First Class Europe
Beneteau · Jean Berret · 1990
Updated
The First Class Europe is a 11.03 m planing racing yacht designed by Jean Berret and built by Beneteau, first launched in 1990. It races in Class C.
Length
11.03 m
36′ 2″
Beam
3.37 m
Draft
1.91 m
Displacement
3.3 t
Sail area
72 m²
On the podium
Where a First Class Europe finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
7%
of 14 starts by 1 boat
Wins
0%
Read from 14 starts by 1 boat between 2025 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a First Class Europe was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
XXX Lliga Social CMPO2026- XXIX Lliga Social CMPO2025
Raced one we are missing?
Report a regattaRound the buoys, or offshore
A short windward-leeward and a night at sea ask different things of a boat. Here is how this one does in each.
Round the buoys
8%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
—
Not enough data yet: no races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a First Class Europe actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Some of the boats it races against
How the First Class Europe has fared against each of them, boat against boat on corrected time. Ordered by how often the two meet, not by who wins.
Speed at every angle
The shape of this design's speed, drawn from the measured fleet. Pick a wind and watch it stretch.
Upwind VMG
5.25
40°
Beam reach
9.23
90°
Broad reach
11.25
135°
Downwind VMG
8.47
170°
Speed in knots at 20 knots of true wind. Green marks the angles that pay: the closest useful beat and the deepest run worth sailing.
Where it wins and where it pays
Every boat is judged against its own measurements — length, weight, sail area. The quicker those say it should be, the more it has to deliver just to break even. Going fast is not enough: it has to go faster than its own numbers promised.
It needs pressure to show what it can do. Give it a fresh day and long legs and it delivers more than it promised; in a drifter it is working uphill.
Where it gains
Its best ground is off the wind in a strong breeze, where it goes better than its measurements say it should, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage on the run as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.
Where it pays
It falls short upwind when it blows, giving away time it never gets back. That is a hull that wants to get up and go, and needs pressure to do it.
Above the line it delivers more than promised and gains on the fleet. Below, it falls short. Move the wind: plenty of boats sit on one side in the light and the other when it blows.
Full width is 1.6 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the beam reach.
How fast is a First Class Europe
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.58 | 4.88 | 5.17 | 5.25 |
| 52° | 5.52 | 7.12 | 7.45 | 7.59 |
| 60° | 5.86 | 7.36 | 7.72 | 7.94 |
| 75° | 6.11 | 7.58 | 8.17 | 8.55 |
| 90° | 6.02 | 7.64 | 8.48 | 9.23 |
| 110° | 5.87 | 7.83 | 8.98 | 10.18 |
| 120° | 5.65 | 7.71 | 9.04 | 11.05 |
| 135° | 4.98 | 7.24 | 8.53 | 11.25 |
| 150° | 4.15 | 6.38 | 7.76 | 9.67 |
| Run VMG | 3.59 | 5.53 | 6.85 | 8.47 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Roughly half carry a folding propeller. A bowsprit is standard across the fleet. Crew weight is declared around 550 kg.
Rigging
First Class Europe rig and sail dimensions
A First Class Europe carries 13.61 m of mainsail hoist on a 5.04 m boom, a forestay 13.13 m above the deck and a 4.41 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 2 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails