Mexican Navy finds sailboat of missing Baltimore man
BALTIMORE -- The Mexican Navy has reportedly found the racing sailboat of missing Baltimore sailor Donald Lawson off the coast of Acapulco, according to WJZ's media partner the Baltimore Banner.
Lawson's ship, the 60-foot trimaran Defiant, appeared to be capsized in the ocean about 275 nautical miles away from the coast, the Baltimore Banner reports.
Due to bad weather, rescue crews have been unable to approach the sailboat, according to the Baltimore Banner.
Lawson is a professional sailor and the founder of the Dark Seas Project, a nonprofit that focuses on the diversification of sailing. His wife, Jacqueline, said she had not heard from him in over a week.
Lawson left Acapulco, Mexico, on July 5, and was planning to sail to Baltimore after going through the Panama Canal.
Lawson messaged his wife on July 9 that he had been experiencing difficulties with his hydraulic rigging. This had prompted him to rely solely on a wind generator given that he lacked engine power.
She last heard from him on July 12, which is when he told her that he had lost the wind generator due to a storm, according to a news release.
The boat had undergone repairs in Mexico. It set multiple records before Lawson acquired it, according to the news release.
Lawson was working towards making a single-handed world record attempt for circumnavigation on a trimaran in the fall of 2023, the news release states.
A spokeswoman for the Mexican Navy's Search and Rescue arm told WJZ that it is hurricane season on Mexico's Pacific Coast—a fact that has hindered the navy's search and rescue effort.
WJZ will continue to update this developing story.
