Missing Mexico Cruiser

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.

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.