The Harvard University eight-oared shell did something over vacation it doesn't do very often: it lost a race. The Cairo Police Rowing club handed the Crimson its first defeat in a long time on December 26, in the second and final race of the International Rowing regatta on the Nile.

For the Police, the victory meant revenge of Harvard's victory the Monday before at Luxor, and a share of the regatta championship as both crews ended up with 1-1 records. Cambridge, Cairo University, Oxford and Yale rounded out the field for the festival sponsored by the Egyptian Rowing Federation.

The Cairo Police, a crew made up of students from an academy comparable to America's West Point, took the rematch with Harvard by a two-second margin, or half a boat length, over the 2000 meter course. It was the same difference by which the Crimson had defeated the Police in the Monday race.

Lost Stroke

Harry Parker's eight lost its regular stroke Al Shealy for the races, when he came down with a bronchial infection. Shealy, who stroked the United States eight to victory in the world championships at Lucerne, Switzerland, last summer, was sorely missed as Parker's boat never seemed to settle into its usual powerful stroking.

This was the fourth time in five years that the festival was held on the Nile, but the Egyptian crews had never won a race. The victory over Harvard was definitely a high point for the Police crew, which came into international attention when it competed at Henley in 1971.