Results / Gul Scottish Grand Slam East Lothian YC - 04/05/2002

The five event GUL RS GRAND SLAM Circuit which includes Torbay, Stokes Bay/Lee on Solent, the Nationals and the Inlands kicked off in some style at East Lothian Y.C, North Berwick on May 4/5th. For the second year in a row the weather gods really liked the idea of an RS event in North Berwick on a Bank Holiday and supplied glorious sunshine, almost total clear blue skies and decent winds. In such weather the sailing area of North Berwick has to be one of the most scenic in the country with sandy beach, Bass Rock, hills, gannets and puffins. On top of all this East Lothian YC are so friendly and keen to lay on a good event which included top race management from Race Officers Ted Hill and Jim Sinclair. After having had three quality races on Saturday in a good force 3-4 in bright sunshine with rapid turn arounds and the club gives every competitor an ice cream as you pull the boat up the slip you know you have arrived on planet happy. Watersports photographer Nick Kirk also had a very happy event; with his waterproof digital camera he took some fantastic shots which he displayed on a big screen in the evening. He then kept the fleet entertained with his unusual antics including wearing a survival suit on Sunday and swimming around the leeward mark to get the best action shots from different angles as the 400 fleet descended on mass!! A man dedicated indeed. Hopefully he got the shot of Nick Craig, RS400 getting his pole stuck in the netting over the leeward mark and having to send his crew onto the foredeck to break free, entertainment of the highest order. Three races were sailed on the Saturday, all of which proved to be closely fought. Race one saw Steve Cook pipping Ian Baillie for pole position, with Ben Yeats third, and Steven Macdonald fourth. Race two saw a reversal of fortunes, with Ian sailing to a win, Ben second with his superior downwind speed, and Steve Cook third, while Race three saw Steve Cook once again showing his prowess upwind, and pulling away (just) from Ian and Ben. Tired legs (very tired!) coupled with the finish then saw the fleet head back to the clubhouse for the customary rehydration with brown stuff, and a video of the Scottish Cup final at the bar. Sunday dawned with a flawless clear sky, bright sunshine, no hangovers..........and no wind! Race officer Jim Sinclair elected to postpone the start of the first race until the sea breeze filled in, and finally after a 3 hour postponement, and a reduction to 2 races, the fleet took to the water again. Once again Steve Cook led the fleet , with Ian, Ben and Steve Macdonald taking their previous places on his rudder, all to no avail, and Steve swept to a series win. The final race of the event saw Ian Baillie lead to the windward mark, with Steve Cook second, and Ben Yeats third. Once again, Ben's downwind speed moved him past the others to take the lead at the bottom, only to perform a triple axle with pike over the side when he missed the toestrap on a tack. With Steve Macdonald retiring due to 'pressing circumstances', this moved Ben to the back of the fleet, and left Ian and Steve Cook to battle it out for the final honours. In the end, Steve Cook triumphed, with Ian second, and Ben's valiant attempts to make up his lost ground proving fruitless. All the races were closely fought, and resulted in very small differences between the boats. Coupled with North Berwick's legendary good weather, and some first class execution by the race committee, and all agreed that the weekend had been well worth the trip. With luck, more boats will be tempted to take advantage of the new clubhouse next year, and add to the growing number of visiting RS200's and 400's who appreciate the welcome, the waters, and the beer!