Boat and Yacht Races in Old Time Radio

In 1828, the Cambridge University Boat Club formed to select and train rowing crews for The Boat Race, an annual rowing race held on the Thames River near London. The Oxford University Boat Club was formed the next year with a single objective: Beat Cambridge.

'The' Boat Race is one of the oldest intercollegiate athletic rivalries in the world. The Race takes place between "coxed eights", incredibly narrow, tippy craft each holding eight of the biggest, strongest athletes on campus and a generally small coxswain whose role is to keep the rhythm for the rowers and steer the boat. Although The Boat Race is deceptively simple, the boat with the biggest, strongest rowers should win, there is a behind-the-scenes chess game going on the entire length of the 4.2-mile course between Putney and Mortlake as the coxswains struggle to gain the best boat position in the river to take advantage of hidden currents in the river. There have been sinkings, mutinies, and disputes, but The Boat Race takes place each year, only canceled for Wars and pandemics.

From the time mankind learned to travel over the water on logs he has raced to see which boat and boatman were faster. Often this display of speed and daring was simply for fun or 'bragging rights', although there was a practical application for being the fastest. A fisherman with a fast boat could leave the beach at the same time as his neighbor and be the first on the fishing grounds. More importantly, once the fish were caught, the fastest boat would make it to market to get the highest price for the freshest catch.

Eventually, boats began to be designed to simply go faster while ignoring their marketplace utility. The Coxed Eights of The Boat Race descended from the rowed ferry boats of the Thames River which were hired to carry people across and along the River in London. A yacht is a vessel that is not depended upon to make a living for its owner. The word 'yacht' comes from the Dutch word for the hunt; in early yachting, culture yachtsmen would challenge one another to races in craft which were developed to chase pirates through the narrow, shallow waters of the Netherlands.

• The Shell Chateau, July 6, 1935. An early variety program hosted by Al Jolson. Jolie welcomes the Crew from the University of California, who just won the National Championship against Universities of Pennsylvania and Washington in Long Beach Harbor. For the show, the 2,000-meter race from the previous Saturday is recreated for the Radio audience.
• The Chase and Sanborn Hour, August 8, 1937. "The Transcontinental Yacht Race for the Chase and Sanborn Cup" is on, and will feature the World's haughtiest skipper, W.C. Fields. Cornelius Vanderbilt asked Fields for help to trim the sheets in the race between the Ranger and the Endeavor ('never mind the sheets' he says, 'I'll probably sleep on deck').
• Suspense, July 5, 1959, "Blood is Thicker". The annual Trans-Pacific sailing race to Honolulu recently left Long Beach Harbor and will be the scene for tonight's chilling story. Heiress Vanessa Evans is at the helm of her father's 70-foot sloop, the Segue, but some of the guests on her crew seem to have nefarious plans on their minds. Mike claims that he doesn't care about her money, but Cousin Hugh is suspicious of his motives.

For more boating tales in Old Time Radio, see also:  Ships, Yachts and Boats, Cruise of the Poll Parrot, Men at Sea, Racing Boats, Submarines, Battle Stations, Titanic, Naval Battles in OTR, Escape: Ocean Tales, and Spooky Tales of the Sea.