ANNAPOLIS, Md. May 4--The sun managed to break through the grey overcast covering the Severn River only once here this afternoon--during the varsity heavy-weight crew race. The Crimson varsity smooth-swept its way to a convincing two-length-plus victory over Pennsylvania and Navy, capturing the Adams Cup for the fifth straight year.

The might of Pennsylvania's rowing machine triumphed in all other races. Navy, which hosted the Adams Cup regatta, was pathetically overpowered in every contest, Racing conditions were perfect.

In the crucial varsity confrontation, both Harvard and Penn were off the starting line at 43 beats per minute. The Red and Blue took an immediate half-length lead. Slower to settle, Penn maintained a cadence of 38 while Harvard was at 35.

This lead held for 500 meters. At that point, Harvard began to move. Slowly, the Crimson began to grind down the other shell. By the half-way mark, the crews were dead even.

Harvard coxswain Paul Hoffman then called a power 20, and moving ahead one seat on each stroke, the Crimson broke Pennsylvania. As the crews passed under the high-swooping, rust-orange bridge marking a half mile to go, it was Harvard by four seats.

A Harvard power 10 just after the bridge finished Penn for good. Penn experienced timing problems throughout the race, with the port side of the beat noticeably rushing the stroke's cadence. The Crimson's time: 6:05.7.

The two-length Adams Cup victory should eliminate the possibility of Pennsylvania's providing dangerous competition for Harvard at the Olympic trials in July.

The freshman heavyweight race was begun from a floating start, but referee Tony Antin gave an improperly quick command to row while Harvard was maneuvering to pull even with the other two crews. Partially because of the mishap, which caught the Crimson by surprise, Pennsylvania sped away to an open-water lead at once.

Settling to 37 strokes per minute, Harvard recovered. At the 1,000-meter marker, it was a dead heat, and just beyond the bridge, Harvard nudged to a one-seat lead.

But Pennsylvania began its sprint early and moved to a clear half-length lead with about 30 strokes left in the race. Penn closed at a phenomenally high 42 beats per minute. Harvard, at 40, was moving on its opponents as the race ended. Penn's margin: 1.5 seconds.

Jayvees Overpowered

A superb Penn junior varsity overpowered Harvard by two lengths. After dropping a half length at the start, the rushed and erratic Crimson had extreme difficulty settling to an effective racing cadence for the body of the course.

A Harvard four-with-cox trailed Pennsylvania from the start, and had to fight an intense battle with the Midshipmen for second place during the first three-quarters mile. Penn's margin: two lengths.

The second freshman heavyweight shell from Harvard led Penn over the course until the last three-eighths of a mile. Penn's power broke this boat, which could not muster an effective sprint to match the Red and Blue.