The South Side of Chicago is many things, but a rich source of maritime history is not necessarily one of them. But like any alleged absolute in this world, there's an exception: Bill Pinkney.

William Deltoris Pinkney III—raised on the South Side—passed away Thursday, August 31, 2023 at age 87, long after securing a place in the history books as the first Black sailor to complete a solo circumnavigation of the globe via the treacherous southern route in 1992. It was on Valentine's Day that same year that Mr. Pinkney rounded the Cape of Good Hope; despite being at the helm for 48 hours in the midst of howling rain and driving wind, he donned a gold earring, an ancient maritime tradition reserved for those who make the voyage.

Although he grew up in Chicago—a city with a healthy sailing scene—Mr. Pinkney didn't come to the sport until moving back there after years in the Navy, Puerto Rico, and New York. His first sailboat was the 28-foot Assagai, named for an African spear; the boat he circumnavigated the globe with was the 32-foot Commitment.

Following that historic trip, Mr. Pinkney became a trustee of the Mystic Seaport Museum in Connecticut, helming the building of a replica of the Amistad, a Cuban schooner commandeered in 1839 by kidnapped West Africans. From there, Mr. Pinkney went on to retrace the harrowing Middle Passage aboard an 85-foot ketch with a group of teachers and school children as crew.

In his memoir, As Long As It Takes, Mr. Pinkney described the essence of sailing as an escape—but not just from the day-to-day. “[Sailing is an] escape from the bonds of conformity, racism and lack of respect because of one’s background. It can be the means of achieving a goal, but sometimes it can be a source of discovering alternatives to your conventional path.”

"The sea," he added, "treats everyone the same."

‍Chicago’s Bill Pinkney, first Black mariner to sail the globe solo, dead at 87 [via Chicago Sun-Times]
Bill Pinkney, Globe-Circling Sailor Who Set a Racial Mark, Dies at 87 [via New York Times]
Captain William D. "Bill" Pinkney [via National Sailing Hall of Fame]
Bell-Ringing Today for Amistad Launch [via Hartford Courant]