99 Europes split into 3 fleets of 33 turned up to Medemblik in the Netherlands for the Spa Regatta 22 - 26th May 2002.

Registration was done in bright sunshine, even shorts and T-shirt felt like too much clothing. Typically the rest of the week was cold, wet and grey!

Day 1; Laura was first into the first aid room before the first aiders had even unpacked their kit! She dislocated her finger when launching the rib but strapped up she braved the water. Shifty, patchy winds again! Difficult racing.
Debbie was a little too keen off the first start and was OCS. Kirsty did the best scoring a 7th, Laura 12th, Andrea 20th and Elaine 24th. Kirsty was leading Brit over night.

Day 2; Another shifty day followed, three races were sailed by all fleets. Due to the shifty conditions that Spa is best known for, many place changes were seen throughout the course of the races, however, the top girls didn't seem to be phased by this!
Kirsty had another good day with a 2, 5, 11, leaving her 14th overnight. Debs 20th overnight.

Day 3; Here is where it all turned very interesting! The gales that the UK had been experiencing hit us, and hard! Luckily being the first fleet to launch, all fleets got 2 races in before being sent back to shore - where we remained! It would be safe to say that not many sailors on the water that day got away without at least one swim!!

Having finished qualifying rounds today, the fleets get split into Gold, Silver and Bronze for the final 2 days and 4 races. Kirsty and Debbie made the Gold fleet, Laura and Andrea the Silver, and Elaine the Bronze.

Day 4; Windy again! One race was sailed before being sent back to the shore, with some magnificent storms blowing through! We sat on the shore for the rest of the day!
All to play for with one race left on the grand final day!

Day 5; One race was sailed as planned, with winds gusting in excess of 25knts, Laura and Andrea doing well to score a 10th and 16th respectively, leaving them in finishing positions of : 44th and 46th.
Kirsty and Debbie were both Black Flagged, along with a significant number of the fleet!

Overall positions:
1st Sari Multala FIN
2nd Min Dezille BEL
3rd Sarah Macky N

British:
14th Kirsty Bonar
26th Debbie Winstanley
44th Laura Baldwin
46th Andrea Brewster
91st Elaine Turner