MONMOUTH Regatta will see a record 378 boats launching out on the River Wye this weekend.

Some 800 rowers from 43 clubs are set to contest 288 races, including Thames powerhouses Imperial College and British University championship 8s medallists Glasgow University.

The Monmouthshire Building Society-sponsored event has battled back from only 133 entries in 2002 following the previous year's foot-and-mouth cancellation.

And the bumper turn-out vindicates the decision to go for a two-day regatta last year after Worcester dropped their Saturday date.

"All the tents and speaker systems are already in place for Sunday, so we thought we might as well try to hold an extra sprint regatta," said spokesman John Jenkins.

"It's been a hard road back from 2001, when the cancellation sliced our normal Sunday entry in half the following year.

"But we kept battling away to build the event back into one of Britain's top river regattas, and we're delighted our hard work has paid off."

First held in 1932, the regatta was Britain's top one-day event in the early 1990s, attracting a massive 390-boat entry in 1993 that had to be trimmed to a more manageable 350 for racing.

When London's top regatta, the Metropolitan, joined the National Schools' Championships in hijacking Monmouth's Bank Holiday date, it still attracted a healthy 250-boat fleet. But four years ago, the multi-lane Met moved from London's Docklands to the more accessible Dorney Lake near Windsor, and Monmouth's cancellation that season proved a massive blow as Thames clubs switched to the new venue.

"Foot-and-mouth hit us hard in 2001, because we couldn't fight back against the Met's switch. Once you lose people it's very hard to get them back, and Dorney is a world class venue right on the doorstep of about 100 clubs," said Jenkins.

"This year, the Met has moved a week to accommodate the World Cup Regatta for international crews, and we've benefited from that."

This year's entry, including 49 eights, is up 44 boats on last year's first two-day event, with 131 crews and scullers racing Saturday's 750m sprint, up three on last year, and 247 coming for Sunday's 1500m races, up 41. Racing starts at 11.30am on Saturday through to 17.33pm, and Sunday sees action from 8.45am to 18.30pm.

Monmouth Comprehensive, Haberdashers' Monmouth and Monmouth School are all well-represented despite large contingents heading for the National Schools in Nottingham.

And other top clubs heading to the Wye include Britain's most northerly outfit Aberdeen who were Henley winners two years ago, City of Oxford, Exeter, London University and Nottingham and Union.