Traversing the vast USA overland by sail is something entirely new and intriguing: it has never been done before. It’s a pure concept of using the wind to sail border to border.
Challenge. Our society has become surgically safe and sterile. It’s almost the national pastime to view others facing challenges on TV (Survivor!). I prefer to be the one out there facing them myself. It’s the Lewis and Clark gene, to venture out, to find what your limitations are. To me, that’s when I really feel alive! Like the adage goes, "a ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for."
Promote the sport of Streetsailing. It is already popular on the French and Belgian beaches, but is still an emerging sport in the US with only a handful of participants.
Increase the public’s awareness of alternative sources of transportation and energy. According to Worldwatch Institute, wind power is the fastest-growing alternative energy source with a 22% annual growth rate and with California’s utility situation, the timing is right for a trip like this. Not that I think wind-powered travel is the future, it just shows what is possible with a little imagination.