Interview with 'Mr Harken UK' - we speak to Andy Ash-Vie

Andy and Cathy Ash-Vie at the Harken UK offices © Mark Jardine

We spoke to 'Mr Harken UK' Andy Ash-Vie about his early sailing, how he got into the marine industry, how Harken UK have diversified and what sailing he has planned for 2016.

Mark Jardine: First of all, how did you get involved in the marine industry in the first place?

Andy Ash-Vie: It all goes back to the old Southampton College and the Yacht and Boat Design course that I did there. I was floundering around after A levels and my father turned up with the advert showing this course and I suddenly though, 'Oh, yes, that would be alright. I'd like to be a yacht designer'.

Mark: Were you already a sailor at that time?

Andy: I was a passionate sailor. I started actually sailing on the Shatt al-Arab River out in Iraq at the age of about three, when Flying Fifteens had little mini snubbing winches. Then we moved to Kuwait and I had a little MiniSail there, so you 'd always find me out on the water. We also had a fleet of Kestrels and X One Designs around Kuwait. So as a young lad, I was very keen, and then when I went back to school in Canterbury – a boarding school there – I continued sailing all that time.

Mark: After you had done your course, what was your first step in the industry itself?

Andy: I had a summer job working with Mike Parry building Gems, and I did a bit of floor work cutting out sail numbers at Hood Sails. My first proper job was working for John West at West Custom Marine, where we were building various custom race boats. Great fun.

Mark: During this time, did being involved in the marine industry increase your passion for sailing, or adjust it in any way?

Andy: It didn't, no, it was all just one part of the same thing. I was passionate about boats, I was passionate about being on the water, I liked building boats, I liked rigging boats, I liked mucking around in boats. It didn't change, it was just the whole lifestyle.

Mark: How did you start out with Harken and starting up Harken UK?

Andy: It all goes back to there was friends of ours that would come around for dinner, George Skuodas was one of them. He told us with great glee that he got this job as a technical rep for Harken, and I thought, 'That was my job, I really wanted that'. A couple of years went by and he said he was handing in his notice, so I made sure my application hit the desk the same day as his notice did. I went up to Scotland where Harken UK was based as an agency, and had the interview and duly got the job.

Mark: So this was something you had your eye on for quite some time, and so part of your plan?

Andy: It wasn't so obvious as a plan, but I always did fancy working for Harken. I did do some time as a yacht designer, and all the boats that I designed were fitted with Harken equipment and Edson steering gear, so I knew the product range really well, I could specify it, so it certainly made getting the job a lot easier when it came along.

Mark: With your own sailing, you sail a diverse range of boats. Recently, all the way from an RS800, a 6 metre and next a J80. What do you find the appeal of the different types of boats that you've been sailing?

Andy: I do love the teamwork of a big boat. When I had a 6 metre, it was a very difficult boat to sail with just five up. You had a movable mast, you had runners, a massive genoa, a traditional symmetric kite; it was a real handful, very technical, requiring a high level of skill from everybody. When it went well it was beautiful, really beautiful, but it was difficult to get going well. At the other end of the spectrum, I sail a beat up old classic Finn down at Keyhaven. I just love turning up there where you just get out of bed, you're going sailing, you don't need to think about anybody else, you don't need to take anybody else into consideration and you go out and you have a good time.

Andy Ash-Vie sailing his Finn at Keyhaven - photo © Mark Jardine

Mark: Harken has now diversified into quite a few areas, how has the business grown as you've been Mr. Harken UK?

Andy: Well, Cathy and I started up Harken UK in '99 in its current format. We had become part of a general distributor and when their parent company bought our biggest competitors, that's when we set up and started from home. Front room was the office, back room was the warehouse. We've had to change a lot because every time we get a new piece of business, a piece of the old business has dropped out. Once upon the time there was a vast custom race boat build business in the UK, there was a lot of OEM business. We recognized that the OEM business and the custom race boats would dissipate over the years, and they duly did, so we concentrated on the dinghies and the aftermarket. We could also see that too was heading for troubled times, so we knew we could take our sailor skill in handling rope into new markets, because Dyneema was going into more and more industrial applications, so you're watching that, and they were still using big heavy old winches and steel blocks. We could bring in mobility and agility, speed of response by taking yacht equipment, modifying it in some cases, and then using that with Dyneema in modern industrial rigging.

Mark: So taking what is known from sailing just because of the performance of the fittings, and then using that throughout industry?

Andy: Yes. It's quite fascinating how sailing has taught you to solve problems, how to do rigging, how to build things, how to improve things. There's virtually no sailor that leaves his boat alone; they keep playing with it and fiddling with it and trying to make it better - to be a decent sailor, you need to have a broad set of skills - understanding physics, understanding engineering. You may not be a brilliant physicist or a brilliant engineer, but you do have a broad understanding.

Mark: If you were to give one piece of advice to a young sailor who wanted to get involved in the marine industry, what would it be?

Andy: Be flexible. Be flexible, that's the most important thing because sailing has many different facets from spars, masts, rigging, sails, construction, electronics as well as hardware. There's a lot of facets you've got to cover, so do not turn down an opportunity to learn something and be flexible, don't think of yourself as a one-trick pony.

Mark: For your 2016 sailing, what have you got lined up?

Andy: Well I've got an RS400 for Mondays and Wednesday nights, I've got a J80 for Thursday nights, I've got my Classic Finn for mucking around racing down at Keyhaven, and I've got a Scow dinghy so I can go pottering around if I so wish, and have a few picnics on the beach. I'll do the J80 Nationals, but not really going to take it very seriously this year. Take an easy year.

Mark: Sounds like you've got a fantastic year lined up. Andy, many thanks for your time.

Andy: You're welcome.