On Saturday 4 April Cathy and Laurent Frideres once again very kindly hosted the Society’s annual Boat Races event in their lovely house with its multiple large-screen televisions. As in previous years we invited our friendly Dark Blue rivals to join us for refreshments and plenty of social chat as we watched the action.
Several punters responded to the invitation to bring cakes and other goodies, as the photos show we were well provided for.
It was a chilly, windy afternoon on the Thames and the crews had to cope with difficult conditions, some very choppy water in the latter part of the course. Last year the Light Blues won all four races on Boat Race Day, the women’s and men’s first and second boats. In 2026 the Dark Blues had a very powerul women’s first boat, making a strong start, moving to a third of a length ahead within the first 30 seconds. The Light Blues remained between 1 and 1 1/2 lengths down for much of the race, with Women’s Blue Boat cox Matt Moran working tirelessly to close the gap. But Oxford held firm, taking victory by 3 lengths, their first win since 2016. The situation was reversed in the men’s race, the Light Blues came into the race undefeated in 2026 . It proved to be one of the most exciting in recent memory with incredibly close racing and repeated warnings through the first 10 minutes. Oxford produced an aggressive and well-executed start, with Cambridge finally breaking away around Hammersmith, ultimately securing victory by 3 1/2 lengths, the seventh win in eight years.
The main women’s race was the only one of the eight races held on the Friday and Saturday that the Light Blues lost, on the Saturday the Goldie and Blondie crews won both of their races comfortably, and on the Friday both the women’s and men’s Light Blues crews won the Lightweight and Veteran’s races as well. A magnificent series of results for CUBC!
