Images of the 160th Boat Race Part 2: The Race

‘The Event From Different Views’, The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, 9 April 1881.

Tim Koch writes:

I discovered long ago that, when following a rowing race in a launch, you can either take notes and produce a written report or you can take photographs, but not both. I took the photo option and have used the results to illustrate selections from Peter McConnell’s excellent Official Race Report (here in italics) published on the Boat Race website.

On an overcast day prone to squalls and with a strong south west wind blowing this was always going to be a test of technique as well as stamina.

On the start, the coxs’ hands raised to show that they are not ready. This picture shows the problem of parallax in photographing a side-by-side race – be assured that the boats were started level!

Oxford won the toss and chose the Surrey station which would give them the advantage of the big Surrey bend a third of the way into the Race. Therefore it was Cambridge who would have the early advantage around the Middlesex bend after the end of the Fulham Wall. Off the start both crews sprinted off in the mid 40’s, Oxford taking an early lead.

Seventy five seconds into the race, Oxford lead. The long lens probably exaggerates the closeness of the Oxford ‘7’ blade and that of the Cambridge ‘2’, but the illusion turned real just under four minutes later.

As expected the crews were very close to each other with Cambridge warned by first time Boat Race Umpire Richard Phelps. The Light Blues used the bend to their advantage reeling in Oxford’s lead, hence as they passed the Town Buoy the crews were level.

At Craven Cottage (aka Fulham Football ground) just before Cambridge’s bend advantage ran out.

With both crews at 35 Oxford began to exert their power, pulling out to a 1/3 length lead along the Crabtree Reach.

Approaching the Mile Post.

The crews pictured seconds before ‘the race decider’.

... shortly after the Mile Post, 5 minutes in to the Race, came the moment that effectively settled the result. Phelps had warned Oxford who now had a 3/4 length lead, they responded but Cambridge moved with them and as the Umpire issued a warning to Cambridge the blades of Light Blue 2 man Luke Juckett came into contact with that of Sam O’Connor the Kiwi in the Oxford 7 seat. Juckett was knocked out of his stride, crabbed and was nearly thrown from the boat. Oxford seizing the moment powered away as Cambridge floundered, missing five effective strokes. Worse, Juckett’s rigger was bent meaning his pitch was completely wrong so he could only make a negligible contribution to the speed of his crew.

Juckett’s head goes under.

Juckett emerges from the deep.

Juckett recovers his seat. Bowman Thorpe recovers Juckett’s blade.

Juckett resumes rowing with a gate off pitch and no backstay.

There is ‘only’ fourteen seconds between this picture and the first of this group but this was more than enough time to decide that the race was effectively over.

At Hammersmith Bridge Oxford had an 8 second lead meaning they could choose their own water. They continued to pile on the pressure at a steady 33 strokes a minute and continued to move away from a demoralised Light Blue crew. Even with a strong headwind and rough conditions after Chiswick Eyot, Oxford’s progress was relentless.

At Hammersmith Bridge.

At Chiswick Eyot, approaching Chiswick Steps.

At Chiswick Steps the Oxford lead was 16 seconds over 5 lengths, at Barnes Bridge 28 seconds and at the finish a massive 32 seconds.

Going through Barnes Railway Bridge.

Approaching Mortlake Brewery.

The finish at Chiswick Bridge.

Cambridge cox Ian Middleton raised his hand in protest after the finish but to no avail. Richard Phelps later explained, “I was concerned where Oxford were, so I warned Oxford and they moved immediately. A second later I was happy where the crews were but I then saw the Cambridge bow just twitch-in towards Oxford, so I warned Cambridge. The next thing there was a slight contact but the impact was great.” Talking about the Cambridge appeal he said that “Cambridge’s view was that when the foul occurred Oxford were not on their station. From my perspective Oxford were on their proper station; quite clearly. Contact could only have been in neutral water or at the worst Cambridge were off their station. I advised Cambridge I was overruling their appeal.”

Cox Middleton appeals to Umpire Phelps at the finish.

The luckless Juckett. His broken backstay is clearly evident.

