Departures of note

In 1868 Walter Bradford Woodgate concluded that a coxed four could be steered with a wire and lever attached to an oarsman's footrest, removing the cox's weight. He gave notice to Henley's regatta committee that his Brasenose four would row without a cox in the following day's race against Kingston and the Oscillators Club.

The committee responded with a rule requiring all boats to be coxed; Woodgate arranged for his Brasenose coxswain Frederic Weatherly to jump overboard at the start of the Stewards' Challenge Cup. Weatherly narrowly escaped water lilies, and Woodgate's homemade steering device triumphed by 100 yards. The Henley committee disqualified the Brasenose four and passed a rule that crews must finish with the same number they started with.