AFTER running for the past 169 years, the Saltash Regatta is likely to come to an end this year if no one comes forward to offer help organising the event. At last Thursday's Saltash Partnership meeting at the Guildhall, vice chairman Liam Bradley said that the chairman of the Regatta Committee, Jeremy Pengelly, was retiring at the annual meeting in January 2005 after four years. That, he said, only left two or three people organise and run the event. Mr Bradley said that he hoped the Partnership or Market and Coastal Towns Initiative (MCTI) could give practical help to save the Regatta from ending. He suggested that the two Waterside events, the Regatta and Winkle Fair, could combine and become a big town event. Sidney Harley, president of Saltash Regatta Committee, has worked on the committee for 40 years and said that with Mr Pengelly retiring it was impossible to run the Regatta without someone else at the helm. They need someone who has some practical experience at organising such events and said 'we would be there to give guidance.' A provisional date was set for next year's 170th regatta, with the committee recommending that the two day festival should be held on July 2 and 3, so long as the necessary help was provided. Chairman of the Partnership, Stephen Tait suggested that the mayor of Saltash could also help as previous mayors have always shown a keen interest in attending the Regattas and the annual meeting. Many local organisations have recently suffered through a lack of people willing to give their time to organise events, while flower and produce shows in the town have had to end through lack of support. The Partnership will consider the issue at their next meeting and see if anything can be given to save the Regatta.
