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Regatta Thriving Despite Cancellation Of Boat Activities

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Sunday is the last day of the annual EQT Three Rivers Regatta.

Although the loss of boating activities was a major blow, officials believe the event is on its way to becoming another huge success.

Who can forget the roaring sound of speedboats racing up and down the Allegheny River on a hot summer day?

The boats are always a fixture during the annual regatta, but Saturday the river was quiet.

All races were cancelled due to dangerous river conditions.

"I'm very disappointed, I really love the boat races," said Peggy Rogo. "Every year we come to the Pirates game whenever they're here and we come to the Pirates game whenever they're here and we watch the boat races."

"It's a shame that we came in from Ohio," said Phil McGrath. "Wanted to see the boat races, have seen them in years past."

Director of Events Derek Weber says the Regatta had no choice because of the amount of debris in the river.

"Safety is our No. 1 priority all the time, so we don't want to put any risks to anybody," he said.

"It's not anybody's fault," said Doug Kephart. "The weather, it just rained all the time. I mean, if you look, we stand up on the bridge and you look, it's just full of logs and sticks, you don't want nobody getting killed."

When it was first announced that boating activity was cancelled due to river conditions, it seemed to rip the heart out of the regatta. But since then, it appears the regatta is surviving, even thriving.

The event features lots of good eats, plenty of sights and things to do like riding the nine-story tall ferris wheel.

"It's still great down here," said John Biocquidio. "There's a lot going on. Lots of people having some fun, the weather's great. Yeah, we miss them, but it's still Pittsburgh."

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