Fish festival draws in crowds to 21st annual event by the harbour Iconic vessels, special displays and rare film footage entertain thousands of visitors

The 100-year-old White Wing fishing vessel was the star attraction

Visitors from across the globe converged on a maritime heritage festival in the Mearns on Saturday.

The 100-year-old White Wing fishing vessel was the star attraction at the 21st Johnshaven Fish Festival which attracted thousands of people to the harbour.

A baldie drifter – a smaller version of a Fifie – she is part of the Scottish Fisheries Museum collection at Anstruther, from where she had sailed to be part of the festival.

White Wing was built in Gardenstown in 1917 and first registered in Montrose in 1942 before she was acquired by David Lownie and his brother Andrew, of Gourdon, in 1953.

At last year’s festival, the Scottish Fisheries Museum’s iconic flagship, Reaper, was blown over in the harbour and suffered significant damage. Luckily there was no such adverse drama this year.

A display from Black Cherries Harley-Davidson motorbikes brought the roar of machinery and the smell of petrol to the harbour.

Entertainment also included the Howe o’ the Mearns Pipe Band, the popular raft race, water walkers, the launch of Montrose lifeboat and various stalls.

Originally run by the Benholm and Johnshaven Heritage Society, the reins were handed over to the Johnshaven Fish Festival Management Group (JFFMG) 10 years ago.

The following day residents were given the chance to take a trip down memory lane when rare footage was shown of life on the Mearns coast at Johnshaven Village Hall.

Made by the Sea: Johnshaven was a big screen presentation with a unique selection of archive films of Scotland and the Mearns held in the National Library of Scotland Moving Image Archive.

From films of the high drama faced by brave lifeboat crews to the significance of marine industries and tourism, curator Shona Thomson presented films of Scottish coastal life from as early as 1908 alongside scenes of salmon fishing at St Cyrus and King George VI’s Coronation celebrations in Laurencekirk.

The screening was followed by “an informal blether” with special guests connected to the films.

Members of Montrose lifeboat crew, from left, Darren Murray, Graeme Cowie, Rich Bandeen and Billy Davey at Johnshaven harbour on Saturday. Below: two-year-old Charlotte Law enjoying a snack at the event.