The biggest gathering of skiff crews before the Worlds will be at Portsoy Traditional Boat Festival on the 22nd and 23rd of June. On the Saturday night there is a social event in the Tattie Shed where the lane draws for the Worlds will take place in front of the assembled company.
Lanes will be drawn from a hat for each heat of races which require heats, and for finals of races which do not require heats. For the finals of the larger races, lanes will not be drawn but the lane order will be : Winner of Heat 1 in lane 1. Winner of Heat 2 in lane 2. Winner of Heat 3 in lane 3. 2nd in Heat 1 in lane 4. 2nd in Heat 2 in lane 5. 2nd in Heat 3 in lane 6 and so on.
Lane 1 is nearest to the beach so in the races with heats, the fastest boats will be closest to the spectators, and the likely top three boats will be well in view. Having the fastest boats at the right hand side of the course will also mean that they are less likely to meet slower boats as they come out of the turns, and the top contenders will be close enough to see each other. This promises to provide a thrilling finish to these hotly contested categories.
