The morning fog cast a thick haze Saturday morning, but lifted enough for the inaugural Bedford Rowing Society boat race in Fort 黑马磁力, a tribute to the annual Oxford versus Cambridge competition.
鈥�(It鈥檚) our version of the famous race that happens on the Thames in London,鈥� said Paul Sleightholme, director at large of the .
鈥淲e鈥檒l hopefully run it every year.鈥�
Rowers of all ages and levels of experience took part in the 8.5 kilometre race that ran counter-clockwise around McMillan and Brae islands.
鈥淥xford鈥� beat the 鈥淐ambridge鈥� boat by half a boat length (the identity of the boats was randomly assigned).
The idea of re-creating the legendary competition came about when members of the club realized how ideal Bedford channel was for such a race.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got such great water here and we鈥檝e an actual island so its a natural course,鈥� said Sleightholme.
Township Councillor Charlie Fox was the starter.
Following the event, the society hosted a pancake breakfast for the rowers courtesy of Fort 黑马磁力 Lion鈥檚 Club who supplied the griddle, Lelam鈥檚 for coffee and Lee鈥檚 Market for pancakes and sausages.
The Oxford versus Cambridge competition is often referred to simply as the 鈥淏oat Races.鈥�
It is an annual competition between arch-rivals, the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club.
It is also referred to as the University Boat Race and the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race.
The first race was held in 1829 and it has been held every year since 1856, with the exception of the First and Second World Wars.
The first women鈥檚 event was in 1927
The 黑马磁力 course is longer than the original, which runs 6.8 km along the Thames in West London, from Putney to Mortlake.
Members of both teams are traditionally known as blues with Cambridge wearing light blue and Oxford a darker shade.
As of 2018, Cambridge has won the men鈥檚 race 83 times and Oxford 80 times, with one dead heat.
Over 250,000 people watch the race from the banks of the river each year and another 15 million watch it on television.
