The HORR was held on the Saturday after the end of term. We had three days training on the Tideway before the race. The crew paddled the whole course on the Thursday. Friday's practice had to be abandoned because of gale force winds. (This was the day when trees were brought down all over Southern England.) All we could do when we arrived at Emanuel (our Tideway hosts for many years), was to watch the river looking like the North Sea, and then retire to the excellent indoor rowi g tank which is underneath the boathouse. The 'outing' on this was a hard paddle firm, and some good exercise was taken. For the first time in about 20 years, the Boat Race and the Head Race took place on the same day. Conditions for the Boat Race in the morning were better than the previous day, when any crew would have sunk even under the shelter of the bank, but the water was still difficult. The Isis-Goldie race was the more exciting at Barnes, when about a quarter of a length separated the two crews. The University Boat Race was decided before Barnes, and was not as spectacular. We boated just after the tide turned, and marshalled with 400 other boats for the journey to Putney. The Monkton row looked better than some we have seen in recent years, and the final position (128th, compared with 121st last year) was a good achievement in a race which attracts an increasing number of experts.