The damage in close up. The pin appears to be upright but it is impossible to tell how much the pitch was out, especially when pressure was applied.

The winning president Malcolm Howard thanked his crew and coach Sean Bowden for an amazing year. He felt the clash but “I don’t think it affected the outcome, we were moving really well, we’d withstood their big push early on and had started to take seats. We were moving on them and would have kept moving.”

Oxford ‘3’ man, Karl Hudspith (right) commiserates with Cambridge bowman, Michael Thorpe (left).

A jubilant Hudspith lifts the Boat Race Trophy. The score now stands at Oxford 78, Cambridge 81 with one dead heat.

On the way back to Putney, a reminder adorning Tideway Scullers’ Boathouse that next year change will come to the 161st Boat Race. In my opinion, this radical move should go further as proper equality will only occur when the men’s reserve race (Isis - Goldie) is moved from the Tideway to the Oxford - Cambridge Henley Boat Races (where the lightweights and remaining women compete) leaving Boat Race Day to the fastest men and the fastest women, full stop. Should anyone complain about ‘a break with tradition’ I would suggest that they fail to understand the paradox that ‘tradition’ can only survive by evolving, not by standing still.  

The race is now on YouTube as is the last Women’s Boat Race to be held at Henley.

Photography © Tim Koch

See also "Images of the 160th Boat Race Part 1: The Prelude".

Battles with the Blues

Tim Koch writes:

The Oxford and Cambridge Tideway fixture season is in full swing with the men’s and women’s Blue Boats taking on various challengers over the Thames Championship Course. Unfortunately, I have not been able to post coverage of these as soon as I would have wished (this is due to my employers expecting me to do what they pay me for, a sad state of affairs). I have previously reported on the races between Oxford and Molesey women on 1 March and now, a little late, can bring you coverage of the Cambridge and Thames women’s races of 2 March and, from the men, the Oxford v German Under-23s clash held on 8 March

(Click on the pictures to enlarge them.)

2 March: Cambridge women passing the Mile Post, the monument to the great Cambridge coach, Steve Fairbairn. The Highland Cow in the left middle ground must be lost.

Tony Reynolds (Regional Rowing Safety Adviser), Ann-Louise Morgan (Race Director) and Judith Packer (Umpire) survey the presently unpredictable Thames.

CUWBC and Thames RC did two races, both between the Boat Race start (above Putney Bridge) and Hammersmith Bridge, about forty per cent of the full course. The first piece was a walkover for Cambridge who went off strong, immediately went in front, were a length up before the end of Putney Embankment and continued to extend their lead to the finish.

Thames in an embarrassing position in front of their club house.

Passing Harrods and approaching the finish at Hammersmith Bridge.

Rob Baker, CUWBC Chief Coach.

The second piece was a very different race. Both crews went off well and were initially level. By the time they approached the football ground, Cambridge were a couple of seats up but it was still anyone’s race. As the bend worked in favour of Thames (on Middlesex), they drew level and were for a brief time in the lead. Excitement was added when both boats moved together, which produced the threat of a clash, and by the water being very rough, it became a real test of boatmanship. Ultimately however, Cambridge showed their class and moved ahead and away from their opposition.

D-R-A-W! Cambridge on their first stroke.

Cambridge go up.

Thames go up.

Cambridge pull away.

The 8 March saw a German Under-23 crew take on OUBC. While the Germans were big lads with international experience, it was a lot to ask them to take on a crew like Oxford, particularly with three Olympic medalists (Malcolm Howard, Constantine Louloudis and Storm Uru) on board.

Oxford. Bow: Storm Uru, 2: Chris Fairweather, 3: Karl Hudspith, 4: Tom Swartz, 5: Malcolm Howard, 6: Michael DiSanto, 7: Sam O’Connor, Stroke: Constantine Louloudis, Cox: Laurence Harvey.

Germany, Under-23 and Under Pressure. Bow: Jonas Wiesen, 2: Finn Knuppel, 3: Malte Daberkow, 4: Maximilian Korge, 5: Johannes Weissenfeld, 6: Arne Schwiethal, 7: Ole Schwiethal, Stroke: Eike Kutzki, Cox: Torben Johannesen.

