Europe Nationals to be held during the Dalgety Bay SC Annual Regatta
by Jennie Clark 2 Sep 2016 14:15 BST
10-11 September 2016
The Europe class nationals will be held at Dalgety Bay © Malcolm Morley
Sailors in the Europe class are looking forward to their 2016 National Championships, which will be hosted by Dalgety Bay SC over the weekend of 10th & 11th September as part of the club's annual regatta.
Entries are already well ahead of those for the 2015 event and this is partly due to a large Scottish contingent making the most of the chance to sail near to home, and also due to the high level of renewed interest in the class with the UK.
A recent survey showed that there are a large number of Europe dinghies at clubs throughout the UK, with many still being actively sailed. Boats which come to the market are quickly snapped up and there's growing interest in the class from Youth sailors who want a competitive dinghy but are too light to consider the traditional 'single handed pathway' option of the Laser 4.7 or Radial. A very active UK Europe Facebook page, and a team of people spotting boats for sale and matching them up with potential owners has helped introduce new faces to the class this year, with some new owners opting to travel to the continent to pick up boats there. The class has a new website too - www.ukeuropeclass.com - and this will be developed over the coming months to share more information about the class and keep a real presence in the UK dinghy sailing world. With a thriving Europe sailing scene in many of the closer European countries and the European Master and Youth Championships being held at Lake Biscarosse in France next year the class is poised for some real growth.
Recent Europe recruit Ellie Clark has moved from the RS Tera class. Ellie is nearly 15 and weighs 45kg so her father, Bernard, knew that she was not going to be able to handle the hull weight of the Laser and after a lot of research felt that the Europe was going to be the best single-handed option and was lucky enough to track down a relatively local boat which had the right rig. Ellie says 'when I first got in it it felt really tippy compared to the Tera but I soon got used to that and I love the way it's so responsive and light and with my flat sail I can cope in pretty strong winds. If I do capsize it's really quick to right and get going again. There are other Europes at both of my clubs and it's good to race against them, but I also race pretty well on handicap against other boats like the Streaker and the Solo. Racing in the summer against my friend Hamish was huge fun, particularly as the water at Overy Staithe SC is so tidal.'