BALTIMORE — Donald Lawson will awaken early next year, alone on a fast-moving boat. With the headsail line in his hand, he’ll check radar and weather displays before searching the ocean for signs of trouble. Despite having slept no more than 30 minutes, he’ll rise and begin making adjustments as his trimaran glides through the Southern Ocean.
He’ll have miles to go before he can sleep again.
The 40-year-old accomplished sailor from Baltimore aspires to set 33 solo records over the next decade. His first goal: becoming the person to sail fastest solo and nonstop around the world in a boat no longer than 60 feet. The record is 74 days; Lawson is confident he can do it in fewer than 70. That would break the American record of 107 days and he’d be the first African American sailor to do it.
