2010
2011
2012
BOAT RACE 2010 -
Oxford University v Cambridge University
Port of London Rowing Chart Richmond Lock to Fulham Rail Bridge
Map taken from George Drinkwater's "The Boat Race"
156: Saturday, 3rd April, 2010 at 1630
Cambridge won the 156th boat race by 1 1/3 lengths in 17 minutes 35 seconds. Oxford 75, Cambridge 80.
Oxford won the toss and chose Surrey. Oxford had if anything the best start and looked the better crew.
They slowly eased away from Cambridge, and at the mile post were a third of a length up.
Then Oxford held their lead on the Middlesex bend in favour of Cambridge.
At Hammersmith Bridge the Oxford lead was nearly a length with the long Surrey bend still to go.
At this point few people outside the Cambridge boat would have given much for their chances.
But then they slowly began to go up on Oxford despite being on the outside of the bend.
That was a blend of training and sheer guts to be able to produce that much power at that stage
when it would have been easy to feel they were beaten.
When Oxford should have opened up perhaps a length of clear water
Cambridge actually made up water on them. At Chiswick Steps Cambridge were a canvas down;
but then came out of the bend with their bows ahead
and led by two thirds of a length at Barnes Bridge
From then on the bend was in Cambridge's favour and they eased into a lead - and though Oxford hung on grimly
they never really threatened the Cambridge lead.
Towards the finish Oxford who might have held Cambridge to half a length
appeared to give up the fight and lost by four seconds.
The coxing was superb, particularly Cambridge - and though clashes did appear possible and the courses were rightly aggressive,
clashes were avoided and the umpire struck a good balance, warning without nagging.
Cambridge achieved what is the classic Cambridge rowing move - which is to increase speed, not by raising the rating,
but by raising the power. Since the stroke length is, or should be, more or less fixed, this implies that,
as the time in the water is decreased, so the time on the slide is increased leaving the rating the same.
To do this in the second half of a boatrace is an enormous tribute to their training.
157: Saturday, 26th March, 2011 at 1700
Oxford won the 157th boat race by 4 lengths in 17 mins 32 secs. Oxford 76, Cambridge 80.
A very modest tide and not too much wind.
Oxford won the toss and chose the Surrey station.
Oxford, the lighter crew, appeared keener and more on top of their work from the very start.
In comparison Cambridge seemed powerful but almost lumbering. Oxford led from the start, inching away at first, holding
Cambridge's pushes and then in the middle of the race taking a decided lead which enabled them to choose their water.
From then on at several points Cambridge were on the Surrey station and Oxford nearer Middlesex.
This at the very least suggests disagreement as to where the tide was - but if Oxford erred in coming over too far there
is little to be said because they won decisively.
Cambridge in training appeared to be having a much more pleasant time of it and majored on the fellowship between their oarsmen.
Oxford in contrast were much more coldly scientific and placed relationships lower down their order of priorities.
In terms of the debate raised on this website (see Henley Regatta) this was a victory of the athletes over the gentlemen.
By that I do not mean to imply anything less gentlemanly about Oxford - merely that their attitude to the task in hand was
a colder more rational approach.
The umpire warned both boats significantly in the first few minutes and the coxes seemed to take notice of him.
At one stage there was a significant overlap of oars and disaster was possible.
(ie oars might have clashed, breaking oars or riggers and even injuring rowers)
However as Oxford pulled ahead that problem resolved itself and though the umpire showed signs of nerves obviously
thinking what would happen if Cambridge did in fact manage to come back, they didn't, and that was that.
158: Saturday, 7th April, 2012 at 1415
Cambridge won the 158th boat race. Oxford 76, Cambridge 81. No time was taken and no (lengths) verdict given.
Cambridge won the toss and chose the Surrey station.
Oxford were favourites despite giving away a stone and a half and 2 inches in height.
Oxford made the better start though they were warned several times for coming over towards Cambridge.
Cambridge slowly settled and held them and even caught up a little on the outside of the first bend.
