The Vikings came back to Portsoy!
Friday 7th July 2017
Here at NorthLink Ferries we were delighted to sponsor the main harbourside marquee at the Scottish Traditional Boat Festival for the second consecutive year. The Portsoy Boat Festival took place over Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th June 2017.
Inside the marquee we were proud to bridge the link between Orkney and Shetland with the North East of Scotland.
Star attractions included the Lerwick Up Helly Aa Viking Jarl Squad along with Guizer Jarl, Lyle Gair.
Heavy roars of Vikings filled the air in the marquee and the entire festival, as they posed for photographs, signed autographs and even sang their Up Helly Aa song.
Other entertainment was provided by Da Shanty Yellmen and Hjaltibonhoga Fiddlers. Da Shanty Yellmen provided tremendous renditions of sea shanties including Maggie May, Blow the man down and South Australia.
The Shetland Hjaltibonhoga fiddlers are known worldwide for their exceptional fiddle playing and kept the crowds entertained throughout the marquee. Hjaltibonhoga are the official Shetland fiddlers for the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. The Vikings, Yellmen and fiddlers all featured on the main stage of the festival where they performed for the crowds.
To support Visit Scotland’s year of History, Heritage and Archaeology we also decided to house the Neolithic replica boat in the marquee for the weekend. The boat was recently built by the BBC TV series Orkney: Britain’s Ancient Capital. The Neolithic boat provided much excitement for guests visiting the festival. It seemed everyone enjoyed learning a little bit about the history of boat building in the Northern Scottish isles.
A main draw to the marquee was of course the mouth-watering delicacies of the Scottish Isles. We provided guests with samples of our on-board offering which showcases how passionate we are towards using local suppliers. Tastings included Shetland smoked salmon mousse on Stockan’s Oatcakes, Orkney fillet of beef with horseradish crème fraiche, Orkney smoked cheese on Stockan’s Oatcakes with Orkney tomato chutney and Orkney leek and red onion sausages.
We also supported travel arrangements for the Orkney and Shetland rowing teams who entrusted us to successfully transport their skiffs and yoals. The teams competed on Saturday however races were unfortunately called off for Sunday due to poor weather conditions.
Our entire team care about supporting local businesses, groups and events. We were pleased to be joined by the Up Helly Aa Viking Squad, Da Shanty Yellmen and the Hjaltibonhoga fiddlers at the Portsoy Boat Festival. Inside the marquee we were also pleased to work with Clyde Marine Training, Orkney Fairtrade and Shetland Amenity Trust.
This year we worked in conjunction with the RNLI and for every goodie we gave away we invited guests to donate to this worthy organisation. We are extremely proud of the team for raising an outstanding £2,202.41 over the two days of the festival for the RNLI. We would also like to extend this thank you to each and every one of you who donated throughout the weekend.