Barry Spanier - Master Sailmaker
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Cutter Spanier - Sailmaker |
When Barry arrived on Maui in December 1978, he had $52.00 to his name and a dream. He and his friend and partner, Geoffrey Bourne, hung up their shingle at 111 Hana Highway, and Spanier & Bourne Sailmakers (MauiSails) was realized. The company was created to make sails for yachts, but evolved as the new sport called windsurfing found Maui to be one of the best places in the world to practice it. Their business grew, and before long they had fifteen employees and were working around the clock.
So impressed with their work, Neil Pryde International Sailmakers joined forces with MauiSails from 1982-1998 and Barry assumed the role of a Product Designer, developing patented plastic part systems, and making ten time PWA World Champion Bjorn Dunkerbeck custom made competition sails. He participated in sponsored efforts to establish new Sailing World Speed Records by Pascal Maka (1982), Fred Haywood (1983, 1984, 1985), Patti Whitcomb (1985), and Brigitte Gimenez (1989). MauiSails achieved the U.S. S.B.A. Small Business Person of the Year for Maui County 1993, and U.S. Chamber of Commerce Blue Chip Enterprise Award for 1994. Barry had extensive global travel, participating in the building of the Neil Pryde branded products machine, creating a world-wide network of valued associates. From 1998 to 2004, Barry became Head Sail Designer for Gaastra Sails International, contributing wide ranging editorial content to trade magazines, and began administering an active forum without censoring or content control, a radical step to communicate directly with their customers. Now Barry’s amazing journey has come full circle. West Maui Sail & Canvas, Maui’s only full service, ground floor sail loft, is proud to announce that Barry Spanier has joined the crew and will once again be designing and repairing sails for Yachts of all sizes. |
Born and raised on Maui, Cutter is the son of the master sailmaker, Barry Spanier. Sailing and water sports were always a great influence on his life. At the age of 13, he moved to the southern Oregon coast and spent his high school years living near a small rural town on a lake popular for windsurfing, sailing and kite-surfing. After high school, he made an easy transition to Ashland, Oregon where he studied Economics at Southern Oregon University. However, he discovered the job market was widely becoming saturated with bachelors degrees, and their value to potential employers was decreasing steadily. Seeing the emphasis shifting to job experience and skills, the allure of the financial world and study of the economy eventually faded and he left school to join the job market. He spent 2 years working (ironically) as a meat cutter in a grocery store in Oregon before getting the opportunity to move back to Hawaii and take on a sailmaking apprenticeship with his father. After 7 years apprenticing, he is now full time manager of West Maui Sail and Canvas.
Barry has since moved on to pursue his dream of building a 42' scow-bow junk rig yacht in California. You can follow his progress @ https://reddogyachts.com/ |