Two of the most experienced crews to take part in the Cambridge-Oxford Boat Race will line up for the 152nd showdown on Sunday with Cambridge the slight favourites for what is expected to be a rough encounter.
The Meteorological Office has forecast blustery and strong winds throughout the day on Sunday and the River Thames is expected to be choppy.
London bookmakers William Hill have even cut their odds on the chances of one of the two crews sinking.
But despite the conditions, the standard of rowing should be high, with one former Olympic champion and two Olympic silver medallists involved.
Cambridge have the slight edge on experience, with Britain's former Olympic and world champion Kieran West looking for his third Boat Race victory. Five other current or former world championship medallists are also in the light blue crew.
The Oxford, or dark blue boat, can also boast some big names, with Canada's Barney Williams and Jacob Wetzel taking part. Both men won Olympic silvers at the Athens Games in 2004, when they missed out on gold by a split second behind the British crew which was led by Matthew Pinsent.
The Oxford boat also contains Paul Daniels of the United States, who won gold at the 2005 world championships, and Bastien Ripoll, an Olympic finalist and the first Frenchman to row in the annual contest.
Bookmakers have installed Cambridge as the favourites and their coach Duncan Holland told the official website he was confident in the build-up to the race.
"Things are coming together," he said. "We've had some good training this week. All the signs suggest it will be a close race. It won't be good for my blood pressure, but I'm anticipating a great contest."
Cambridge lead the series 78 to 72 but Oxford have won three of the last four encounters.
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