Boat Race anyone?

[SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius]

I'm ready on the sofa, with the dog, for my second sporting event of the day - and I will be rooting for Cambridge nothing to do with dsis' smuggery about attending Oxford.

Chops - do you at least accept that the timing of the race is dictated by the time of the tide on the river? Because it couldn't be run if the tidal conditions weren't right.

The boat race is timed to be an hour before the incoming flood tide and they row with the tide. For the last 160 years, at least.

This is the first year the women rowed the aame course and the raced after the men. It's a shame that wasn't televised. Maybe there were no Americans in the crews!

(*...same course and they raced...)

Actually the Boat Race goes backwards. Everyone else races the other way - from memory it's because you get the smoothest, fastest water when the tide and flow are in the same direction, and if they are in opposite directions it's more choppy.

I haven't steered the Tideway for a long time though.

Apart from 3 races years ago, the boat race has gone upstream, yes. That isn't what affects the timings, that is the flood (incoming) tide.

Other tideway races swap which direction the go in, especially the timed ones with lots of crews with staggered starts (e.g. head of the river).

Do they? I've clearly blanked that from my memory. I've certainly only gone the other way (HoRR and Schools').

Being used to more provincial waters, I find the Tideway terrifying and avoid it and Remenham's Ladies' whenever possible ::wimp::

Yegods - no, the women's boat race was the week before and raced at Henley for the last time. Next year is the big one, when the women's race moves to the Tideway and is held on the same day as the men's - so presumably it will be televised. A big step towards parity at last.

Oooh! Thank you, frog, that is good to know. I really hope it gets some good coverage.

Yegods - I have a houseful of teenage/twentysomething rowers, so I might possibly have become a teeny bit brainwashed.

Not swimmers I hope, frogs?

(I'm a great swimmer when it comes to rowing)