Four-man rowing sculls glide past, oarsmen grunting as the coxswain deftly works the rudder.

FORBES: Playing the Float

The Oxford crew are boosted by the presence of three international oarsmen: Dutchman Gerritjan Eggenkamp and Americans Lucas McGee and Dan Perkins.

BBC: Oxford look to bury past

To combat the physical demands made on them oarsmen must consume 6, 000 calories a day, more than twice the normal daily requirement for men.

ECONOMIST: The Oxford-Cambridge boat race

He gave notice of his ability in November, finishing fifth in the British Indoor Rowing Championships - the best of any of the university oarsmen.

BBC: Perkins passes greatest test

For seven months potential crews (each with eight oarsmen and a cox) undergo two intense sessions every day, one on the water and one on indoor rowing machines or ergometers.

ECONOMIST: The Oxford-Cambridge boat race

Mr. Knecht breaks up the story of Lucky Linda's construction by salting in some rather fun history of yachting though the ages, beginning with Pharaoh Ptolemy IV, who ruled Egypt 200 years before Christ and built a 400-foot vessel powered by several hundred oarsmen.

WSJ: Book Review: Grand Ambition

The most physical demonstration of this rivalry is, famously, the annual University Boat Race: one spring Saturday each year the Light Blues (Cambridge) and Dark Blues (Oxford) each send their finest eight oarsmen to row the 4 miles and 374 yards along the Thames between Putney and Mortlake in west London.

BBC: The Oxford versus Cambridge gloat race