The Boat Race

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

Now this is a boat race!

Are they rowing on sand?

[beagle]

Now this is a boat race!

Are they rowing on sand?

All the water in Australia has alligators in it. Some Aussies have never touched the stuff. Even if that is better than what the Thames has in it.

[Swatopluk]

Terry Pratchett had it in The Lost Continent too, where it gets spoiled by water unexpectedly interfering.

[Bluenose]

Are they rowing on sand?

Well, rowing is probably not quite the right word!

All the water in Australia has alligators in it. Some Aussies have never touched the stuff. Even if that is better than what the Thames has in it.

This is after all the land where "rivers run dry or ten feet high".  Anyway, water is filthy stuff, you never know what fish may have been doing in it.  Better by far to stick to beer.  BTW, they're crocodiles, not wimpy little aligators...

Terry Pratchett had it in The Lost Continent too, where it gets spoiled by water unexpectedly interfering.

Indeed, since its inception , Henley on Todd has only ever been cancelled on those few occasions when the Todd River had water in it. 

[Sibling DavidH]

We lost again today, having won last year.  But OMFSM, what a way to lose!
We were strong favourites and were barely ahead around the halfway mark, when some clown swam in front of the boats and stopped the race.  The umpire took about half an hour to organise a restart.  Next the two boats came so close together that they clashed and an Oxford oar was broken.  The cox appealed but the umpire refused to stop the race and so with only seven oars, we lost by a huge margin.  Then after the finish one of our crew collapsed and was taken to hospital.

Cambridge were held to have officially won but there were no celebrations and no presentation.

The umpire claims Oxford were off-station and were warned twice before the clash (true) but note that he is a Cambridge man who rowed in three losing Cambridge crews.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rowing/17645929

[Roland Deschain]

^ Sore loser? Seriously though, I didn't watch it, but from what you describe there, it sounds as if it was one of the weirdest years. I keep meaning to pop down to Chiswick one year and find a nice pub to watch from, but I never do. It's a shame it doesn't come as far as Kew Bridge, as there's a lovely little pub right by the river there.

[Griffin NoName]

What a fiasco. Quite ashamed of winning

[Sibling DavidH]

2013

Oxford won in a classic race.  Very little pushing and shoving went on after last year's disaster.  Before last year it had been getting nastier and nastier, but this was a fair race and Cambridge rowed gallantly  despite never being in front at any stage.