[9] Author and former Oxford rower George Drinkwater noted that the Dark Blue crew was "by no means so quick in the water, but they possessed greater ease of movement".

Oxford's crew also contained five participants with Boat Race experience, including Robert Bourne who was making his fourth appearance in the event.

[12] Three participants in the race were registered as non-British: Oxford's Charles Littlejohn was Australian while Cambridge's cox C. A. Skinner hailed from South Africa and their number two D. C. Collins came from New Zealand.

[13] Oxford won the toss and elected to start from the Surrey station, handing the Middlesex side of the river to Cambridge.

The Light Blues started better before Oxford passed them to lead after the first minute,[16] their cox Henry Bensley Wells opposite the Cambridge stroke Swann.

[17] Following discussion with his stroke Robert Bourne, Bensley-Wells steered into the shore whereupon the crew disembarked to empty their vessel of the river water.

After getting back onto the river, the Oxford boat was approached by the umpire's launch and informed by Pitman that Cambridge had sunk off Harrods Furniture Depository and that he was declaring "No Race".

"[22] Oxford again won the toss and elected to start from the Middlesex station, handing the Surrey side of the river to Cambridge.

Although out-rating the Dark Blues by up to six strokes per second, Cambridge could not overhaul the deficit and when Oxford passed the Crab Tree pub, Bensley-Wells made for "the shortest way home" and steered over towards the Surrey station in water that "looked to be fairly good.