The Henley Head, which often suffers from the flood problem, went ahead last Saturday, despite the wintry weather and much to the delight of nearly 200 crews.

Three of the happiest outfits came from Oxford Brookes. Their men’s elite crew were the fastest of the day, clocking 10mins 14secs.

Brookes’s Taurus team were third overall, 22 seconds off the pace Oxford Brookes’ women were also successful, winning the women’s senior 3 eights in 12.51.

With the Oxford Torpids races starting on February 25, New College gave themselves a boost by sharing the men’s senior 3 eights honours.