On Saturday and Sunday, June 18-19, the harbour at Portsoy will be a sight to behold with traditional boats from far and wide, docking at the coastal town for the 29th annual Scottish Traditional Boat Festival.

This spectacular event celebrates maritime heritage with a range of delights for all, from boats, music and crafts to food for all the family.

The event, which is expected to attract around 16,000 visitors over the two days, will see the finest craft in the Scottish historic fishing fleet drop anchor in Portsoy, including the Isabella Fortuna.

One of the oldest boats taking part in the event, the 19th century Fifie is a traditional fishing vessel owned and restored by the Wick Heritage Society and will journey down from Caithness especially for the festival.

Also on display will be a former 1978 RNLI Rother Class Lifeboat and a replica of the Loch Broom Post Boat, a small clinker-built sailing vessel used for the delivery of mail to remote communities.

A wide range of traditional craft demonstrations including knitting, crocheting and ceramic painting will all be showcased at this year’s event.

The best of Scottish produce is on the menu in the food fayre, with locally caught fish and shellfish taking centre stage alongside Aberdeen Angus beef, wild Scottish venison, handmade cheese, chutneys and jams and locally produced gin, whisky and rum. Visitors can eat their way around the harbour with delights including international flavours including German bratwurst, chicken schnitzel and Frikadellen burgers, Spanish paella and pizza. No visit would be complete without a scoop of Portsoy Ice-Cream.

The festival music programme includes a host of performers, top of the bill are Celtic rockers Skerryvore, who headline the Friday night Big Gig on the Back Green on Friday, June 17. There is a full music programme over the weekend.

Scotland’s first competitive skipping club Skip 2 the Beat, will wow visitors with their fast-paced skipping stunts.

The Scottish Traditional Boat Festival was first held in 1993 to celebrate the tercentenary of Portsoy’s old harbour.

It is now firmly anchored in the town’s calendar, taking place annually each summer – apart from the last two years due to Covid – and attracting thousands of visitors.

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The festival is set around Portsoy’s 17th Century harbour and is run by Portsoy Community Enterprise which manages Portsoy Links Caravan Park, The Sail Loft Bunkhouse, The Salmon Bothy and The Boatshed.

EventScotland is working to make Scotland the perfect stage for events by securing and supporting an exciting portfolio of sporting and cultural events.

For further information and to purchase tickets visit www.stbfportsoy.org, for festival updates follow @stbfportsoy or #ahoyportsoy on social media.

This year’s festival is supported by EventScotland’s National Events Programme.

We have teamed up with the organisers of the festival to offer FIVE family day passes for readers. For a chance to win, just answer the following question:

What type of boat is the Isabella Fortuna?

1. Fifie
2. Yawl
3. Coracle

Email your answer with the subject heading Highland News Media Competition to competitions@stbfportsoy.org

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