Europe dinghy.

Firstly, there is no way a byte or europe is quicker than a laser!!!

Secondly lasers are much harder to sail downwind in waves than you make out! a laser has enough power to completely submarine and come out the otherside but then you have a boat full of water and that makes you very likely to tip it in as the power comes back on!

Wow, think I may be uniquely placed to answer this one (I have a Europe and a CII).  At 60kgs IMHO your probaly closer to the optimal weight for a Byte than a Europe but actually you should have  no diffculties with either and should be competetive in all wind speeds.

The Europe Hull is nicer feeling in waves than the Byte, paticularly upwind; the difference is less pronouced downwind.  I prefer the CII rig, but it does require a change of mindset from standard Una rigs, however once you have mastered it it is far more controllable on all points of sail than the europe rig.  The trick is the downhaul, when it's windy, pull it on, then pull it on some more....and then a bit more!  (Go to the byte website and download the video of Ina Bruce explaining how to use it).  The europe rig has it's own uniqueness, ideally you need to get a mast which is right for your weight and a matching sail, but being in the ballpark and practice will make a shed load more difference than being slightly out with this.  Tips for tuning the Europe are on the website, look at the WB sails guide.

Both boats are short a will go down the mine in waves, the larger higher foredack on the Europe just keeps the worst of the water out.  TBH it sounds like you need a bit more wave practice, you can't get away with just driving into the trough like you can in a laser, both boats respond well to body motion to help avoid this though, and on a breezy reach you need to get right aft in both, look at the pics from the Byte worlds day 1 & 2 for the correct body position.  The Btye is quicker and easier to tack but bot by much, both are quicker than a laser.

In short the Byte is a little less technical and a bit more bombproof than the Europe with a great rig, The Europe has a bit more of a classic feel about it especially upwind in waves and to get the best out of it needs a bit more of a technical approach (more seems to break on them aswell).

On a final point I beleive there was a comparative test in Y&Y about a year ago that you might be able to get hold of.

Either way you've nailed why I sail these type boats, and good luck with whatever you go for, any specific questions just PM me.

I did nosedive my Europe a few times, as it is short with the mast forwards, but I found it a great boat in waves on the Irish sea - it seems to love big wind and water considering how small it is. I was less happy with it in confined spaces, as the low boom centre main and low bouyancy aft certainly make it harder to do snappy tacks in than the Firefly, and probebly the Byte, though I've not sailed the one with the C11 rig.

Give one a go - if you try it in a breeze you'll be getting one the next week!