A record number of people were rescued by lifeboat crews last year, according to new figures.
Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) volunteers rescued 1,055 people in 2012, up from the previous high of 1,026 in 2006.
Overall, 15,450 hours were spent at sea by Scottish crews last year, either responding to emergencies or carrying out training exercises.
Last year was also notable for the large number of rescues which took place during darkness, the RNLI said. Some 386 separate incidents were dealt with by crews operating at night.
A regional breakdown of the charity's annual statistics reveals that the busiest station for the second year running was Broughty Ferry, near Dundee. It had 103 separate launches in which 37 people were rescued.
The busiest inshore station was at Queensferry, near Edinburgh. Its volunteer crew launched 66 times last year and rescued 163 people, the highest among Scotland's stations.
The RNLI's newest Scottish station, at Leverburgh in the Hebrides, had a busy year. It was opened on a trial basis in May and was subsequently called out to 11 emergencies, in which 25 people were rescued. A decision on the future of the station is expected later this year.
The crew at Anstruther in Fife was at sea for 628 hours on emergency calls. The RNLI said this included the "dramatic" night-time rescue of two people from a motorboat driven onto rocks by strong winds, which earned one crew member, helmsman Barry Gourlay, a bronze medal from the charity.
Arbroath in Angus, the sixth busiest station, saved two men who had spent more than two hours in freezing waters after their jet ski broke down off the east coast in November. One of the men, Ben Thomson, a father from Dundee, said: "By the time Arbroath lifeboat picked us up we were in a really bad way. I just want to express my thanks to the crew as without them I don't know if I would be here today."
Overall, RNLI lifeboats launched from Scotland's 46 stations on 1,008 occasions last year.
