Life raft not seen with boat of missing Maryland sailor, wife says: 'I view this as encouraging news'
BALTIMORE - A wife remains optimistic while the search continues for a missing Maryland sailor off the coast of Mexico.
Donald Lawson, an experienced sailor from Baltimore, has not been heard from in nearly three weeks.
His trimaran sailboat "DEFIANT" was located last week nearly 360 nautical miles off the coast of Acapulco. However, there was no sign of Lawson.
MORE: Wife notified sailboat was located without missing Maryland sailor off Mexico's coast
Jacqueline Lawson said on Sunday that there is also no sign of her husband's lone life raft.
"I view this as encouraging news," Jacqueline Lawson said. "I believe Donald used the life raft when DEFIANT became disabled, and that he is still out there somewhere."
MORE: Family of missing Maryland sailor holding onto hope as search continues off coast of Mexico
She said the Mexican Navy Rescue Coordinator Center is continuing the search.
Donald Lawson, an American professional sailor, is working toward challenging records for circumnavigating the globe solo on a trimaran without stopping — a voyage that is estimated to take 74 days to complete.
He left Acapulco on July 5, 2023, bound for the Panama Canal and ultimately Baltimore, and on his trek, it is believed that he lost engine power and an operational wind generator.
Jacqueline Lawson said she last received a text from her husband on July 12.
He first communicated on July 9 that he had been experiencing problems with his hydraulic rigging and was without engine power, relying solely on a wind generator.
According to Jacqueline Lawson, he lost his wind generator due to a storm on July 12. His last known position was detected July 13.
The U.S. Coast Guard issued an AMVER report (Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue System) on July 21 to alert vessels within a 300-nautical mile radius of Lawson's last known position.
On July 24, a search plane spotted what appeared to be the DEFIANT approximately 300 miles off the coast of Acapulco.
Jacqueline Lawson confirmed on July 26 that the boat was the DEFIANT based on photos provided to her by the MRCC.
"Meantime, while this search for my husband continues, I want to take a moment to say thank you for all the phone calls, emails, text messages and social media posts that my family and I have received," Jacqueline Lawson said. "Your support, positivity, love, and prayers will be forever appreciated and have provided us with the strength and courage we need as we continue to push forward to find Donald. My family and I remain hopeful and optimistic that he will be found alive."
Lawson's trimaran set multiple records before Lawson acquired it, including a speed record for the 2017 Transpac Race between California and Hawaii, and it also acted as a training platform for the America's Cup.
Lawson was repositioning his boat from Mexico, where it underwent repairs, to Baltimore via the Panama Canal in order to prepare for his world record attempt, set tentatively for this fall.
He and his wife launched the Dark Seas Project, in part, to bring visibility to African Americans in the sport of sailing.
Lawson serves as Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee chair for US Sailing.
