it cares one thing: i am the sea. >> reporter: bill pinkney chronicled his historic solo sail aroundthe hard way aund the great southern capes, in his 1992 video diary and documentar >> it's been very, very rough. for seven days i've had nothing but bad weather. the boat's been knocked on its side a couple of times. >> reporter: pinkney had been knocked down before while growing up on public assistance on chicago's south side. >> the fact that i was black meant that statistically before i was 21, i would be either killed from a crime of violence, on drugs, or incarcerated. now, i never believe the statistics. >> reporter: at 86he's retired in puerto rico, where he first learned how to sail small cargo skiffs while stationed here with the navy in the '50s. >> i was a terrible student, but i read this book entitled "call it courage," about a young man who was an outcast with people on his island in polynesia. i held that as my dream for a great adventure in my life. >> reporter: after a successful career as a cosmetics executive, bill pinkney decided to sail around the world in 1990 wh