Students keep St Andrews tradition

HUNDREDS of St Andrews students braved the chilly waters of the North Sea for their annual May Day dip yesterday.

The popular tradition dates back to the 1800s, when student John Honey rescued the five crew members of the Janet of Macduff which had run aground off the East Sands.

Every year, students go by candlelight, led by a piper, to the East Sands where they lay a wreath at the site of the wreck. The following morning at dawn, students head out into the water to cleanse any academic sins.

Honey, then aged 19, was attending a service at St Salvator’s Chapel in St Andrews on January 5 1800 when news broke of the wreckage. Honey rushed to the beach, tying a rope around his waist and handing it to his fellow students.

He made six separate trips out to the sinking boat and carrying survivors back to safety. During his final trip, Honey was struck across the chest by the ship’s falling mast. He survived, however, and was awarded the Freedom of the Cities of St Andrews, Perth, Forfar and Auchtermuchty.

Honey went on to become the Minister of Bendochy in Perthshire in 1812, before dying two years later aged just 32. Many believe the injury sustained had stayed with him, contributing to the tuberculosis which killed him.