One year since Baltimore sailor is lost at sea, family and nonprofit commit to continue his mission
BALTIMORE – Donald Lawson, a sailor from Baltimore, sent his last communication to his family a year ago while out at sea.
He was preparing to set the record for the fastest trimaran to sail around the world when his boat capsized.
July 12th, 2023 is the last time Captain Donald Lawson's family heard from him. However, his family and the nonprofit he founded remain committed to diversifying the seas.
The Baltimore sailor had left Acapulco, Mexico after completing a training mission and was headed back to Baltimore before his scheduled trip around the world in the fall.
He'd hoped to break the world record for circumnavigation in a trimaran at 42 days.
During his voyage, the boat he was sailing in, "The Defiant", capsized in a storm. The Mexican Navy found it weeks later, without Lawson.
The search mission for him was later suspended in August.
"We're very grateful, but we knew it wouldn't last forever...that, at some point, they'd scale back," said Lawson's father, Tony Lawson, after the search mission concluded.
One year later
Lawson still has not been found.
In a statement observing the one-year mark, Lawson's Dark Seas Project wrote that their exhaustive efforts have not produced any tangible results or brought them any sense of closure.
It also went on to say, "Your never-ending support has been a beacon of hope as we have navigated through an unexpected and uncharted grief journey. That support has sustained us even through the darkest of times, as our early hopes for finding Donald alive ultimately faded into sadness."
"We all love him. We all miss him," said Quentin Lawson, Donald's brother.
Lawson and his wife founded the nonprofit Dark Seas Project in 2022.
It says it will continue its mission to develop, educate, and diversify the sport of sailing—something Lawson prided himself in.
Lawson started sailing when he was 9 years old.
His family says they are grateful to all for their support and prayers.