Log of the Mahina - A Tale of the South Pacific

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About Log Of The Mahina - A Tale Of The South Pacific

This is the story of a 14,000 mile cruise around the Pacific in a 27’ sailboat. The parts of it about passages are excerpts from the ship’s log and the time spent on the islands is from my diary. It is all true, a few names are changed because I’ve forgotten them over the past two years. When I left, I had no idea of writing a book, I was just planning to sail to Hawaii for a little vacation. But one thing led to another, and that’s how it happened. In the two months since I’ve gotten back, I’ve been asked a number of times, “What made you decide to do it?” I’m not really sure; I was in a job that was frustrating and didn’t seem to be improving and had been going to night school trying to finish off a degree in Psychology that appeared to be another dead-end. It just seemed time to try something new. I had greatly enjoyed a two-week backpacking vacation in Hawaii, and decided that might be a nice place to sail to, so I bought Mahina, quit my job, and got a part-time job helping to build a 45’ sailboat to learn more about boats and help my suffering budget. I repaired Mahina ‘s frozen engine, replaced all standing and running rigging, and generally rebuilt her. In July of 1974, I felt I had Mahina ready to go to sea. I had taken a celestial navigation course (but hadn’t done the homework) and had a grand total of about nine months sailing experience in Puget Sound in my previous 20’ sloop, but had never done any offshore sailing. I had no special goals in mind, and wasn’t out to set any records. The trip and this book just developed, and I’m offering them to you at this stage, because in a very real sense my relationship with Mahina is still an unfinished story.