[ad_1]
A trimaran racing sailboat can capsize and stay afloat. No signal from an emergency beacon. Donald Lawson lost power before and safely sailed home by compass.
Those are the reasons why the US sailing community hopes that the Baltimore man who went down as a Black professional sailor is unharmed somewhere on Mexico’s Pacific Coast.
Mexican authorities have been searching since Friday for Lawson and his 60-foot racing trimaran Defiant. The Mexican Navy sent an aircraft and search boat to the area of Lawson’s last coordinates, his family said.
No one has heard from the sailor since July 13, when the Defiant was spotted 285 miles from Acapulco. No communication from Lawson in the days since.
I’ve been at sea with my husband before, so I know him and I trust him. And now myself and his family, friends and supporters are determined to get him back to Maryland safely, his wife, Jacqueline, told reporters Monday in Annapolis. Requesting any and all resources both Mexican and American to help me find my husband.
Lawson grew up in Woodlawn and entered a sport dominated by white men. He and Jacqueline founded the nonprofit Dark Seas Project to support African American sailors, and he serves as chairman of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee for US Sailing, the sport’s national governing body.
He plans this fall to break a world record by becoming the first American to sail around the world in 74 days.
Lawson left Acapulco alone on July 5, heading up the Panama Canal to Baltimore ahead of his world record attempt. On July 9, he messaged his wife that he was having trouble with the hydraulic rigging and the engine had lost power. He relies on a wind generator. Three days later, he messaged his wife that the wind generator had been killed by a typhoon.
The two decided it would be better for him to turn around rather than continue through the Panama Canal. Jacqueline says she has 25% battery power, and no charging method.
Victoria Lawson, Donald Lawson’s sister, told reporters there was no way to know what her brother was going through right now.
He is strong. He is an experienced sailor. But we just need everyone’s help. Everyone’s support, he said.
Sign Up for Alerts
Get notified with need-to-knowinfo from The Banner
A confirmation text is sent.
Okay
Lawson offered a glimpse of his extensive preparation in a recent Facebook post, writing about the effort he makes to avoid bad weather and when there is no wind. The Defiant is equipped with an automated system that identifies the racing yacht with surrounding ships. His website features a satellite location tracker that was last detected on July 13.
He also sailed with satellite phones, GPS and, crucially, an emergency radio beacon known as an EPIRB. Some beacons emit an automatic alert when they come into contact with water.
Authorities did not find any sign of an emergency beacon from the Defiant.
If the EPIRB hadn’t been activated, he might have simply lost power, said Bruce Schwab, who sailed with Lawson and twice circumnavigated the globe himself. Energy problems are common. It is certainly a possibility, however, that he lost power and lost communication.
Schwab recalls sailing with Lawson more than a decade ago through a winter storm that was a first for Lawson. The boat is equipped with an automatic navigation system, so he can stay warm below.
He was very happy. … He was determined to make the most of the experience, Schwab said. He drove there for hours in the snow. I was, like, this guy was pretty determined.
In an interview this year with Chesapeake Bay Magazine, Lawson recalled hitting debris in the ocean on a recent trip. He and his wife are 1,000 miles offshore and sailing from San Diego to the Panama Canal. The impact knocked out electricity from the yacht, but he guided them home by compass.
He is an experienced professional offshore sailor so this is in his favor, said Richard Jepsen, president of the Board of Directors for US Sailing, in an email. Without comms, it’s possible that he’ll continue without other issues and we’re hoping for that. We have very little information except that he was incommunicado for a few days. This often happens when seaworthy vessels lose power/communications.
An official with the Mexican Coast Guard’s search and rescue team said they sent crews on Friday, but found no sign of the Defiant. Foreign authorities are conducting a search because Lawson is missing in Mexican territorial waters. The US Coast Guard will only send help if Mexico asks for help, said Hunter Schnabel, spokesman for Coast Guards District 11 on the Pacific Coast.
At this time, they have not requested it, Schnabel said.
In Baltimore, the nonprofit Downtown Sailing Center in Locust Point urged its members to keep Lawson in their thoughts and prayers. Lawson learned to sail in Baltimores Inner Harbor before joining the Downtown Sailing Center in the 1990s as its first Black summer camp instructor. He continued to work as head instructor.
Donald understood well the impact sailing can have on a person, always pushed for diversity in sailing, and sought to inspire others to pursue their dreams, Executive Director Doug Silber wrote in an email to members.
News of the Lawsons’ disappearance spread to the US sailing community and local news in Baltimore, but it did not garner the wider attention that might have benefited the search.
Baltimore NAACP President Kobi Little urged authorities and the news media in the US and Mexico to step up coverage and rescue efforts.
Black people should have every expectation that the media will report and raise awareness about their loved ones with the same urgency and energy as anyone else, Little said. Unfortunately, too often individual and institutional bias in the media limit coverage when Black lives are at stake.
Karsonya Kaye Wise Whitehead, host of Today With Dr. Kaye at WEAA and founder of the Karson Institute for Race, Peace & Social Justice at Loyola University Maryland, is concerned that the search for Lawson hasn’t gotten wider attention. Whitehead said people may be reluctant to share news about a missing Black man after a recent high-profile case in Alabama in which authorities say a Black woman faked her own kidnapping story. Meanwhile, the national news media picked up last month’s story of the missing Titan sub.
Those are white billionaires [in the Titan], and they got more attention, focus and concern, he said. The entire country is committed to providing aid. We are all very invested. It’s hard not to because the media is focused on that story. That’s what happens when you build a story about who matters. We are so connected to this story. The world stopped and collectively held its breath. Nothing to worry about [Lawson]. The media doesn’t focus on it.
Whitehead wants to make sure the public and the media make Lawson a priority, too.
Say his name and tell his story, he said. Be as concerned about him as you are on Titan until the answers are given and he is found.
Reporters John-John Williams IV, Nick Thieme, and David Lance contributed to this article.
|
Sources 2/ https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/local-news/donald-lawson-search-baltimore-sailor-missing-GCOFEB4LANGKRN754XIYYGBXLQ/ The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article |
[ad_2]