I'm re-reading this book for a paper I'm writing. It is rich in references on the use of sails by native Americans from north to south, and especially in the Caribbean. The sails were made of heavy cotton or matting (palm fronds). For long voyages, they attached canoes to the sides of their pirogues (piraguas) for stability, storage, and to create a wider surface (for housing and even fire provision), much like a catamaran or trimaran these days. Men and women sailed. Some sources report the use of 2 sails, triangular in shape, later known as the Marconi rigging from the Bahamas. This rigging is now used in sloops like Andariego. They could sail close to the wind. In first encounter days (not discovery), Europeans could only sail downwind following the Gulf Stream currents. Who learned from whom?
