SAID to be less po-faced than the Oxford Cambridge Boat Race but certainly no less gruelling, the Great River Race was the spectacle on the Thames this weekend.

SAID to be less po-faced than the Oxford Cambridge Boat Race but certainly no less gruelling, the Great River Race was the spectacle on the Thames this weekend.

The Thames played host to more than 300 crews who took to the water in boats of all shapes and sizes for the 21 mile race.

Boats raced from the Isle of Dogs to Richmond on Saturday with the Maggie Crew onboard dinghy Maggie overall winners in a time of two hours 55 minutes.

The fastest crew was The rafters in Rio Draco, a dragon boat in a time of two hours 10 minutes. Various other categories included Historic Boats, Scouts, Services, Veterans and Under 14’s.

While the event always has an element of competition, there was also the usual fancy dress and general fun on the water, with boats leaving on a ‘slowest first, fastest last’ basis to even up the field.

Since being founded in 1988, the event has now grown to include more than 2,000 competitors – making it the biggest river race of its kind in Europe, with entrants from across the globe.