Hall of Fame
As both a former youth and Olympic class, the Europe has created opportunities for countless sailors progressing in their sailing careers, as well as nurturing and creating some of the most high-profile Olympic sailors! Take a look below at some of the talent which has been nurtured and developed in the Europe fleet within the UK, with several high profile sailors having since made re-appearances in the class!
Shirley Robertson OBE
Shirley Robertson is by far the biggest name in the Europe's history, but also one of the most prominent names in the sport. Competing in the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Olympics in the Europe, Shirley narrowly missed out on a medal in Savannah in 1996, before dominating the Europe class at Sydney in 2000 to take Gold. Shirley went then went on to take gold in the Yngling at Athens 2004, and made history becoming the first female helm in the Extreme Sailing Series. She is now most commonly found commentating at many high profile sailing events, including coverage of the 36th & 37th America's Cup, as well as leading the BBC's Olympic coverage.
Laura Baldwin
After a successful campaign, Laura was selected to represent Great Britain in the Europe at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Following her success in the Europe in the UK, Laura moved to Australia, where she won the Australian National Titles in the 470 and Laser Radial classes in 2008 and 2009 respectively. She also finished third at the 2008 Women's Match Racing World Championships! Her focus then became coaching, supporting the Australian and then Hungarian Laser Radial representatives at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. It was great to see Laura make a return to the class when she competed in the 2019 UK Europe National Championships.
Steve Cockerill
After borrowing a friends boat to sail at the 1987 Nationals, Steve fell in love with the Europe, buying his own Europe and finishing 2nd at the National Championships the following year! From there, Steve committed to a serious Europe campaign, spending years racing against the best Europe sailors in both the UK and the world! After taking a job in the Royal Navy, Steve began Olympic campaigning in the 470 and then the Laser. Steve has since dominated the UK sailing scene, winning events in the Laser Radial, RS Aero, RS400 and 2000 just to name a few, whilst also building his Rooster brand into one of the largest sailing equipment brands in the UK! In 2020, Steve and his wife Sarah bought two Europes to make their return to the class!
Saskia Clark MBE
Having won the UK Europe Junior National Championship title at age 17, Saskia Clark has since gone on to become one of Great Britain's most successful female sailors. After a successful campaign in the 470 class, Saskia narrowly missed out on a medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Her partnership with Hannah Mills ahead of the London 2012 Olympic Games saw the pair take the 2012 470 World Championship title, before earning a Silver medal at London 2012. The duo continued their quest for gold, dominating the 470 class over the next four years in a campaign which culminated in a Gold Medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics. Since then, Saskia was awarded an MBE for her services to sailing, and in 2024 campaigned for the inaugural Women's Americas Cup with Athena Pathway.
Penny Clark
Having won the Junior UK National Championship title in 1992, Penny quickly progressed through the UK Europe fleet, winning the 1996 National Championships at Eastbourne. After years spent mastering the Europe, Penny's focus turned to the Laser Radial, representing Great Britain in the Laser Radial at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing! She then moved into the 470 class, where despite being ranked world number one, she narrowly missed out on selection to the London 2012 Olympics. She then sailed the 49erFX in the British Sailing Team, before moving into a coaching role. She is now head coach of the British Sailing Team's Laser Radial programme, supporting Alison Young at the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games. Penny has also seen success in a wide range of other classes, most recently in the 505.
Chris Gill
Chris Gill first made a name for himself in the Europe class back in the early 2000s, finishing as first youth at the Europe National Championships in 2000 and 2001. After finishing 2nd in 2002, he won the 2003 Europe UK National Championships at Warsash SC, his first of 10 National Championship titles that he has won in the class! His impressive number of wins makes him the most successful sailor in the UK Europe class, however with him continuing to race the Europe, we are sure that his tally of national titles will continue to rise! Chris represented the Europe class at the Endeavour Trophy in both 2007 and 2008, both times finishing in the top 10 in a fleet of national champions from a wide range of classes.
Tom 'Mozzy' Morris
Tom Morris stepped into the Europe in 2024, having previously won RS200 & RS800 National Titles, as well as the 2022 Endeavour Trophy. Tom won a close fought 2024 UK National Championships at his home club of Hayling Island SC, and is the host of the highly popular YouTube channel Mozzy Sails, where he provides expert analysis of the America’s Cup.
Jason Belben
An Olympic representative for Great Britain in the 470 class in 1988 , Jason has spent many years at the front of the International Moth fleet, where he still posts some seriously impressive results! Restoring an older Winner hull in 2022 with a new rig, foils and Ronstan hardware, Jason finished second at the UK Europe Nationals in both 2023 and 2024. Now racing with a newer boat, Jason is certainly one of the top sailors in the fleet - with plenty of event wins in the class to his name!
Andrea Brewster
Throughout the early 2000's, Andrea progressed quickly through the UK Europe fleet, taking the 'most improved' trophy at the 2001 Nationals, only to win the National Championship title the following year! In the 2004 Olympic Games cycle, she trained alongside Laura Baldwin, before moving to the Laser Radial in 2004. As part of the British Sailing Team, she campaigned for both the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games in the Laser Radial, narrowly missing selection. Her campaign for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in the 49erFX saw her represent Ireland, where she finished in 12th place.