MORE than 16,000 visitors descended on Portsoy for the 31st annual Glenglassaugh Scottish Traditional Boat Festival, last month. The event, which is a celebration of the north east’s maritime heritage, attracted around 30 heritage vessels from across the UK, for a weekend of live music and dance, Scottish food and drink and age-old crafts.
Visitors from across the region flocked to the coastal town to experience the festival’s unique atmosphere, and to see the world-famous Red Arrows perform their only Scottish public display.
David Urquhart, chairman of the festival commented: “A huge amount of planning and organisation goes into delivering the festival, and there was a significant increase in visitors to the event this year, which is excellent news. Thousands of people from across the country turned out to support the festival, we were blessed with good weather, which we haven’t had for the last few years, and this certainly helped to boost our numbers.
“To bring the Red Arrows to Portsoy, for the first time, was a huge honour and certainly delivered a sense of pride for the community. The display was spectacular, visitors really enjoyed it and it was great to see so many families out in the harbour watching. It was a real highlight to the whole weekend.”
The Isabella Fortuna from Wick was presented with the Best Boat Award. This award recognises the hard work and commitment of the crew, who carry out a regular programme of maintenance, to ensure the preservation of this historic vessel.
David continued: “Selecting the best boat of the festival is always a difficult decision, but after taking a tour of the harbour, the Isabella Fortuna stood out – her paintwork glistening in the sunlight, she looked immaculate sat in the Old Harbour. The crew have been long-standing friends of the festival, and I wanted to dedicate the award to them for their painstaking efforts to keep the boat in seaworthy condition. It was also great to bring back The Swan from Lerwick and White Wing and Reaper from Anstruther in Fife. Thousands of visitors climbed aboard Reaper during the weekend, to see what life was like at sea over 100 years ago. These vessels are what the festival is all about. Telling the story of Scotland’s seafaring past, whilst inspiring the next generation to learn boat building skills and crafts, to ensure they endure for years to come.
“Our thanks go to the army of volunteers who worked very hard to keep people safe and ensure that our visitors enjoyed all that the festival has to offer, and to the committee, who have already started working on the plans for 2025. We introduced some new features this year such as the Coastal Crafts area, and our food fayre was packed with over 30 local producers, suppliers and award-winning businesses. We are also grateful to Event Scotland for delivering funding to support the festival in bringing the variety of heritage craft to Portsoy and to our main sponsors Glenglassaugh, for their continued commitment. Many local businesses and organisations pledged their support to the event this year, which enabled us to develop and enhance the programme of entertainment for 2024.”
The Glenglassaugh Scottish Traditional Boat Festival is one of the most popular events in the Scottish tourism calendar and will take place on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 June 2025.
Stewart Buchanan, Global Brand Ambassador Glenglassaugh Distillery, said:”I would like to personally extend a huge thanks to the organisers of the Glenglassaugh Scottish Traditional Boat Festival for another incredible year celebrating our maritime heritage in Portsoy.
“As the headline sponsor, Glenglassaugh Distillery is proud to support an event so deeply rooted in the traditions and coastal beauty that inspire our whisky. Our historical connection to Portsoy, home to our founder James Moir who laid the distillery’s foundation in 1875, makes this partnership truly meaningful. We look forward to continuing to work together and welcoming everyone back to Portsoy for another unforgettable weekend in 2025.”
This year’s festival was sponsored by Glenglassaugh Distillery, Event Scotland, Gray Composting Services Ltd, Puffin Wood Fuels, Moray West, Ocean Winds, Portsoy Thrift Shop, Urquhart Joinery Services, Portsoy 75 Club, Hamlyn’s of Scotland Oatmeal, Messrs J Smith of Sandend, Aspire Restaurant, Whisky Cask Pens, Highland Tweedery, Broadshore Hub, Bellrock Offshore Wind Farm, Camwater Ltd, Davidson Reid Auctions and Crisp Malt.
The Scottish Traditional Boat Festival was first held in 1993 as an event to celebrate the tercentenary of Portsoy’s old harbour. Since then, it has been firmly anchored in the town’s calendar, taking place annually each summer and attracting thousands of visitors from across the region, and further afield. The festival is set around Portsoy’s 17th Century harbour and is run by Portsoy Community Enterprise which also manages Portsoy Links Caravan Park, The Sail Loft Bunkhouse, The Salmon Bothy and The Boatshed. For more information visit www.stbfportsoy.org or on social media at @STBFPortsoy #ahoyportsoy.
