It began with a series of letters between two young students, now The Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race will be celebrating its 175th anniversary this weekend, writes Jamie Mullen.

The Boat Race is the annual rowing contest between England's two oldest and most distinguished universities. Two friends, Charles Merival who was at Cambridge, and Charles Wordsworth (nephew of the poet William Wordsworth), a student at Oxford, decided to hold a race between their two universities. On 12 March 1829, Cambridge challenged Oxford and a tradition was born.

The historic four-and-a-quarter mile race begins under Putney Bridge and then proceeds to snake its way past Hammersmith Bridge, under the Chiswick Steps and on to the finishing line situated just beyond Mortlake Brewery. The event, which will be televised across the country, draws thousands of gung-ho supporters, British and international alike, to Chiswick and the surrounding area each year to cheer on the boys in blue. This week the Times braved the wind, hail and rain to see what local opinion was like on the annual event.

Luke Oliver, a ship's carpenter at the MSO Marine in Brentford watches the Race every year from Corney Reach and has done so for nearly ten years: "It's a very big part of life around here and every one I know goes to see it. My brother has a converted fishing trawler so we find ourselves a good place near the finish line and watch the boats hammer it out for the final stretch. It makes for a great day out, depending on the weather of course."

Paul Savage, a software executive from Hounslow, echoed Mr. Oliver's feelings by saying: "I've been watching the race at Barnes Bridge for about four years. It's not so much the race itself but the atmosphere that really makes it a good day out. The fact that the race is coming into its 150th year and is so well known, proves that it plays a significant part in the sporting calendar for England. I was a bit underwhelmed when I heard that Hounslow Council had only managed to set up two benches and a bin to commemorate the anniversary, it's a bit lame to be honest."

However it looked like not all people shared Mr. Oliver's enthusiasm about the race. Tim Cottrell, 68, a retired salesman from Chiswick was indifferent about Sunday's race, saying that: "It's all over so quickly there's no real point in watching. Nothing much changes around here except that the number of tourists goes through the roof with Chiswick turning into little Tokyo for the day. Apart from that it really isn't all that much of a big deal." When asked where he would watch on Sunday, Mr. Cottrell replied: "I don't know, from the comfort of my living-room I suppose. God bless television."

Others also felt that the race was more of an attraction for students and tourists. Ken Turner, 67, even mentioned that many con-artists use the day to make some quick cash by duping tourists into buying bogus tickets for the event, which is free to watch. In the past, some Japanese tourists have apparently even been persuaded that the race ends at Kew Bridge, a good ten minute walk from the real finishing line by Chiswick Bridge. "You see them more and more each year", Mr. Goddard revealed, "groups of over-excited Japanese queuing at Kew Bridge for what they think are tickets, when in actual fact what they're getting are nothing more than useless raffle-stubs."

Martin Goddard, a local resident, criticised the race for being too uneventful: "I go occasionally and I'm always surprised at the amount of people who turn up to watch.

"I personally find it a little too boring. I remember in the 80s when one of the boats sank and the rowers had to be rescued. You don't hear of anything like that anymore. Now that would be worth watching."

Indeed, during the Boat Race's 150 year history both universities have had their share of setbacks with Oxford and Cambridge both sinking on separate occasions. Oxford sank once in 1925 and the again in 1951, whilst Cambridge sank more recently in 1975, suffering the humiliation of going down only a mile from the finishing line. The most recent sinking occurred in 1984, when Cambridge went down before the race had even started after smashing their hull to splinters when they collided with a barge. Both boats even went down in 1912 when they had to contend with fierce winds.

"It really depends what kind of day it is," summed up Ben Potter, barman at the Bell & Crown Pub by Kew Bridge.

"If it's a lousy day then most people are content to watch it on the TV. Last year the race happened on a Friday so most people from round here were either working or down the pub. Since this year's race is happening on a Sunday then I think people should make the effort. That is if it doesn't rain of course. As I said, it really depends on the weather." How very British.

The 150th Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race and starts this Sunday by Putney Bridge at 6 p.m.