The 2017 Boat Race

[rowingtech09]

I thought both coxes made a couple small mistakes (to be fair, everyone does). Oxford could have perhaps been a bit more conservative early on given that a bit of tipping blades tends to help the trailing crew rather than the leading one. Later on in the race they were if anything too conservative - with 1/2 a length lead and the boats moving the same speed they were well within their rights to wash down Cambridge (not to mention that from the umpire's vantage point the margin is pretty hard to tell). That being said Cambridge steered too aggressively, they spent a lot of time across the stream either trying to get in closer or getting warned away. One thing you won't hear from the commentators (but is crucial to steering in the Boat Race) is that if you're parallel to the stream (as opposed to slightly diagonal steering towards or away from the other boat) it feels a lot better and the boat runs more smoothly. Oxford did a good job of this, Cambridge didn't. There was also an interesting steering moment before the Crossing which it seemed like Cambridge got the better of.

[Blah Blah]

I'm surprised you thought Oxford were too conservative late in the race - Barnes was the only moment where I thought they went too far, because of how close to the bridge Cambridge had to be to stay in their water.

[rowingtech09]

The game changes a bit when you're 1/2 a length or a length of clear water ahead. You can only get DQ'd if an incident occurs (e.g. clashing) and you're in the wrong spot. You can't get DQ'd for forcing the other crew to row in your wash. If it's clear that the other crew isn't really moving, you can get away with washing them down, warnings or no warnings.

[KitD]

One of the Oxford guys said afterwards that they were very worried for about the last 5 mins of the race by Cambridge staying with them. A bit of conservatism may have been wise.

[fullmetal]

If a boat is that close in the last 5 min, you should be worried. Nothing like a surprise sprint to catch you unawares--all Cambridge had to do was force interference (a bump, plus) to draw a foul, right? Not sure of the Boat Race rules...are those even published?

[whodoyouthinkiam]

The Veterans Boat Race looked "fun" today, Oxford crossed the line 3 seconds ahead of Cambridge, but were disqualified by umpire Matt Pinsent for clashing.

Oh, but it was fun! Watching that Oxford stern come towards us very, very quickly indeed towards the end was awesome.