Notes by Keddie Law - For many years pleasure boats operated from Burntisland beach, taking visitors on a round trip to the Black Rock. The best known boat in the late 1950s and 1960s was the white-painted Minerva, operated by a Mr J Vallance. It was joined from time to time by three other vessels, each painted blue, called the Stardust, Stardrift and Speedwell. The movable gangplanks allowed the boats to operate at different states of the tides. This postcard is dated 1961, but the colours in the photo are, I suspect, not true to the boats. It was also possible to hire rowing boats as seen in the photo, but today's Health and Safety would not approve of their lack of life jackets for the participants. In the background is the red-brick outdoor bathing pool which dates from the 1930s. It was finally closed in 1979, demolished in 1990 and replaced by the more modern (though some say, less attractive) Beacon Leisure Centre.
Notes by Douglas Aspinall - The three (actually blue) pleasure cutters were owned by Willie Shanks who in his day job was a dock
keeper under Mr Curle the Harbourmaster. The white pleasure boat Minerva was owned by a Mr Vallance and
worked in friendly competition with Willie. When business was flat they
occasionally went along to Aberdour.