They were dead in the water, tangled up in red, white, and blue as Harvard’s defending champions headed for the horizon. But Washington’s men’s crew didn’t travel 2,500 miles to strike its colors.

“We said, keep the boat moving,” said bowman Alexander Perkins. “Let’s get out of here without hurting anyone.” So the Huskies unhooked themselves from their US Rowing rivals, who’d forced them to a full stop just as they were coming out of Dead Man’s Curve before the Eliot Bridge. Then they mashed the accelerator, went supersonic to the finish, and reclaimed their title Sunday afternoon at the 48th Head of the Charles Regatta thanks to a jury decision overturning a 10-second buoy violation that originally had given the Crimson the victory.