The Europe is a one-person dinghy designed in Belgium in 1960 by Alois Roland as a class legal Moth dinghy. The design later changed into its own one-design class.
The dinghy is ideal for sailors weighing 50–75 kilos. The hull is made of fibre glass and weighs 45 kg, fully rigged 60 kg. The dinghy is tapering in the stem and round in the bottom. The sail is made of dacron. The mast is made of carbon fibre and specially designed to the sailor. A soft mast is best for light sailors, while heavier sailors use stiffer masts. Sails are also specially designed according to mast stiffness and crew weight.
The Europe was introduced as an Olympic class in the 1992 Summer Olympics as the women's single-handed dinghy. It was replaced by the Laser Radial in the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Since 2008 the Europe is one of the Vintage Yachting Classes at the Vintage Yachting Games.
Famous quotes containing the word europe:
“What passes for identity in America is a series of myths about one’s heroic ancestors. It’s astounding to me, for example, that so many people really seem to believe that the country was founded by a band of heroes who wanted to be free. That happens not to be true. What happened was that some people left Europe because they couldn’t stay there any longer and had to go someplace else to make it. They were hungry, they were poor, they were convicts.”
—James Baldwin (1924–1987)