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.

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