Harvard's heavyweight crew preserved its three-year string of wins by only a deck length in its opener against Northeastern Saturday.

A mean tail wind whipped up the Charles Basin, and only after a deadly crab stopped the Husky shell near the end of the race, did the Crimson pull from behind to win.

Both crews started off at 40 strokes per minute but while Harvard dropped to its normal 33 -- which sagged occasionally to a 32 during the first half-mile--the Huskies took advantage of relatively flat water for the first three-quarters of a mile, kept their stroke up at 35 and 36, and moved away.

Just before the Harvard bridge, the Crimson reduced Northeastern's lead to two seats, but then dropped back a half a length in the increasing slop and swell after the bridge.

Conditions worsened as the finish line neared.

With three-eighths of a mile to go, Glen Schuhmacher, bow-man in the Northeastern boat, caught a crab which stopped the shell. Harvard took a one-length lead.

Rowing defensively at 34, the Crimson managed to stave off a last-ditch effort by Northeastern, and passed over the line a deck length ahead.

A Bad Dream

"It was like a bad dream," said cox Paul Hoffman. "It was so rough there was no way to use your power effectively."

All five Crimson heavyweight boats took their contests against Northeastern, but the JV's margin of victory was only one second, and heavyweight Coach Harry Parker called the race "the worst water fight I've ever seen."

The freshman heavies fared considerably better. Their time of 8:49.0 broke the course record as they swamped Northeastern by humiliating eight lengths.

Worst Conditions Ever

Ted Washburn, freshman coach, who said Saturday's weather conditions were "the worst I have ever seen a race held in," also said that his first boat -- which had never rowed over the entire course before -- "rowed the most courageous, the best first race of any boat I have ever coached."

His second boat, racing in the morning, finished at the end of the Basin, 16 seconds ahead of Northeastern. Also racing in the morning was the third varsity boat, which left its competition seven lengths behind at the finish line.