Buoyed by the success of London Light, his first foray into authorship, Jim’s follow-up in the somewhat saturated genre of sailing barge literature, saw his pen steered to recording his experiences in sail-making for barges and other traditional craft, since coming ashore in the 1950s from the fast diminishing coastal sailing barge trades.
The subject, a largely untrodden path in publishing, sees Jim exploring the skills of sail-making in the traditional materials of yesteryear, sails the size of warehouse floors with bolt ropes as thick as your wrist, a very far cry from today’s computer cut plastic and carbon fibre sail cloths.
Whilst Jim explains the details of traditional sail-making, his text abounds with his tales of the characters involved in pushing the palms and fids of his trade, laced with anecdotes and Jim’s widely renowned humour.
His story tells how the business was founded in unsuitable premises, under-capitalized and calling on favours for its very existence, before its growth and reputation saw it become acknowledged as amongst the world’s finest.
Introduction and Preamble Simon Devonshire K.C. – Sailing Barge Marjorie
