In the early 70's when the Hobie Cats were just coming out I was given a Malibu Outrigger by my builder boss Bob Sherman. His grandfather developed Sherman Oaks in LA. I fixed this great outrigger up and found a community of watermen at the old Malibu Yacht Club which was really only a vacant lot with a few shacks on it with a hot shower.

These boats were all wood and everything flexed. They had a 25 foot mast that lowered with pulleys. It had a 16 foot boom that was luckily high enough not to hit the skipper. Jibes could be interesting with a lot of wind. They were the fastest against other boats in really light wind. They were also great for camping because the hull carried a lot of stuff and we could sleep on the hiking boards that were in between the two hulls. The one pictured here is the old style.

Fast forward about 30 years and I find myself in Micronesia where these boats are still used because gas is $9 a gallon. It is like Hawaii a hundred years ago there but even better. The women don't wear tops even in church and the church (Jesuit) is cool because it is run by the locals. Not too much furniture in the houses but everyone has Mac's and email.

I was honored to be on the same island as Mau Piailug who is the grand dad of all the Navigators that navigated with out compasses. It is magical how they could navigate even without the stars. If the GPS satellite ever fails us we might want to read his book.