The Glenglassaugh Scottish Traditional Boat Festival returns with a splash this year, as visitors of all ages can experience a wide range of on the water activities during the event which takes place on 28 and 29 June in Portsoy.
From coastal rowing in a traditional wooden skiff to bathtubbing, festival-goers can also test their sea legs and try to stay afloat in one of the oldest forms of water transport, the coracle.
Portsoy’s historic harbour will be transformed into a hub of seafaring celebration as around 30 traditional boats from across the country will drop anchor for a weekend of live music and dance, Scottish food and drink, age old crafts. The Wally Green Kids’ Zone will have a range of activities and entertainment for younger attendees. The RNLI Macduff and Buckie lifeboats will be in attendance, promoting water safety. HM Coastguard will be showcasing specialist equipment and explain the emergency assistance they provide to keep people safe along the coast.
The Coracle Society will be providing ‘have a go’ sessions in coracles all weekend. The coracle, also known as the currach, is a small keel-less boat. The main use of the coracle was for fishing or transportation, and it has a long history spanning thousands of years, with evidence of their use in cave paintings from the early Bronze Age and potentially as far back as the Ice Age. It is likely to have been the first form of water transportation.
One of the highlights of the festival programme is the Raft Race which takes place at 2.30pm in the Old Harbour on 28 June. Teams of three will compete to make it across the harbour, and back again, in their own homemade raft using paddle power only.
Richard Thorne, maritime co-ordinator of the Glenglassaugh Scottish Traditional Boat Festival said: “The festival is a celebration of the sea, and we’ve extended our programme of on the water activities to enable our visitors to get involved and try a range of different activities, from the modern to the traditional and historic.
“A new addition to the festival programme last year was bathtubbing. Open to our younger visitors aged 10-16, they will be challenged with steering two conjoined bathtubs around a course. Participants really enjoyed it, and we expect this to be popular again, with the teams going head-to-head on Sunday afternoon to see who has the fastest bathtub! We are also grateful to the Portsoy Coastal Rowing Club for providing taster sessions where visitors can learn more about this community-based group and set sail in their St Ayles Skiff, Soy Quine.”
The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Trust will also perform a demonstration of how whales, dolphins and seals can be cared for and helped if they find themselves on a beach.
Richard Thorne said: “There is still time for teams to sign up to take part in the raft race or bathtubbing, and registrations also remain open for any boats and crews who wish to set sail for Portsoy this June and join our flotilla of traditional vessels.”
To register to take part visit www.stbfportsoy.org/takepart.
For more information and to purchase tickets visit www.stbfportsoy.org.
The Glenglassaugh 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.