Oxford will be using the same boat that they used last year, the Empacher Acer, named after the late Acer Nethrcott.

The press launch was full but I was lucky enough to get a seat in the umpire’s launch. In the stern was, on the left, Peter McConnell, Boat Race Archivist and the man who writes the excellent race reports that appear on the Boat Race website and, on the right, Liz Box of the Boat Race Company. Among many other things, Liz Tweets the progress of the races for @theboatrace. She is well qualified to do this as she coxed Goldie in 2010 and CUBC in 2011.

The first piece was from the Boat Race start to Chiswick Steps. Underrating the visitors for most of the way, a composed Oxford led a rushed-looking German crew by half a length by the end of Putney Embankment. By Barn Elms the lead was over a length and this continued to grow in the approach to Hammersmith Bridge. The pictures tell the story.

Germany (left) and Oxford (right) at the end of Putney Embankment. Umpire Phelps was kept busy.

Both crews went wide at Hammersmith Bridge as they had just taken avoiding action around another boat.

Germany trails Oxford near the finish above Chiswick Eyot.

The second piece from below the Chiswick crossing to the Boat Race finish was more exciting, the Germans having a length start. Peter McConnell’s report on the Boat Race website captures it succinctly:

Oxford got off slightly quicker, pulling back half of the German advantage within the first 30 strokes. The Germans were tenacious on this occasion though, keeping the rate at 37 and with the advantage of the Surrey bend made a competitive race of it. However Oxford’s cohesion and power saw them creep back onto terms, man by man. At Barnes Bridge the lead was down to a canvas, then at the apex of the bend Oxford accelerated, going the long way round with a decisive move seeing them take a length out of the Germans in 20 strokes. Soon there was clear water with Oxford’s lead increasing with every stroke to 4 lengths at the finish.

The beginning of the second piece with Germany having a one-boat length start.

Approaching Barnes Bridge, Oxford creeping back.

At the finish, a four-length lead to Oxford. Legendary Oxford coach Dan Topolski (right) looks on.

Oxford rehydrate by The Bandstand on Duke’s Meadows.

A full timetable of all of the fixtures for the Men and the Women is here. The Newton Women’s Boat Race takes place on 30 March and The BNY Mellon Boat Race on 6 April.

Tipping The Scales For The Boat Race

The traditional challenge from the President of the previous year’s losing boat club to his counterpart in the winning club. Joined up writing seems optional.

HTBS’s Tim Koch reports from London:

Tradition was broken at the weigh-in and crew announcement for the 2013 Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race held in London on 4 March. As the Women’s Race moves to parity with the men, starting with equal funding and culminating in the move of the Heavyweight Women’s Race to Boat Race Day proper on the Tideway in 2015, the girls joined the boys for the mildly humiliating ritual of parading around in Lycra in some unlikely non-rowing context – the City offices of sponsors BNY Mellon in this case. I hesitate to speculate about how even obviously physically fit and highly toned women felt about being weighed in public but they did look a little nervous as they filed in to meet the waiting press.

The Cambridge Women’s Blue Boat, 2013.

* denotes an existing Blue

Bow: Caroline Reid* - British
2: Fay Sandford* - British
3: Melissa Wilson - British
4: Jessica Denman - British
5: Vicky Shaw - British
6: Claire Watkins - British
7: Emily Day - British
Stroke: Holly Game* - British
Cox: Esther Momcilovic* - British

Average Cambridge weight excluding the cox: 70.2 kg / 11 stone / 154 lbs.
Average height: 5 ft 10 ins / 178 cm.

The Oxford Women’s Blue Boat, 2013.

Bow: Marianne Novak - Hungarian
2: Alice Carrington-Windo - British/German
3: Mary Foord-Weston* - British
4: Jo Lee - British
5: Amy Varney* - British
6: Harriet Keane* - British
7: Anastasia Chitty - British
Stroke: Maxie Scheske - British/German
Cox: Katie Apfelbaum* - American

Average Oxford weight excluding the cox: 66.6 kg / 10 stone 6 lbs / 146 lbs.
Average height: 5 ft 9 ins / 176 cm.

