Europe handicap

[Rupert]

If she doesn't sell quickly, I am planning on bring the Europe to an event or 2. Only problem is, they didn't make it to Britain until the 80's, so there is no old money handicap. I could suggest one, but then I would be branded a no good something or other by various people who should know better if I happened to win. Any thoughts?

[roger]

Rupert,

Suggest one by all means and if you win we will all brand you a bandit and pot hunter

[JimC]

The current Europe handicap translates to 104 in old money. Of course a Europe is to all intents and purposes a 1962ish International Moth, and according to my records the International was 101 by 1973, so that seems to make sense. On the other hand I have a figure of 105 for the Europe in 1976, last year of the original numbers...

[stellamike]

I remember them racing off 120(the same as my mk3 womble Bungo) in1984 at weston.needless to say I won!

[LASERTOURIST]

In France the Europe is now given the same handicap as the Laser Radial...how would that translate...?
The thing is there is a hell of a difference between an early wooden mast terylène sail Lanaverre Europe and a ex olympics recent Europe with a Cristalli hull , carbon mast and latest sails...
in the mid/late seventies in Cannes (where there was the last fleets of intl moth in France , with Jacques Fauroux designing and racing)the Best Europes were playing level with the intl's , the little they lost in pure speed was compensated by better fitness, strategy and tactics as is often the case with helmsmen from a widespread competitive class

[Rod]

We have Europes racing as Classic Moths in the U.S. Some of the Mothists have picked up state of the art Olympic trialists but still the narrow waterline Mistral is significantly faster. Admittedly, our older gents are not sailing these Europes at the level of the Olympians, but our experience corroborates JimC's Portsmouth numbers, 101 for a Duflos/Mistral, 104 for a Europe.