It was turning into a most impressive battle with Cambridge just holding Oxford, with Oxford probably better placed to win -
until 10 minutes and 40 seconds into the race when Matthew Pinsent, assistant umpire, spotted a swimmer in the water
ahead of Oxford. The umpire stopped the race with only a few feet to spare before the swimmer who ducked under
Oxford's strokeside blades.
With both crews easied the following launches had to do emergency stops and created a great deal of wash.
Assuming the swimmer knew what he was doing he was relying on the race being stopped otherwise the following launches
could well have killed him.
Both crews then had to spin and go back below Chiswick Eyot. This all took some time as the following launches had
to turn and pass the crews and reform below them.
On turning again and approaching the restart the Cambridge cox probably decided that the wash was too high
and turned back downstream in order to give the wash time to subside. Oxford followed suit.
The Umpire and the coxes did a magnificent job on restarting the race when eventually the crews returned.
Oxford probably made a better restart but pushed over towards Cambridge and were warned two or three times
before a clash occurred and Oxford six lost the entire blade section of his oar.
Oxford appealed to the umpire to stop the race which he refused to do, so the race continued with Cambridge
naturally taking the lead and opening up to about five lengths at the finish.
The Umpire confirmed that the result stood.
He was asked about his decision and pointed out that the rules say 'a crew must abide by its accidents'.
In other words that damage which occurs to a boat does not affect the result
unless it was caused by the fault of the other crew. Cambridge he decided were in their right position
and Oxford were being warned at the time - so the damage to the Oxford boat was not Cambridge's fault.
The race therefore could continue. The Oxford cox claimed that the wash affected her steering
and prevented her moving away from Cambridge. Only she could tell if that was so.
The wash was certainly still significant at that point.
On the finish the Oxford bow man lay back horizontally in his seat
and eventually after a minute or two it was realised that there was a medical emergency
and he was taken up into a launch and given medical treatment.
Dr Alexander Woods was reported to be sitting up and responding to treatment.
He was taken to Charing Cross Hospital.
We wish him a speedy recovery. Meanwhile the presentation was cancelled.
What a race! It must be recorded as a Cambridge win - but many will sympathise with Oxford.
The umpire and the Cambridge cox did magnificent jobs.
Who knows what the result of a fair race between those two crews would be?
There was too much wash. The Umpire's boat was a relatively low wash catamaran.
The Henley type launches made their usual contribution, but following them were some larger boats with
altogether appalling wash. The time has come to take steps to reduce that wash!
| 2012 AVERAGES: | AGE | WEIGHT | HEIGHT |
| Oxford | 26 | 88.5Kg (13st 13 lbs) | 192cm (6ft 3in) |
| Cambridge | 24 | 96.3Kg (15st 2 lbs) | 195cm (6ft 5in) |
161: Boat-Races, 2015
It has been announced that the Women's Boat Race, previously held at Henley a week or so before the Men's Boat Race,
will from 2015 be held on the same day over the same course.
[ This is not a simple question of equality. To ask eight women to train for the 4.5 mile course in the
way that the men do, is a big challenge.
It might be that it is actually a bigger challenge to ask a woman to do this than for a man?
One needs to ask whether the rewards for doing it justify the enormous outlay of time and effort.
Only the rowers themselves can answer that question -
but I do dare to comment that I for one would think no less of them
if it was agreed that a shorter course would be appropriate. ]
In 1866 PUNCH produced this cartoon -
Boat-Race of the Future - Drifting Down to the Start-Point
After the 2012 race, after one hundred and fifty eight boat races, the overall tally is:
Oxford 76, Cambridge 81 (and one dead heat)
The lead in the Overall Tally of Boat Race Wins has only changed hands three times in all those years.
Scores were equal in 1836, 1863 and 1929.
Oxford won the 1829 first race.
Cambridge led from 1839 to 1862.
Oxford led from 1864 to 1928.
Cambridge led from 1930 to today.
