Rough seas, gale force winds and heavy downpours meant there were no rowing races while many other attractions had to be withdrawn, postponed or moved indoors.
Chairman of Whitby Regatta, Ivor Greer, said it was the worst weather he had ever seen since he joined the committee in 1986.
The weather put paid to the Spitfire air display and RAF Dakota flypast, affected entries in the vintage motorbike and tractor classes and forced the cancellation of the raft race, yacht race, search and rescue demostration and the traditional regatta sailpast.
It was too windy for the bouncy castles, the BBC Radio Cleveland broadcast and the tombola.
Even the fun run was cancelled for health and safety reasons as high tides and strong north sea winds caused waves to crash dangerously high over the promenade.
But in true Whitby spirit, everyone rallied around together to ensure as many events as possible could still go ahead and people pulled on their waterproofs, determined not to miss the annual event.
The Red Arrows pulled in the crowds and Whitby Pavilion manager Jill Gomez-Mannion allowed the live music, face painting and African dancers to be moved inside.
Mr Greer said: "We've had bad weather on one day before but we have always managed to turn it around on the other two.
"I've never known it to be such bad weather for the whole three days – not in my living memory.
"A lot of people have said to me they have never known it as bad before for such a long period, especially after the scorching weather we have had lately.
"The Red Arrows couldn't do a full height display because of the cloud levels but the display they gave was excellent considering the weather conditions they were up against."