Interview with Sam Pearson of the Ancasta Race Boat sales team

Sam Pearson is part of the Ancasta Race Boat sales team at Port Hamble. The team have been actively promoting their IRC race yachts, Class 40 monohulls and, most recently, importing the MC38 and the McConaghy Ker 33.

YachtsandYachting.com: It's been a busy summer on the water and the yachting market is picking up after the banking crisis. How's life been at the Ancasta Hamble office this year?

Sam Pearson: I've been at Ancasta Boat Sales now for nearly 18 months and certainly the first 12 were slow going. I thing like most businesses in the marine sector, things were really hard fought. However since the start of the 2014 racing season I have seen a fairly dramatic increase in the number of enquiries ending up on my desk and general level of interest when chatting within the various fleets, hopefully meaning positive times for the coming seasons.

YachtsandYachting.com: You've been actively working with the Class 40s, both on and off the water, how is the class growing in the UK?

Sam Pearson: Well as ever, the class seems to be doing really well and still growing strongly across the world. There have been more new designs built over the past 2 or 3 years than ever before, clearly showing that the Class 40 has a great recipe for success. Only last week did we have a South African guy come to HYS, looking to talk to other Class 40 owners and enthusiasts, as he is gearing up for a solo transatlantic crossing – one to tick off his bucket list.

Clearly the Class 40 is suited to offshore sailing and that is really where the boats come in to their own, it offers security and performance, which is exactly what people are looking for when sailing short-handed. To then have the luxury of being able to race the boats inshore at events like the Class 40 World Championship or under IRC, when you can sail fully crewed, is certainly a big plus point, but for me the offshore capabilities and sheer ease of handling are the real selling points.

YachtsandYachting.com: How is construction going on the McConaghy Ker 33?

Sam Pearson: Hull #1 and #2 are now sold. Construction of the tooling is now finished and the first hull began construction around 3 weeks ago. We see huge value in the Ker/McConaghy partnership for a boat of this size and Ancasta are hoping to bring hull #3 to the UK as a demo boat in Spring 2015. Since her launch the enquiries have been coming in thick and fast for this little IRC bandit.

YachtsandYachting.com: The McConaghy Ker 33 looks to have the lines of the Ker 40, which is an out and out racer, combined with the facilities of a cruiser. Are you looking forward to getting this performance Cruiser Racer out in the 2014 Hamble Winter Series?

Sam Pearson: Similar in appearance on the water but carries quite a lot more volume below the waterline. We are looking at around 3750kg as an all up sailing weight, with a predicted IRC certificate of about 1.025, the numbers look really promising. Hoping to have a boat sailing by Spring 2015.

YachtsandYachting.com: We've been following the MC38 circuit in Sydney for a couple of years now and the yachts look like giant sport boats. How excited are you to bring these to the UK?

Sam Pearson: MEGA EXCITED is the short answer. We have just launched the MC38 Grand Prix and the thought of a true, performance One Design circuit, back in UK waters is getting people really excited. We've been monitoring the success of the class in Australia for a while now and it is going from strength to strength and we felt it was the right time to introduce this boat to the UK.

From the feedback I have been getting, it seems the MC38 ticks many of the boxes that people require for when they go out racing at the weekend. Performance on a budget, small crew numbers and strict class rules, ensure that campaigns are sustainable, which is where the likes of the TP fell short.

We are hoping for 6 boats on the start line in 2015, with 3 owners already signed up. A boat will be available to test sail in the UK from the middle of October. Please get in touch with Ancasta if you want to arrange a test sail.

YachtsandYachting.com: Finally, what sailing have you managed for yourself this Summer and what are you plans for the Autumn & Winter Series?

Sam Pearson: Not enough unfortunately as the office side of my day job is becoming busier and busier. It started on the new Ker Class 40 and the Round the Island race, which although was a very light affair, gave really close racing. It was then into a ¼ ton campaign, with VAC, IRC nationals and finally the Quarter Ton Cup which was fantastic. I was on board Rob Gray's boat 'Cote', which is a radical Gonzales design. We were a fraction off the pace in terms of straight line speed, which makes life very hard in that fleet, but still hugely exciting racing and sharpens up every aspect of your sailing. After this it was onto another old school machine, and a 6m campaign aiming at the National and European Championships down in Falmouth. A promising 2nd at the Nationals but then frustratingly losing the Europeans due to no wind was not a nice way to end after a few months of preparation. Most recently Cowes Week on the Farr 45 'Werewolf' was a nice change and a much more relaxed affair, although having to run the bow was an 'interesting' change to my normal back of the bus role, but it all worked out well in the end.

Autumn and Winter sailing, I'm hoping is going to be jam packed with MC38 sailing and showing people how much fun can be had when you sail a race boat and not an IRC Cruiser that has curtains, pillows and an oven on board... that stuff is for your home, not for the exciting racing toy that you use at the weekend.