The Boat Race The course covers a 4.2-mile (6.8 km) stretch of the Thames in West London, from Putney to Mortlake. Members of both teams are traditionally known as "blues" and each boat as a "Blue Boat", with Cambridge in light blue and Oxford dark blue. As of 2018, Cambridge has won the men's race 83 times and Oxford 80 times, with one dead heat. Cambridge has led Oxford in cumulative wins since 1930. In the women's race, Cambridge have won the race 43 times and Oxford 30 times. Cambridge has led Oxford in cumulative wins since 1966. A reserve boat race has
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