![Barry's Corner [RSS]](gfx/rss.gif) That was the beginning of the onboard sailmaking experiment 1 January '76 - 1 November '77 That was the beginning of the onboard sailmaking experiment that would support me all across the Pacific. In Manzanillo, Tenecatita, and Acapulco, I was able to do big jobs for people, usually right on their own boats. We set sail from Acapulco direct to Lahaina when our six months allowed in Mexico expired. Thirty three days later, we saw Maui and began the adventure in Hawaii. 
Getting there is all the fun
It was pretty easy to get settled in Lahaina roadstead and the harbor. You can see the relaxed part worked in nicely with the sailmaking part too. This was truly good living and those twelve months were to shape the rest of my life, but I didn't really know it.
One year of life aboard off the west side of Maui was a constant dream for me. Dive in and swim every morning, row to shore, do yoga, wander the village and pick fruit, row back to the boat. Then the day could begin. Some work, maybe. Another swim. The breeze might come up perfect for an afternoon of ideal sailing sans clothes. Or we could sail to another nearby island, anchor, and explore the reefs and rocks for a few days. And all the while, making and repairing sails was providing for all of our needs and the needs of the boat, with plenty of time for 'contemplation'.
An old friend named Harlow St. Vrain Dougherty owned the Jada, a fifty-seven foot John Alden yawl. I had done work on her sails in San Diego, and Harlow had kept track of where I was. He flew in and asked me if I would take all the materials for a new set of sails for the Jada to Tahiti with me. And then, would I build him a whole set of sails out in the jungle. So we would have money to get the boat hauled, and money when the job was done. And the challenge of building a bunch of sails for a boat this size, out in the jungle, was too much to resist.
This was the beginning of eighteen months of life with abandon. Made the sails, saw all of French Polynesia, Raro, the Cook Islands, Tonga, and finally New Zealand. Every knot of the way, sailmaking was my support and my gift. Many places my sewing machine made clothes from flour sacks and old blankets. It made tents and covers. It generally made friends.
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