Ahoy Portsoy – win tickets to the Scottish Traditional Boat Festival

THE harbour of Portsoy will be a sight to behold on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 June 2022, with traditional boats from far and wide docking at the fishing town for the 29th annual Scottish Traditional Boat Festival. This spectacular event celebrates maritime heritage with a range of delights for all the senses 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 ranging from a “Well Hung and Tender” burger to 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 Scottish Traditional Boat 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 (Friday 17 June). A full music programme over the weekend will feature a host of music and dance performers. A guaranteed crowd pleaser and a regular to the festival is Scotland’s first competitive skipping club, Skip 2 the Beat, who will wow visitors with their fast-paced skipping stunts.

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

Entry to the festival is 20% discounted when buying tickets in advance online – £12 for an adult, £8 concession and £4.80 for a child; alternatively, a family day pass can be purchased for £28, or an adult weekend pass is £16. A weekend family pass, for access to the festival on Saturday and Sunday is £36. The Saturday Ceilidh is £10 per person.

We have four pairs of adult weekend passes for the festival to give away. For your chance to win the competition, just answer the following question:

What type of boat is the Isabella Fortuna?

• Fifie
• Yawl
• Coracle

The closing date is Tuesday 31 May 2022 – email your answer to competitions@stbfportsoy.org and please mark your entry “Scottish Field Competition” in the subject line of your email.

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