Back in the USA

It took 26,000 miles to get here, but we are back in the USA with stops in San Diego hosted by the SD Maritime Museum then on up the west coast.

The visit to Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla was a huge highlight covering topics with scientists ranging from the North Pacific Gyre and the associated plastic garbage patch to climate change and the Keeling curve, the climate record that started it all by Scripps scientist Charles Keeling.

I had my family and Kirsty there on the San Diego dock upon arrival, so it was especially great getting in to see everyone. We found we had another fan of Ocean Watch and Around the Americas project in Bill Walton, the great basketball center who is quite an environmental activist. He had many insightful words about our oceans and the state of the planet and gave us a great boost of energy when we were just a little depleted.

The Pt. Dume Marine Academy was remarkable in Malibu with a school assembly of 300 grade school kids and then a science lab full of more extremely bright children who know their issues. On we went to Los Angeles and Marina Del Rey. More school groups and insightful children who give us faith in the future. They will make the necessary and hard changes which must be made but cannot by the current generation in power.

Now we are in Santa Barbara. Again more school groups and presentations at the SB Maritime Museum, our kind and gracious hosts. Captain Mark Schrader's father, Richard, lives here in town and at age 93 was on the dock to greet us. Special moment.

As happens, there is a gale, in fact, multiple gales. We are stuck in Santa Barbara while some of the crew split for Monterey. The hard core four, Mark, Dave Logan, Herb McCormick and I will sail the boat to Monterey and San Francisco. Nothing is ever easy out here, that is for sure.

We have published four features for Cruising World now with a new June article on the shelf with our Cape Horn article. Check it out. We continue to do our science along the way and are all busy working hard on the mission of this great Around the Americas expedition.

I will try to post more now with photos so stay tuned and watch for some website updates soon. Bye for now.

David