Missing Mexico Cruiser
©2012 Latitude 38 Media, LLC
Friends and family of Donn Pinkney are asking for help in the search for the 43-year-old sailor who left Manzanillo on February 20 aboard his Catalina 27 Finesse bound for Zihuatanejo. Finesse was reported to have washed ashore at La Ticla, 60 miles south of Manzanillo on February 29, and there’s a possibility she was anchored off the popular surf spot earlier in the week. The boat has since been stripped, and there’s been no sign of or word from Pinkney.
According to Bob Norquist, an Arizona-based Ham operator who’s active on the Sonrisa net and who’s been helping to get the word out about Pinkney’s disappearance, Pinkney was last seen around 11 a.m. on February 20 as he sailed out of Manzanillo Bay. 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.
© Latitude 38 Media, LLC
Pinkney’s boat partner, Anthony Karakas, told Norquist that Pinkney always wore a harness at night when alone, but the couple who saw him leaving said he was not wearing one at that time. Karakas also said that Pinkney was planning to sail the 180 miles or so to Zihua nonstop. Since Finesse was quickly stripped by looters, it’s not known if the dinghy that Karakas and Pinkney had placed on the bow of the boat before she set sail was stolen from the wreck or if Pinkney might be drifting at sea. All mariners in the area are asked to keep a sharp eye out.
March Latitude 38 Ready to Read
Yesterday our delivery trucks were scurrying all over the Bay Area delivering the March issue of Latitude 38. If you live outside the Area and have a good internet connection, you don’t have to wait for snail mail to deliver your copy — you can read the entire issue, photos and all, right on your computer! You have two choices: read it online through Issuu, or download the PDF version to your hard drive. And if you have an iPad, you can now download the ePub version!
In this month’s issue, you’ll sail along with that crazy event called the Three Bridge Fiasco, circumnavigate with a young girl named Kara, discover just how affordable it is to cruise Southeast Asia, remember the passing of Peter Mikwitz, learn about the soon-to-be-built official tall ship of San Francisco and more than we can fit here.
Mexican Bale Fish
"I went up to Dana Point from San Diego to help a friend who doesn’t know how to sail bring the boat he bought in Dana Point down to San Diego," reports Kurt Roll of the Southwestern YC. "When we were about two miles off the coast of Del Mar, I spotted a package floating about 50 yards off our beam. Curious, we went over and hauled it aboard. I cut through 10 layers of super tight plastic wrapping to see what it was, and discovered it was high grade pot! A Mexican bale fish. The package weighed about 25 lbs.
"I took some photos of the bale, recorded our position and called the Coast Guard. I was eventually put in touch with the Border Patrol / Customs, who intercepted us off Pacific Beach and asked some questions. ‘If you’d found a bale full of money, we wouldn’t be here,’ one of them joked. The owner of the boat and I both smiled and said, ‘Yep.’
"I posted the photo on Facebook, and the next thing I knew I was interviewed by Channel 8 news and became the lead story just before the Oscar show. It was my five minutes of fame.
"As for Dietmar Petutschnig of the Las Vegas-based Lagoon 440 Carinthia, who did the ’08 Ha-Ha, and with whom I’ve done a lot of sailing in the South Pacific, he’s in Newport sitting for his captain’s license test tomorrow. This year’s cruising plan is to sail from New Zealand to Sydney, then up the Great Barrier Reef in time for the Sail Indonesia Rally.
"Happy sailing to all!"
We have two questions for our readers:
- How much is a bale of Mexican pot worth these days?
- What would you have done?
a) Called the Coasties
b) Kept it and tried to market it
c) Smoked it all yourself
Email your answer to Richard.