 
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1829 - 1863 - - - - - - - - - - - 1929 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2012 LEAD IN CUMULATIVE WINS: Oxford dark blue, Cambridge light blue |
IN TWO OUT OF EVERY THREE BOATRACES THE WINNER IS LAST YEAR'S WINNER!
For the purposes of statistics the 2012 race result has been included since the result stands,
using a nominal time (17 mins 30 secs) and a distance between crews of 5 lengths
Considering the race as one continuous whole 1829 - 2012 the crews have covered about 677 miles.
Assuming 1 length = 3 seconds and 'Easily' to mean 10 lengths, 30 seconds, and excluding races in which less than two crews finished,
In about 52 hours and 28 minutes racing
CAMBRIDGE LEAD by 5 minutes and 46 seconds, about 115 lengths,
(which is about 2 seconds, 0.73 of a length per race)
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1829 - 1863 - - - - - - - - - - - 1929 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2012 LEAD IN LENGTHS OVER ALL 677 miles |
And the moral is - well logically there are four possibilities -
WHEN CAMBRIDGE WIN THEY WIN BY MORE! (which is the same thing as)
WHEN OXFORD LOSE THEY LOSE BY MORE!
WHEN OXFORD WIN THEY WIN BY LESS!
WHEN CAMBRIDGE LOSE THEY LOSE BY LESS!
Actually the issue is what you do when you are being beaten - do you give up and save your efforts for another day -
or do you persevere regardless? I think that in 2010 Cambridge could well have concluded they were beaten by the time
they reached Hammersmith Bridge - but stubbornly (and as it turned out, rightly) refused to accept it.
Oxford probably rightly concluded they were beaten in the last few strokes and let Cambridge have half a length or so -
but the willingness to admit you are beaten, may not be what winners are made of?
In contrast in 2011, Cambridge, though certainly beaten appeared to keep trying with a higher rating right to the bitter end.*
* NB total neutrality is not guaranteed in this comment!
In 2012 none of these arguments can be applied.
This is ultimately part of the "Athletes v Gentleman" debate which this site looks at on the Henley Regatta page.
The athletes will tend towards a realistic acceptance of an impending result whilst the "Gentlemen" will see it in terms
of "guts" and aggression. (In this, as in much else, the whole world is biased, except me.)
Check my Spreadsheet - and tell me any errors!
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1829 - 1863 - - - - - - - - - - - 1929 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2012 LEAD IN EACH SEPARATE RACE: Oxford dark blue, Cambridge light blue |
Throughout the boat race reports there is some question as to the relationship between lengths and time interval.
Before 1977 the assumption was 3½ seconds = 1 length.
The usual assumption since 1977 is 3 seconds = 1 length; this is about right for an 18 minute race speed.
Given a standard length boat of 62 feet and assuming that the finishing speed is the average speed over the race:-
A 17 minute speed would be 1.05 lengths in 3 seconds; 1 second = 0.35 length; 10 seconds = 3½ lengths
An 18 minute speed would be 0.99 lengths in 3 seconds; 1 second = 0.33 length; 10 seconds = 3.3 lengths
A 19 minute speed would be 0.95 lengths in 3 seconds; 1 second = 0.32 length; 10 seconds = 3¼ lengths
And a 20 minute speed would be 0.9 lengths in 3 seconds; 1 second = 0.3 length; 10 seconds = 3 lengths.
