the boat race...

On Sunday, I travelled in to London to witness the 2006 Boat Race. This is the major rowing event between Oxford and Cambridge each year and is a huge event in England. It is estimated that over 250,000 people watch the race along the Thames in London, with an additional 7 million watching live on TV around the world!! I made it down to the Hammersmith Bridge, which was about the halfway point in the race (which is over 4 miles long). The riverbank was packed with people and the scene was amazing. The race started and after a few minutes, the boats passed where we were standing! It was thrilling to see them go by with Oxford in the lead! Of course, the only downside to watching live is that once the boats pass, you don’t know what is going on further down the course! So we had to rely on word of mouth and actually calling friends who were watching the race live in Oxford to see what the final outcome was. The result: Oxford WON!! By several boat lengths.