ANNAPOLIS, MD.--The previously undefeated Harvard lightweight crew fell victim to the treacherous waters of the Severn River here Saturday and lost to Navy for the first time in the 18-year history of the Haines Cup in what was one of the most bizarre races in recent years.

Friday afternoon the Severn was calm in the rain for the Crimson's pre-race workout, but by Saturday morning a gale-like tailwind had kicked up the Severn's waters into a ferocious chop with whitecaps.

The day started ominously for Harvard when the Crimson third varsity, in the first race of the morning, lost to the Mid-shipmen 3V when the Crimson four-man suffered an over-the-headcrab at the 1200-meter point. By the time the boat recovered, Navy had pushed out to an insurmountable three-length lead.

The freshmen rowed next in a relatively problem-free contest, with the Crimson yardlings beating the Navy plebes by 11 seconds. Troubles resumed in the junior varsity contest, when the stake boats broke loose, necessitating a standing start.

Navy got a false start when its stroke lost his oar in the first 15 strokes of the race and the boats had another start. The Navy stroke continued to have difficulties throughout the race, losing his oar late in the contest, but despite the Middie difficulties the Crimson J.V.s recorded an unimpressive six-second triumph.

But all of these mishaps were minor compared to the excitement that was to come in the varsity race.

Harvard got off to a two-seat lead at the start, and relentlessly increased its margin over Navy to one-and-one half lengths by the 1100-meter mark. Then disaster hit the Crimson boat.

Number seven Bob Leahey lost control of his oar and caught a wicked crab. The bar handle whipped back at Leahey, hitting him in the stomach, and before he could duck his head, catching him in the chin, flipping him clean out of the shell.

The stunned Crimson oarsmen stopped rowing momentarily as Leahey attempted to swim back to the boat but, after seeing he was fine and realizing that Navy had by now caught up to them, took off for the final 1000 meters with only seven rowers.

"We figured that with only seven men we couldn't keep up with them," bowman Carlan Yates said. "But we wanted to finish out the race."

Incredibly enough, however. Harvard managed to stay with Navy. Stroke Ned Reynolds got the Crimson moving with a 38 cadence, and for the next 800 meters Harvard was bow-to-bow with the Mid-shipmen.

Then Navy upped its cadence for a sprint for the final 200 meters to win the race by 2.6 seconds--about half a length.

"We were amazed that we stayed with them for so long," said Yates. "I guess rowing at a 38 took too much out of us to keep with them when they sprinted."

Even if the Crimson seven had finished ahead of Navy, they would have lost the contest technically because all eight rowers must finish a race.

"It was really irritating to lose it this way," light coach John Higginson said afterwards. "It was more bad luck than anything else. It's a lot better to have lost this way than to have had them best us cleanly."

The Navy rowers were jubilant when they crossed the finish line, but they clearly had nothing but embarrassment after the way Harvard had stayed with them for 1000 meters with only seven rowers.

Harvard was on its way to an easy victory before Leahey's accident. The Crimson may lose its number-one seeding at the Sprints this year to Penn because of the loss, but that's no indication of how good the lights are.

"We'll see Navy again at the Sprints." Cox Burt Levitch said. "And I think we'll beat them. We have the potential to go all the way."