Racing the English Channel

Leaving Dover, England

Take a handful of keen university students. Mix in a time-honoured rowing rivalry between two universities. Add a major physical challenge and a little bit of open water mysteries. Allow the opportunity to set a Guinness World Record. Support a charity. What do you have? The Cambridge Channel Challenge.

Earlier this week seven "coastal 4" rowing boats took to the waters of the English Channel to race the 21-mile stretch from Great Britain to France.

Organised by St John's College of Cambridge University, Great Britain, the teams came from different colleges at Cambridge and Oxford Universities plus an entry from Deloitte, the event sponsor, which included in the crew Rowing World Cup champion James Livingston.

Leaving at precisely 8.24am GMT on Monday 20 June, the crews made the most of favourable tide and wind conditions and, of course, tried to stay out of harm's way of freighters, ferries and any bigger boats.

Lady Margaret Boat Club from Cambridge University reached Sangatte, France first – 21 miles later – in a time of 3hr 37min 17sec, only three minutes ahead of second-placed boat First and Third Boat Club, also from Cambridge University.

It is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world and so each crew had a pilot boat keeping an eye out for ships and guiding the rowers on their route. Aboard the Lady Margaret pilot boat, Cambridge University's media officer Naomi Longworth commented that the boats picked very different routes. "We couldn't see each other," said Longworth.

"The choice of route comes down to a lot of luck. We only had to steer around a couple of ferries while a couple of crews had to steer around a shipwreck," said Longworth. "We didn't see any freighters."

The Lady Margaret Boat Club prepared for the challenge by doing 30km outings along England's Dover coast. One crew from Oxford University sat on the indoor rowing machine for 2hr 20min covering the 21-mile distance.

The Channel has been successfully crossed by rowing boats only 20 times since the 1960s, including one sinking. The "coastal 4" rowing boats now used are built heavier, wider and longer than normal river boats and have been reinforced to deal with the rougher waters.

This is the first time seven crews have raced The Channel simultaneously with the motive being to raise money for Cancer Research UK.

For more information please go to: www.thechannelrace.org

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