The Vendee Globe: Racing Around the World, Alone | WYL Ep. 209 | Donald Lawson

Speaker: Donald Lawson, Skipper, Mighty Merloe; Chair Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, US Sailing At age nine, Donald got the chance to go for his first sail through the Police Athletic League (PAL) aboard a 100-ft schooner. For a nine-year-old, the feeling of freedom that sailing provided was exhilarating. “The captain told me I could take a boat like that around the world, and that’s when I knew what I wanted to do for my career,” said Lawson. “From that day forward, my goal was to become a professional sailor.” Fast-forward 31 years and Lawson, now 40, has his sights set much higher—he wants to be the first African American (and fourth-ever American) to finish the Vendee Globe, a circumnavigational ocean race considered the pinnacle of singlehanded offshore sailing.