Click for Hammersmith Bridge
The first boat races (pre 1850)
Estuary
PLA
QEII Br
Barrier
Tower Br
Custom Ho
London Br
; Frost Fairs
Cannon St Rb
The Great Stink
Southwark Br
Millenium Br
Blackfriars Rb
Blackfriars Br
Waterloo Br
Charing Cross Rb
Westminster Br
Lambeth Br
Vauxhall Br
Victoria Rb
Chelsea Br
Albert Br
Battersea Br
Battersea Rb
Wandsworth Br
Fulham Rb
Putney Br
Hammersmith Br
Barnes Rb
Chiswick Br
Kew Rb
Kew Br
RICHMOND
Twickenham Br
Richmond Rb
Richmond Br
TEDDINGTON
Kingston Rb
Kingston Br
Ditton Slip
Hampton Br
MOLESEY
SUNBURY
Walton Br
Desborough Cut
SHEPPERTON
Chertsey Br
CHERTSEY
M3 Br
Laleham Slip
PENTON HOOK
Staines Rb
Staines Br
Runnymede Br
BELL WEIR
Magna Carta Is
OLD WINDSOR
Albert Br
Datchet
Victoria Br
Black Potts Rb
ROMNEY
Eton
Windsor Br
Windsor Rb
Windsor Slip
Elizabeth Br
BOVENEY
Dorney Lake
York Cut
Summerleaze Fb
MonkeyIsland
New Thames Br
BRAY
Bray Slip
Maidenhead Rb
Maidenhead Br
Below Boulters
BOULTERS
Cliveden
Hedsor
COOKHAM
Cookham Slip
Cookham Br
BourneEnd RFb
Quarry Woods
A404 Br
MARLOW
Marlow Br
Bisham
TEMPLE
HURLEY
Medmenham
Culham Ct
Aston Slip
HAMBLEDEN
Temple Is
Fawley Ct
Remenham
Regatta
Phyllis Ct
Henley Slip
Leander
Red Lion
Henley Br
Angel on Br
Landing
Hobbs Boatyard
Hobbs Slipway
MARSH
Hennerton
Bolney
Wargrave
Shiplake Rb
R.Loddon
SHIPLAKE
Sonning Br
SONNING
Dreadnought
K&A Canal
CAVERSHAM
Reading Br
Caversham Br
Reading Slip
Purley
MAPLEDURHAM
Hardwick Ho
Whitchurch Br
WHITCHURCH
Hartswood Reach
Gatehampton Rb
Goring Gap
Goring Br
GORING
Swan
CLEEVE
Moulsford
Moulsford Rb
Papist Way Slip
Winterbrook Br
Wallingford Br
BENSON
Shillingford Br
R.Thame
DAYS
Burcot
Clifton Hampden
Clifton Church
Clifton H Br
Barley Mow
Long Wittenham
CLIFTON
Appleford Rb
Sutton Courtenay
Sutton Br
CULHAM
Culham Cut Fb
Abingdon Slip
Abingdon
Abingdon Br
ABINGDON
Nuneham Rb
Nuneham
Nuneham Park
Radley Boats
SANDFORD
Rose Island
Kennington Rb
Isis Br
Iffley Mill
IFFLEY
Oxford Rowing
Isis
Donnington Br
Riverside Slip
Boathouses
Punting
Lower Cherwell
Upper Cherwell
Islip
Head of River
Salters Steamers
Folly Br
Bacons Folly
Oxford Fb
Osney Fb
Weir stream
Osney Rb
Bullstake Stream
Osney Marina
OSNEY
Osney Br
Four Rivers
OLD RIVER
CANAL
Medley Weir Site
Medley Fb
Bossoms
Perch
Trout
GODSTOW
Godstow Nunnery
Godstow Br
Thames Br
KINGS
River Evenlode
EYNSHAM
Swinford Br
Oxford Cruisers
PINKHILL
Farmoor
Stanton Harcourt
Bablock Slip
Arks Weir Site
NORTHMOOR
Harts Fb
//Rose Revived
Newbridge
//Maybush
River Windrush
below Shifford
SHIFFORD
Shifford Fb
Tenfoot Fb
Trout Inn
Tadpole Br
RUSHEY
Old Mans Fb
RADCOT
Radcot Cradle Fb
Swan Inn
Radcot New Br
Radcot Old Br
GRAFTON
Eaton Hastings
Kelmscott
Eaton Fb
BUSCOT
Bloomers Hole Fb
Trout Inn
St Johns Br
ST JOHNS
Halfpenny Br
Marina Slip
LIMIT
Inglesham
Hannington Br
Kempsford
Castle Eaton Br
Marston Meysey
A419 Br
Cricklade
SOURCE?
THAMES HEAD
SEVEN SPRINGS