Build Britain, hosted by British yachting journalist, author and broadcaster, Tom Cunliffe.

If you would like to donate to the Crowdfunder, please visit https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/come-onboard.

Find out more about the Reaper’s recent conservation at: Re opening the Reaper