The ACE Winches Scottish Traditional Boat Festival takes place on Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 July 2023.
This year will mark the 30th anniversary of the event, which is an annual celebration of maritime heritage bringing together a flotilla of traditional sailing vessels into the historic 17th century harbour of Portsoy, alongside music and dance, Scottish food and drink and crafts.
Around 30 boats will make their way to Portsoy and one of the flagship vessels taking part this year is Reaper, a Fifie herring drifter which was built by J&G Forbes in 1902.
This will be Reaper’s first time back out on the water following significant restoration works, detai.s of which can be found at ‘Reaper – The Last Of Her Kind’ on YouTube.
The festival attracts over 12,000 visitors to the coastal town of Portsoy, with people from across Scotland and in the past from much further afield, including boat clubs in Germany, Norway and Sweden, cultural groups from the Baltic States and Shetland’s Jarl Squad Vikings.
In 2019 the festival won best cultural event/festival at the Aberdeen City and Shire Tourism Awards.
Entry to the festival is discounted when buying tickets in advance online: a day festival pass is £15.30 for an adult, £9.90 concession and £6.30 for a child.
Alternatively, a family day pass can be purchased for £35.10, or an adult weekend pass is £19.80. A weekend family pass, for access to the festival on Saturday and Sunday is £45.
Tickets can be purchased on the festival website: https://stbfportsoy.org/buy-tickets. For festival updates follow @stbfportsoyor #ahoyportsoy on social media.
