Bill Pinkney: A Look Back at a Singular Sailor

Bill Pinkney, who died unexpectedly last week at 87 years old, was lauded as the first Black sailor to circumnavigate solo via the five great capes. But to categorize him—as a Black sailor, an adventurer, a ground-breaker—is to circumscribe someone who consistently defied such narrow definition. In 2021, SAIL Editor-in-Chief Wendy Mitman Clarke had a chance to talk with him about his extraordinary life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices