The years 1872 and 1873 represented a turning point in rowing.

Sliding seats had been used first at Henley in 1872 and the effect of their use on performance had become so clear by the following year, that the two universities could not ignore them and both changed to sliding seats for the 1873 race.

Rowing at Cambridge was still in the ascendancy, in spite of the departure of Goldie, while Oxford were clearly having a more difficult time.

As well as being less experienced, Oxford were also some five pounds per man lighter. They tried to compensate for the lower weight and shorter stretch by increasing their rating, but their physique could not stand the additional stress. Cambridge came to Putney the clear favourites.

The contemporary newspaper correspondent waxes so eloquent about the weather on Boat Race day 1873, that the portion is worthy of quotation: ‘That bitter wind which 12 months ago blew spitefully over the pool above the Aqueduct and chilled us to the bones: or that blinding storm of snow that fell upon us as we steamed off in pursuit of the crews and washed away our very notes as we wrote them down: or that frowning sky which beat the strongest tendency to hopefulness or of the desire to make the best of it: where were they all on Saturday? They came up now and again merely as a memory that cast a faint shadow on the brightness and gladness of one of the most glorious afternoons on which a popular out-of-door spectacle, dear to the great heart of London, could have been enjoyed.

‘We could think of them often along with such a sun as that which flung its golden wealth with profuse hand on the ample bosom of the Thames: with that vast stretch of blue overhead that has hardly a speck of white cloud to hide any portion of the tint so fully in harmony with the location: with that soft breeze which brought cooling on its wing, but was hardly strong enough to raise a ripple on the water.’

Oxford won the toss and chose Surrey. The start was a good one and although they were rowing at two strokes lower than their rivals, Cambridge moved away steadily and opposite Craven Cottage, were already ahead, were rowing with ‘powerful machine-like precision’.

At the Soap Works with their rivals just about a length ahead, Dowding, the Oxford stroke, put in a spurt, ‘but it’s advantage was almost nullified by the interference of some ruffians in a boat; indeed, the Oxford coxswain had to put the rudder hard on to prevent a collision, which happily was avoided.’

Thus, despite the Oxford spurt, Cambridge passed under the Suspension Bridge almost a length in front, while the effort made by Oxford left them well off the pace though still trying hard. Indeed, when Dowding called for a further effort along the Chiswick Eyot, his crew responded to it with such heart that they almost overlapped the Cambridge rudder, but failed to do so and were now completely rowed out.

Cambridge rowed on from here with no further serious competition and reached the finish line, which had been placed 100 yards up river of the previous position, to compensate for the higher start, three lengths ahead in 19 minutes 35 seconds. This was the first occasion in which the 20-minute barrier had been beaten.