The Scottish Traditional Boat Festival announces today (Monday 27 February 2023) it has secured local engineering firm, ACE Winches as its main sponsor for this year’s event.
The festival is one of the largest maritime events in Scotland and will celebrate its 30th anniversary on Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 July 2023. It attracts over 12,000 visitors to the town of Portsoy to see the finest traditional boats drop anchor for a weekend of maritime crafts, traditional music and delicious food and drink.
David Urquhart, chairman of the Scottish Traditional Boat Festival comments, “Sponsorship is an essential element in delivering the festival each year and without this, we simply would not be able to maintain and develop the quality and diversity that the festival is renowned for. Since the first event in 1993, it has grown year on year to become one of the leading maritime celebrations in the Scottish events calendar, and a vital contributor to the local economy.
“ACE Winches has been a long-term supporter of the event, providing significant sponsorship from 2017-2019 and we are delighted to welcome them back ‘on board’ for 2023. I’m confident that this sponsorship deal will bring mutual benefits for both parties, having this commitment from ACE Winches enables us to proceed with our plans and further promote the event on a national and international scale, thus in turn, attracting more visitors to the area.
“2023 is a significant milestone for the festival as it represents our 30th anniversary and we have many special features planned to mark the occasion. At the heart of the celebrations are the heritage boats which sail into Portsoy from across the country. They create a spectacular focal point to the programme which includes music and dance, traditional crafts, handmade gifts and jewellery to the best Scottish produce in our food tent.”
Turriff-headquartered ACE Winches is a global leader in lifting, pulling and deploying solutions across multiple sectors.
Alfie Cheyne, founder and chairman of ACE Winches says, “ACE Winches is proud to sponsor the 2023 festival. As a globally operating business based locally, we are committed to providing support and assistance to the community, which is a core element of our corporate social responsibility strategy. The event, much like us, has grown significantly from when it was first launched and has become the largest gathering of traditional boats in Scotland, whilst playing a vital role in upholding maritime traditions.
“The festival tells the story of the north east’s rich cultural heritage and aims to keep traditional skills alive by inspiring the next generation to learn the art of boat building and engage with age old crafts. It continues to attract thousands of people to enjoy its unique atmosphere in the coastal town of Portsoy and we are looking forward to working with the Board to deliver another successful event, which will mark its 30th year, a major achievement and one which is richly deserved.”
Applications are now open for food and drink producers, craft businesses and local community groups or charities to attend the event and showcase their products to the thousands of visitors over the two days. To take part visit www.stbfportsoy.org/take-part.
The Scottish Traditional Boat Festival will hold its annual fundraising dinner on Saturday 25th March at the Fife Lodge Hotel in Banff at 7pm for 7.30pm. Retired Royal Air Force pilot Nat Haggar is the guest speaker for the evening, who will share his story of flying the Avro Vulcan Bomber and the Canberra PR7s and PR9s. There will also be a raffle and an auction which will be led by Aberdeen and Northern Mart’s auctioneer and star of the BBC TV series, The Mart, Colin Slessor. Tickets are £41 per person or £400 for a table of ten. To book contact Sandy Thomson on sandy@portsoy.org.
ACE Winches provide complete turnkey, bespoke solutions to meet client specifications, adapting existing technology to bring innovative solutions to life. The business delivered products and services in 38 international countries during 2022 and continues to lead industry standards for quality and reliability, they recently established a base in Houston, Texas and formed a subsidiary company in the United Arab Emirates, delivering a range of high-quality services from concept through to design and manufacture and equipment rental. For further information visit: www.ace-winches.com.
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.