The Cambridge Men, 2013. To their right, the Oxford women look unimpressed.

Bow: Grant Wilson - American
2: Milan Bruncvik - Czech
3: Alex Fleming - Australian
4: Ty Otto - American
5: George Nash* - British
6: Steve Dudek* - American
7: Alexander Scharp* - Australian
Stroke: Niles Garratt* - American
Cox: Henry Fieldman - British

Average Cambridge weight excluding the cox: 92.1 kg / 14 stone 7 lbs / 203 lbs.
Average height: 6 ft 5 ins / 195 cm.

The Oxford Men, 2013. No. 7, Constantine Louloudis, was not present for the weigh-in due to academic demands.

Bow: Patrick Close - American
2: Geordie Macleod - British/American
3: Alex Davidson* - British

4: Sam O’Connor - New Zealander
5: Paul Bennett - British
6: Karl Hudspith* - British
7: Constantine Louloudis* - British

Stroke: Malcolm Howard - Canadian/British

Cox: Oskar Zorrilla - American/Columbian

Average Oxford weight excluding the cox: 94.7 kg / 14 stone 13 lbs / 209 lbs
Average height: 6 ft 4 ins / 194 cm.

Oxford stroke Malcolm Howard is a double Olympic medallist and the oldest (29) and heaviest (109 kg) man in the Race. His opposite number, Niles Garratt, stroked last year’s wining crew.

The men in the ‘2’ seats, Geordie Macloud for Oxford and Milan Bruncvik for Cambridge. Bruncvik, a veteran of the last two Olympics, is the first Czech to take part in the Race.

Race Umpire Matthew Pinsent (right) questions Oxford Coach Sean Bowden (left) and Cambridge Coach Steve Trapmore (centre).

Guess the University. Guess the sex.

At the weigh-in I had the pleasure of meeting Peter McConnell for the first time. He has the enviable job (for some of us) of Boat Race Archivist. He also writes the excellent race reports that appear on the Boat Race website. His involvement in rowing, however, goes much deeper that that. Peter runs a marketing and PR consultancy and is a former marketing manager for Henley’s River and Rowing Museum. Further, he is heavily involved with Regatta Radio, a ‘pop up’ radio station for Henley Royal Regatta which provides commentaries and interviews from the Friday qualifiers to the Sunday finals. Peter also promotes the spiritual home of rowing – he is Henley Town Council’s ‘Town Centre Manager’ with the task of ‘encouraging business cooperation and coordinating communications’. His blog, The Henley Traveller is subtitled ‘Despatches from the market town of Henley on Thames; Food & Travel, Sport, Arts & Culture’. He ‘Tweets’ as @oarsmanpete.

Peter’s personal rowing history is particularly interesting as he started rowing at the age of 14 at Great Marlow School. Another new boy in the tiny boat club at a school with no rowing tradition was a big lad called Steven Redgrave. Redgrave has often credited the rowing master, Francis Smith, as the person responsible for getting him into rowing. Peter is still an active rower – unlike Steve (some people have no staying power).

Peter McConnell, Boat Race Archivist.

The 159th Boat Race is on Easter Sunday, 31 March. Cambridge lead the series with 81 victories to Oxford’s 76, with one dead heat in 1877. The Men’s Heavyweight Race (OUBC and CUBC) is at 16.30 GMT with the Men’s Heavyweight Reserves (Isis and Goldie) going off about half an hour before. The other boat races between the two universities with be at Henley on 24 March:

Women’s Boat Race: OUWBC vs CUWBC
Women’s Reserves: Osiris vs Blondie
Lightweight Women’s Boat Race: OUWLRC vs CUWBC Lightweights
Lightweight Men’s Boat Race: OULRC vs CULRC

HTBS hopes to be there!

The Women’s Prize (left) and the Men’s Prize (right). Tim (centre) is not a prize.