Helford Passage Regatta’s support for Falmouth RNLI approaches £20,000

This year’s Regatta was held on Saturday 10 August and managed to go ahead despite the severe weather warnings that cancelled many events that weekend including the Boardmasters music festival at Newquay.

Tina Walker, Regatta Chair and Treasurer said: ‘We decided to go ahead with the Regatta but thought we would curtail some of the activities on the water because of the conditions. We didn’t have any children’s events in the sea but we did manage to run some adult rowing and swimming races. The children’s swimming was held in a swimming pool instead. We couldn’t put any gazebos up because of the strength of the wind but fortunately it didn’t rain.’

Regatta committee member Ailsa Yates said: ‘We had a very good turnout considering the weather forecast but this could have been because other things had been cancelled.’

The money donated was raised in a number of ways including donations, a raffle, tombola, face painting splat the rat and a cake stall and was £600 more than last year.

Falmouth’s Atlantic 75 inshore lifeboat Eve Pank, crewed by Elliot Holman (Helm), Jamie Wakefield and Lloyd Barron, made her last appearance at the Helford Passage Regatta as she was retired out of service 11 days later. Falmouth’s new Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat Robina Nixon Chard put in a brief appearance at the event while out on a training exercise.

On receiving the cheque, Falmouth RNLI Coxswain Jonathon Blakeston thanked the Regatta committee for their continued support and the fantastic amount of money raised to help save lives at sea.

Notes to editors

• The photo shows Tina Walker (left) and Ailsa Yates (right) presenting Falmouth RNLI Coxswain Jonathon Blakeston the cheque for £3,000. Credit: RNLI/SimonCulliford

• The Helford Passage Regatta started as an event in 1982 with rowing and beach sports races just for fun, set up by the Ferry Boat Inn to provide entertainment for holidaymakers and locals alike. Over the years, the pub introduced various fundraising ideas and then in 2007 the current committee took over running the Regatta and began to fundraise for the RNLI.

• Falmouth’s Atlantic 75 inshore lifeboat Eve Pank carried out her last service on Wednesday 21 August to reports of three people in the water from their kayaks near Loe Beach: https://www.falmouthlifeboat.co.uk/shouts/inshore-lifeboat-21-august-2019/ .
  

• Falmouth’s new Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat Robina Nixon Chard was placed on service after Eve Pank had completed her final service.

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