Europe class UK National Championships 2025 at Stokes Bay Sailing Club

Fin Lloyd, Junior Champion - Europe class UK National Championships at Stokes Bay © Paul Gardener

The UK Europe class enjoyed three days of fantastic conditions at Stokes Bay SC last weekend, treated to great breeze and sunshine across the weekend! The club's excellent organisation and hospitality ensured every aspect of the event - both on the water and onshore - ran smoothly!

Racing kicked off on Friday with a civilised 13:00 start, giving travelling sailors ample time to arrive and rig up. The boat park was quickly filled by the 40 boat fleet - every empty space now filled, along with the grassy rigging areas! Race 1 got under way after a general recall on a challenging cross-tide line, with the fleet eventually away in a steady 12-15 knots.

The trio of names already engraved on the 'Whiplash Trophy' wasted no time asserting themselves at the front - Chris Gill taking the win ahead of Steve Cockerill and Tom Morris.

Europe class UK National Championships at Stokes Bay - photo © Paul Gardener

As the afternoon passed, the south-westerly breeze picked up and local expert Jason Belben clinched Race 2. Several postponements followed as the wind continued to build and shift, delaying the start of Race 3 until 17:00. Now racing in 17 knots and heavy tide, sailors faced choppy conditions and tricky tactical calls. Steve Cockerill showed his experience, claiming the race win ahead of Chris Gill and Jason Belben.

Saturday morning brought a stark contrast, with visibility limited and fog horns echoing across the Solent. A short delay allowed time for the mist to clear, with Race 4 starting at 13:00 in a breeze oscillating between a fading north-westerly and building sea breeze.

Jason Russell - Europe class UK National Championships at Stokes Bay - photo © Paul Gardener

Those who committed left on the first beat were eventually rewarded as the south-westerly filled. Pete Bell led at the windward mark, with many of the previous day's front-runners stuck in the mid-fleet. Hector Cisneros steadily closed the gap and passed Pete on the final downwind leg to take the win, with French visitor Vincent Pham finishing third.

The sea-breeze, whilst now established, continued to shift left, and the fleet were postponed for 45 minutes whilst the TWD settled and the course was reset. By this time, the wind had strengthened to 15-20 knots, and the fleet enjoyed two races in champagne conditions. Steve Cockerill once again proved his mastery of single-handed racing and tidal strategy, taking both wins. Jason Belben showed promising pace with a new North Sails development sail, while class newcomer Rob Gullan impressed with a second-place finish in Race 5.

After a long and physically demanding day, a few sailors made the sensible decision to skip the final race in anticipation of a breezy finale on Sunday.

Sunday morning began with less wind than anticipated - the first race getting under way promptly in 12 knots. Steve Cockerill proved that his performance of the previous day was not by chance, earning the race win from Vincent Pham and HISC's Jason Russell. By the final run, the breeze had begun to build and all competitors enjoyed an open-pumping run to the finish line! As the breeze strengthened, the land came into effect, bending the breeze to the right nearer the shore whilst further out into The Solent the SW direction of the previous days was settling in.

Mandy Horton - Europe class UK National Championships at Stokes Bay - photo © Paul Gardener

This opened up some interesting tactical options for Race 8, with the lead pack of Steve Cockerill, Jason Belben, Tom Morris and Jason Russell all favouring the right, whilst Ben Harris took advantage of the lee-bow effect enabled by the subtle left hand shift to save distance on the left each lap - climbing from mid-fleet to fifth place.

A race win in the penultimate race secured Steve Cockerill his eleventh UK Europe National Championship title and, with the wind now well in excess of 20 knots, the event winner opted to preserve his borrowed boat, returning early to the beach.

The remaining front runners proved eager to seize the opportunity to take the final race win, resulting in several key players (Tom Morris, Chis Gill, Rob Gullan and Alex Scoles) scoring UFD!

This left the door wide open at the front of the fleet - Vincent Pham taking the win from Jason Russell, closely followed again by Ben Harris.

With several key challengers unable to improve on their scoreline, a consistent series by Jason Belben placed him in second place overall, ahead of Tom Morris who took the final podium spot.

Europe class UK National Championships at Stokes Bay - photo © Ben Harris

The fleet returned to steep waves breaking waves on the beach - the sailors working together with club volunteers to lift each boat out onto its trolley. This demonstration of camaraderie was a fantastic representation of the friendly, supportive Europe community, as all competitors remained on the beach and in the water until the last boats were back ashore!

The UK Europe Nationals prize-giving is always a great opportunity to celebrate achievement throughout the fleet - this year our array of perpetual trophies complemented by generous support from Rooster and Allen Brothers.

With age categories spanning from Junior (U18) through to Legend (70+), it was fantastic to witness such a high level of competition across the entire fleet. Finn Lloyd claimed the Junior title, while in the Legend division, Richard Eagleton took the upper hand in his well-established, friendly rivalry with France's Daniel Devos.

Steve Cockerill wins the Europe class UK National Championships at Stokes Bay - photo © Ben Harris

The 'Tin Rig Trophy' - awarded to the highest-finishing sailor using a non-carbon mast - was awarded to Millie Pearse, competing in her first Europe nationals at her home club and proving that older equipment still provides a competitive, affordable entry point to the class!.

Always a closely fought category, the City of Plymouth Trophy and title of UK Europe Ladies National Champion was awarded to Sue Ogg who put together a consistent scoreline. Mandy Horton sailed a strong final day to finish just three places behind Sue overall, just holding off a resurgent Lucy Boreham who took a strong 5th place in the final race of the event.

Sue Ogg, Ladies Champion - Europe class UK National Championships at Stokes Bay - photo © Ben Harris

Once again, the Europe class demonstrated its rare versatility amongst single-handed classes, accommodating both male and female sailors from under 50kg to 85+ kg across the full wind range, and from the youngest competitors to seasoned veterans. The three-day event offered fantastic racing and a friendly atmosphere both on and off the water. A huge thank you goes to Carl Downing and his race committee, and to Dan Vincent and the team at Stokes Bay SC, for their outstanding event organisation and hospitality.

The biggest thanks as always must go to the UK Europe Sailors community who go above and beyond to make every competitor feel welcome!

Attention now shifts to the 2025 IECU Master & Youth European Championships - hosted here in the UK by Hayling Island SC at the beginning of July! With less than a month to go, there are already 117 entries across the two fleets, with 20 British competitors set to compete. Over the weekend, several sailors were also in discussion about plans to race at the Nation's Cup (Open Week) and World Championship in Torbole, Lake Garda... the UK Europe fleet certainly have an exciting summer of sailing ahead!

Whether you're a current Europe sailor or thinking about joining the class, make sure to check out the UK Europe Sailors Facebook group - our welcoming community is the perfect place to connect with others and find answers to any questions you might have.

For more information, visit www.europeclass.org.uk

Fin Lloyd, Junior Champion - Europe class UK National Championships at Stokes Bay - photo © Ben Harris

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