The British obsession with the weather was well in evidence for the first day of Henley Royal regatta, hardly surprising after a night of solid rain left the enclosures sodden, the drizzle and intermittent downpours continuing through until mid afternoon and making things miserable for spectators and competitors alike. The saving grace was a welcome change to the strong headwind that's been plaguing the course for the last couple of days, replaced instead with a light tailwnd which changed to a cross wind late morning, then dropped totally as the sun finally came out for the afternoon races.
As always, the first day of racing featured club, school and university events for eights and fours: the Thames; the Temple; the Princess Elizabeth; the Wyfolds and the Brit. As a result there was a strong American presence on the water, showing that the US crews continue to be a force to reckon with. Indeed by the end of the day, most of US crews who'd raced, had secured their places in Thursday's draw putting a few noses out of join in the process..
Wyfold Challenge cup
North Country RC beat Worcester - this was a close race, with Worcester leading for most of the race, until North Country rowed through between the mile ¼ post and the finish to win by 1l.
Britannia challenge cup
Harvard 'B' beat Bexhill. The Harvard crew dominated from the start, settling early on and dropping the rate to 25 at the finish, winning by 3 ¾ L.
Harvard 'A' beat Thames Tradesmen. A strong Harvard crew took an early lead and never looked like they were in any danger of losing it. Tradesmen attempted to fight back at Remenham with little impact. Harvard won by ¾ L
Colgate beat Athlone BC. Despite the Athlone crew taking an early start , Colgate had rowed through them by the ¼ mile post and were then able to dominate the race, despite repeated attempts from Athlone - - Colgate winning by 1 ¾ L.
London RC 'A' beat Union BC. A very tidy LRC crew, comfortably cruised through to an easy victory.
Temple Challenge cup
Orange Coast College beat University Bristol 'B'. The strong Orange Coast crew, took control easily and increased their lead to win by 4l, in a much stronger performance than the Uni Bristol crew.
Marist College beat Imperial College 'B'. The Marist crew had a 2 length lead over IC by Fawley and slowly increased it over the rest of the course. IC came back towards the finish but the Marist crew was never under serious threat.
Yale beat Kings college school. Yale took an early lead and opened out comfortably, dropping the rate. However Kings never gave up and Yale were unable to break clear, allowing Kings to come back at the finish.
Harvard beat Newcastle University. Another strong crew from the Harvard machine, they led from the start. The Newcastle Uni crew, rowing short, were never in contention.
University College Dublin beat Grand Valley State University. UCD took an early lead and continued to build on it to win by 2L.
St Paul's School beat College of the Holy Cross. This was a very close, even race. St Paul's took an early lead but Holy cross had come back and were leading by the barrier. However, they underestimated their opponents and St Paul's came back to win by1 L.
Colgate beat Oxford Brookes 'B'. Despite a close start to the race, the large Colgate crew (average weight 196 lbs) led down the course and had a commanding lead by the finish. Colgate now race the Oxford Brookes 'A' in the next round.
Williams College beat University Bristol 'A'. Bristol Uni were faster off the start, but Williams fought back to take the lead, winning by 1L.
Groton School beat Shiplake College.
Princess Elizabeth
St Andrews school beat Pangbourne College. This was a close race; the St Andrews crew, looking neat and powerful, opened up an early lead and went on to win by 1 ¾ L.
Tabor beat Bedford Modern School. Despite scrappy blade work, Tabor took an early lead then settled to take a commanding lead - verdict: Easily.
Abingdon School beat Manhattan high school. Abingdon were smooth off the start, taking an early lead, which they developed throughout. Manhattan were no match - verdict: Easily
Shrewsbury School beat Brunswick School. The Brunswick blade work was ragged and Shrewsbury dominated from the state. A late push from Brunswick failed to secure any advantage and Shrewsbury won by 1 ¼ L
Middlesex school beat RGS Worcester. A very exciting race developed from the start. The Americans' looked to have achieved total dominance but RGS never gave up and started to catch up slowly. Middlesex seemed unable to raise their rating but held on to win by 1/2 L.