Unfortunately, the waters off Mexico prove to be unsafe once again. If you’re heading that way, be extra cautious.
In mid-January a young house-builder and sailor, Donn Pinkney set off for an adventure sailing trip south from Dana Point in California with a friend on his 27-foot Catalina sailing boat Finesse. By February 20th they had reached Manzanillo in Mexico, but his friend couldn’t go any further. He set out alone anyway and hasn’t been seen since.
His 27-foot sailboat washed up on Mexico’s west coast in late February, stripped and empty, with no sign of its skipper.
Did he slip overboard? His father thinks no. “He is very experienced sailor. He’s not an amateur,” Pinkney, Sr. told the local press. “The probability that he fell overboard — the chances are slim to none. The weather was not such that he would be flipped off. That is not impossible, but it is highly improbable.”Friends agree. “After looking at the NOAA reports and everything, it [weather] just really doesn’t appear to have been a factor,” friend Brett Schreckengost said. “Most of the people that know him, know that he would have been taking every precaution to be harnessed in while he was on the boat and we just don’t think he fell off the boat.”
Donn was last heard from February 20th, when he set out solo from Manzanillo — near Puerto Vallarta — bound for Zihuatanejo, where he was to have met friends. He never showed. The 270-mile trip south should have taken him three days but five days later Finesse washed up on the beaches of La Ticla, in between his departure point and his destination.
It wasn’t reported to authorities until several days later, and by that time it had been completely stripped.
But his father, Donn Pinkney Sr. said lack of communication among Mexican authorities and bureaucratic disorganization have stymied his efforts to find out what happened. Because of the presence of drug cartels that run in the same waters as where the yacht was found the possibility of foul play exists.
For the complete story, go to www.sail-world.com.
Best wishes to family and friends.
My prayers are with the family. Maybe he is still alive. Miracles have been known to happen. There are precedents!
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Donn’s family and friends. We may never know what actually happened to Donn but this report leaves out some key information that has been reported elsewhere. This was reported by Latitude 38, “An experienced cruising couple were on their way in, having just sailed north from Zihua, when they passed Finesse. They reported she was under full sail, which surprised them as the wind was strengthening. They were even more dismayed when they realized the singlehander aboard was planning to leave the protection of the bay in deteriorating conditions.” The couple who saw him leaving also reportedly said he was not wearing a harness at that time. Lastly, Donn’s dingy had been tied down on the bow and was missing. It’s not known if it was taken from the wreck or if Donn is still drifting out at sea.
This from Jack Hornor’s review of the Catalina 27: “The Catalina 27 is not, nor was it ever intended to be, an around-the-world cruiser. Construction tends to be on the light side. The solid fiberglass lay-up of the hull is not overbuilt, particularly above the waterline and may fracture from impacts that would leave a heavier built boat with only a scratch. Early boats lacked proper backing plates on hardware, through-hull fittings were poorly installed and secondary bondings of attachments in some cases were poor. Leaking chain plates have caused the bulkheads, to which they are attached, to deteriorate raising the possibility of rig failures. Fuel tank installations were poor on early inboard models.”
I do hope there Is a happy ending to this story. Every sailor is part of the saing family and hopefully he is found safe.
I don’t think it’s helpful to jump to conclusions about it being dangerous in Mexico. It was more likely stripped (same as US)when it hit the beach or things washed off as it was tumbled on its way to the beach. Many people sail there without incident. It’s also ridiculous to talk about the boat’s problems when the boat seems intact except for damage from washing ashore. Let’s instead concentrate on the search for a missing man-the only thing that makes a difference.