Oxford and Cambridge are preparing for a stormy encounter in Saturday's 154th University Boat Race.
According to the weather forecasts the rival crews could be battling wild water on a choppy River Thames.
Duncan Holland, the Light Blues coach, said: "The forecast at the moment is talking of 25mph winds with gusts up to 50mph."
And Oxford counterpart Sean Bowden said: "We can expect some strong head winds and some rough water and that's going to obviously add an extra dimension to the race.
"It will be important tactically to be really astute and get yourself in a good position for any kind of rough water."
Holland, a respected international coach, suffered a bitter baptism on the Thames when he took charge of Cambridge two years ago.
His heavily-favoured crew had their hopes wrecked when their boat was effectively swamped and he recalled: "I have unpleasant memories of 2006 when we came round a corner and into a wall of water. It was a tough introduction to the Tideway."
Not that Bowden is expecting to benefit in that way again.
"It is easy to underestimate the race and the river but I don't think anyone will be making those mistakes second time around," he said.
Cambridge, according to Holland, are prepared for anything this year.
"There were storms three weeks ago when we were rowing in 45 to 50mph winds but we handled the conditions well," he said.
While he opted to take the Light Blues to prepare in "peace and quiet" on the River Dee at Chester last week, Bowden was seeking out the roughest conditions the Thames could throw at the Dark Blues.
Bowden, whose crew had an advantage of nearly 12lbs per man at Tuesday's official weigh-in at the Hurlingham Club, revealed: "We've had some pretty terrible days down here and been quite close to shipping water at times.
"But we've stuck ourselves out in it and the guys have had to learn how to deal with it.
"We've had rough water at some time every day and we've chosen to go out in it at least once a day to get some practice. We're ready for anything.
"They obviously think it's better to get away and get on some more sheltered water but we like it down here.
"There's nothing like having rowed in really rough water to know how to deal with it and be ready for it."
Holland explained his strategy of taking his crew out of the spotlight, only returning for this week's final preparations.
"We get peace and quiet away from the media. At the end of a term of study and pressure we believe it's good to have a week away to decompress, relax and work quietly on our own before we come here and face everything.
"It's a lovely place, it suits us, we get looked after well and it's quiet so we just had a week to get on with it," he said.
But Cambridge have also experienced the stormy weather.
"It was vaguely unpleasant but the river was quite rowable. It's a smaller river but it's a little swirly and unpredictable the way the Tideway is," he said.
The Dark Blue eight scaled a combined 123st 8lbs - an average of 15st 6lbs 11ozs - to Cambridge's 117st 1lb total - an average of 14st 8lbs 12ozs.
Holland admitted: "Physically, the bigger crews tend to win but we are doing what we can to maximise what we've got.
"Traditionally a heavy crew goes well into head winds but less well into tail winds so each crew can find conditions to suit."
And, with one eye on the weather, he added: "Additionally, the bigger the crew the more likely it is to sink."
Bowden, who readily accepts Oxford's need to translate their extra weight into power, countered: "We've had some work done on our boat which should compensate."
Weights:
Cambridge: Colin Scott 13st 8lbs, Tim Perkins 15st, Henry Pelly 13st 13lbs, Tobias Garnett 14st 10lbs, Peter Marsland 16st, Tom Ramsley 15st 11lbs, Tom Edwards 13st 11lbs, Shane O'Mara 14st; cox - Rebecca Dowbiggin 7st 9lbs.
Oxford: Jan Herzog 14st 3lbs, Toby Medaris 16st 2lbs, Ben Smith 15st 5lbs, Aaron Marcovy 16st 1lb, Michael Wherley 15st 8lbs, Oliver Moore 15st 13lbs, Charles Cole 15st 1lb, William England 15st 4lbs; cox - Nicholas Brodie 8st 5lbs.
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