Henley Regatta : Harvard Tries Twice but Loses

Harvard University narrowly lost the Ladies’ Plate final Sunday in one of the most controversial races in 150 years of the Henley Regatta.

Harvard lost the first running of the final by five lengths, but found a foot-long piece of wood had jammed in a fin on the underside of the boat, collecting debris and dragging on the shell like an anchor.

The victorious British team, Nottinghamshire County, bitterly criticized the decision of U.S. Coach Harry Parker to make an official protest after the first race.

But the Americans were beaten in the rerun by two-thirds of a length by the British lightweight crew, which set a record of 6 minutes 11 seconds.

The Harvard crew, which had broken the course record by seven seconds in Saturday’s semifinals, had been a strong favorite to defeat Nottinghamshire in the final.

The English were upset because it had apparently taken half an hour for the Harvard protest and its outcome to be known, by which time the Nottingham crew had been celebrating.

Said Parker: “We did the right thing to appeal. I have no doubts about that. The close race the second time around showed this.”