The 'L' Word

Europes ready for racing © Ruth Claire

My current life description has me working in a chandlers so on the odd occasion I get asked "oh, what do you sail?". More often than not this is a well seasoned yard hand or battle-scared weekend warrior who feels they have a wealth of knowledge that needs to be sprinkled on the little girl behind the counter who has the unfortunate job of counting the menagerie of screws, nuts, bolts and nylocks brought to the till.

My almost apologetic explanation is that I generally stick to dinghies and I have a Europe which I sail at Weston SC. This more often than not will generate one of two replies - 1, "I don't know what that is... Is it similar to a Laser?" Or 2, "lovely boats! I used to have one - shame the Laser took over really". There is often a perceived level of bitterness between the two fleets but I am not entirely sure is credible.

Another question I am frequently asked is, "Why don't you get a Laser?". My usual (somewhat scoffed) answer to this is that I am a girl - no offence to any lady Laser sailors out there, but in that boat you need to be blessed with long levers and a good pair of both guns to match. Last time I was asked why I haven't bought into club Laser I was sitting down, so only had to stand up to show that I am Thumbellina's long lost sister.

At 5ft on the dot and equally featherweight there is little on the market for anyone like me. B.E. (before Europe) I sailed a 29er which I loved. I loved how flighty it was of it and how it rewarded you for good behaviour and chucked you out back (or even worse - just out the boat) if you treated it badly. I grew out of the 29er long before the women's olympic skiff was a thing - not that I could have funded a 49erFX on my paper round pocket monies!! However; I had/have never been able to hold onto a crew and despite being "perfect" for the front of a few boats I hate crewing. In fact I will only crew for someone where I would stand a very good chance of getting a pretty good, if not glittering result - did I mention I am competitive too?

At the point of selling my beloved baby skiff, I was also soon due to head off to what was then a right of passage for the children of the early 1990s: university. And whilst I got my teeth stuck into a bit of keelboat and yacht sailing (and if mum is reading - this was all in between some very serious studying and super hard work!!) it just wasn't the same. So I slowly but surely came to the realisation I needed a boat in my life again. I needed a single-hander that was suitable for a skinny mini and ideally it had to be disgustingly cheap given my crew-less track record and dwindling student loan. A PY that related to the local fleets would be lovely but not essential and I did not want to sail in a junior boat. I had done it before and it's not as fun as it sounds when you factor in that you are the only sailor that both dresses themselves and rigs their own boat before sailing... To then hit the bar in the apres-sail with all the parents who think it's mighty unfair that an adult is competing against their dearest darling child who can't take as much as he gives.

Europes upwind - photo © Emer Berry

So here's the confession - I fell into the Europe class by accident. Love hits when your not looking for it, right? While there was/is a fleet of Lasers at my then local club, playing catch the pigeon with full rigs in a 4.7 is not a fun or rewarding weekend for anyone. I picked up my first boat K-229 for a mere £400 and while it was a relic, a turd that refused to be polished, it was my turd and good enough for club racing. Named O.i.c.k after the order of the control lines I spent many hours chasing Solos and Byte CIIs around at club racing. I now have upgraded to a slightly newer weapon of choice that is better suited to racing on the circuit but still old in terms of dinghy years. You can get a potentially nationals winning boat for about £1000 or just over. My new(er) one is pink and screams of woman driver with my blonde hair. That's ok though - in a fleet that has a 50-50 split male/female and no silly rules about rigging for your gender you're allowed to be a princess or indeed pretend to be Ben Ainslie whenever you want. With different rigs for different sized sailors the Europe is a lot more versatile and rewarding than people are lead to believe. There is a lot of room under that boom, more than a Laser incidentally as the cockpit is deceptively deep.

The class itself is quite dissimilar to the other classes I have experienced. At the first event I went to not only did someone volunteer to transport my boat to and from the event, on arrival in the boat park the other class members descended upon my boat and tuned, tweaked and spliced various bits and things for me without me asking! Tea and cake are regular freebies at our open meetings alongside useful advice and a helping hand. The fleet on the whole are very friendly and welcoming – not cliquey like others can be.

Unfortunately event turnout can occasionally be disappointingly low, but despite this the Europe class is very active through the Facebook page 'UK Europe Sailors' and also have good communications through an email newsletter. There has also recently been a fairly large influx of youthful new sailors keen to get to grips with such a responsive little boat.

So in conclusion, next time someone asks me why I've not gone Laser I shall have to grit my teeth and say "It's not for me". Perhaps, even, I will challenge them as to why they don't own a Europe?!