The Boat Race 1863 The Boat Race 1863 The 20th Boat Race between crews from the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge took place on the River Thames on 28 March 1863. Oxford won by 15 lengths in a time of 23 minutes 6 seconds. It took the overall record to ten wins each, the first time since the 1836 race that the scores were level. The race was the third to be held on the ebb tide, along the Championship Course in reverse, from Mortlake to Putney. It was the first time since the race was held in the fashion since
The Boat Race 1846 was rowed on the ebb tide, from Mortlake to Putney. For the first time in the history of the race, both boats used outriggers. Cambridge "rowed in an outrigger built by Searle, 60 ft in length, 2 ft 8 in in breadth", while Oxford's boat was "expressly built for this match by King of Oxford" and 58 ft 6 in long. Both crews had professional coaches: Oxford used John Noulton while Cambridge were trained by Robert Coombes, a champion sculler. It marked the start of the debate over the use of professional coaches which was not resolved until the 1852