As so often happens the final day of the 2002 Lipton Cup was the best one with good breeze giving the competitors their best days sailing so far.

Race four started early in the hope of it being the first of two races for the day. Ian Ainslie on MSC Donna Mia sailed an outstanding race to win by a comfortable margin of a minutes and ten seconds.

In second place was Rick Nankin's Daly's Insurance. With the other two pretenders to the crown having bad races and finishing relatively far down the order this left Nankin and Anslie as the only likely winners with the final race still to sail. The three point margin meant that Nankin needed to win the race with Ainslie in fourth or lower. Not an easy task but not beyond the realms of possibility either.

This fifth and final race of the regatta took a while to get underway with a general recall at the first attempted start. The fleet got away cleanly at the second attempt though and it was Mark Sadler's MSC Orion Challenger that led at the first weather mark. Ainslie was in second but Nankin was nowhere to be seen and was in fact down in twelfth place.

No matter how good you are coming back from that far down in this fleet is next to impossible, especially when you need to be winning. Ainslie briefly took the lead during the race but for the most part ran in second behind Sadler which is where he eventually finished.

This was enough to ensure that the cup went back to Zeekoivlei Yacht Club. Ian Ainslie and his team on MSC Donna Mia are defiantly deserving winners, they have sailed consistently well all week and were always in the top bunch. Add to this that Ian, if not the best sailor in South Africa, which he could well be, is certainly the most practiced at the moment. His crew is also one of the most talented ones available with Charles Nankin, Michael Giles, Mark Lagesse and Golden Mgedeza making a formidable line-up. All in all I think that the trophy has ended up in the right hands.

After five races the top five positions in the 2002 Lipton Cup Regatta were as follows:

1st Ian Ainslie MSC Donna Mia Zeekoeivlei Yacht Club 11 Points
2nd Mark Sadler MSC Orion Challenger Royal Natal Yacht Club 18
3rd Rick Nankin Daly's Insurance Theewaters Sports Club 19