Baltimore sailor Donald Lawson is missing in the Pacific Ocean

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Donald Lawson, the head of a nonprofit that aims to diversify and promote sailing, disappeared in the Pacific Ocean and has not been heard from for nine days, his wife said.

Lawson left Acapulco, Mexico, on July 5, after his boat underwent repairs, and plans to return to Baltimore via the Panama Canal, according to a statement sent Friday. His last known location, on July 13, was about 300 miles off the coast of Acapulco in the Pacific Ocean.

He is overdue at his destination.

Lawson’s wife, Jacqueline, said she last received a text from her husband on July 12. At the time, a storm knocked out the wind generator on his 60-foot trimaran sailboat, a vessel with a center hull and two outriggers known as the Defiant.

Three days earlier, Lawson reported that his engine had lost power and he was experiencing rigging issues on his boat.

A native of West Baltimore, Lawson is a professional sailor and the founder of the Dark Seas Project, a nonprofit dedicated to the development, education and diversity of the sport of sailing, according to its donation page.

Lawson tentatively plans to attempt a world record by sailing the Defiant around the world in 74 days, according to the release. He intends to make further repairs to the ship in Baltimore before setting sail on his record attempt in the fall.

The US Coast Guard issued a report to alert vessels within a 300-nautical mile radius of the Lawsons’ last known position, according to the news release.

Anyone with information about the Lawsons’ whereabouts is encouraged to contact the US Coast Guard National Command Center at 202-372-2100.

In a May interview with Chesapeake Bay Magazine, Lawson talked about his plans for a record season and the challenge of solo long-distance travel.

To be successful in this kind of sport, you have to be passionate, he said. If you’re out there thinking to yourself, I don’t know, you’re not going to do this. To make long-distance passages single-handed, you have to put yourself in the mindset that, whatever happens between now and then, I’m going to be there.

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