I am including in todays post an email I received from Catherine Buchanan as a follow up to my post on Ocean Institute, and some additional information on Richard Henry Dana JR.. Catherine Is going to be joining me on the difficult San Diego to La Paz leg of my trip, she is also planning on spending several months cruising with me once we get to the Sea of Cortez. Catherine Has extensive sailing experience, including sailing to Mexico, Tahiti, Tonga and New Zealand. Catherine has sailed with me several times and has always been a pleasure to have aboard, with her easy going attitude and her amazing skills both as a navigator and in the galley, I feel very fortunate to have her as a crew member.
I am looking for one more crew member to add to the San Diego to La Paz leg.
OK OK here's the email she sent;

Hi Steve,
Nice blog entry. Richard Henry Dana's book is one of my favorites, have read it several times over the last 30 years. He returned to his law practice and because of his intensely difficult sailing experience was instrumental in setting up the Merchant Marine to give sailors recourse for harsh treatment. What an amazing life he had. He also returned to San Francisco Bay 25 years later as a tourist and describes the changes he saw (in the appendix). It is a truly great read.
Congratulations on the single handing, that is huge. Well done! I'm back after driving for 3 days through snow and freezing rain. Yikes, glad it's over. See you next year! Really looking forward to sailing with you.
Catherine
catherinebuchanan.com
PS Catherine is an artist...check out her website.