I Was Pinched, and I Wasn’t Dreaming

Deadlines are tough. Crabs are a pinch better.

According to the St Andrews Crabbing Society, the only logical way to spend an afternoon is to rally your friends, equip yourselves with buckets, and make your way down to the beach to catch crabs.

Among the colourful assortment of offbeat student societies at St Andrews is the Crabbing Society, dedicated to bringing the student body together through the catching of various local species. The Crabbing Society hosts events most weeks, particularly during Martinmas, before crabs seclude into winter dormancy in early November. Later in the academic year, the society transitions to organising social events like pub nights, scavenger hunts, and potlucks. This keeps members active until the crabs eventually return in spring.

On Sunday, 4 October, the society hosted its third crabbing event of the year. After a slight delay due to technical difficulties regarding a lack of crab bait, committee members made an emergency pit stop at Tesco. The Society’s Social Secretary, Rebecca Pearce, revealed that Fife crabs were unexpected connoisseurs of smoked bacon. 

The act of crabbing is fairly straightforward. A mesh net is suspended on a handline wrapped around a plastic winder with the bacon placed inside. The bait is then thrown into the water, and upon sinking to the bottom of the sea, the individual is left to wait for passerby crabs to take interest. Once a crab has attached to the line, it is manually reeled up out of the water. Without careful precision and a steady spooling pace, however, the crab can unclasp itself and plummet back into the sea. 

While relishing the scenery of Castle Sands, students crowded around the person crabbing: squatting on the side, waiting patiently for a crab to strike, and proliferating cheers when the bait was ultimately taken.

As the event came to an end, attendees lugged buckets of their sessions’ catches and relocated from the tide pools to the shore, carefully hopscotching between dry portions of rock. On the beach, miniature racetracks were carved into the sand, and a myriad of creatively named front-runners — Lightning McCrab, Lewis Crabbleton, Charles LeCrab among countless other competitors — were lined up in their starting positions. Bets were placed on racers before they were released, and whether quick or sluggish, all crabs eventually made their way back to the sea. 

While in the trenches of exams and essays, the Crabbing Society served as a cost-effective and laid-back way to decompress; a chance to get a breath of fresh air without leaving town. The event, held for a little over an hour, made it the perfect midday activity to fit into a busy study schedule. Whether you attend with friends, or on your own, the weekly crabbing events offer a relaxed outing and a casual opportunity to chat with new people — a fun excuse to take a break from the library.

Photos by Sasha Garkavenko