Man rescued after 66 days missing at sea

A man who set sail from South Carolina two months ago was rescued on the overturned hull of his sailboat 320km off the coast of North Carolina.

Louis Jordon, 37, said he survived by rationing his water and praying for help.

“Every day I was like, ‘please God, send me some rain, send me some water’,” said Mr Jordan after his 66-day ordeal.

The crew of a German-flagged container ship found Jordan floating on his vessel, the 10m Angel, on Thursday evening.

Mr Jordan said he initially did not believe the container ship was real when he saw it. He said the ship’s crew did not see him until he began waving his arms.

“I waved my hands real slowly, and that’s the signal ‘I’m in distress, help me’.

“I blew my whistles. I had three whistles. They never heard them. I turned my American flag upside down and put that up. That says, ‘rescue me’.”

A coastguard helicopter crew from North Carolina airlifted Mr Jordan from the ship to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, Virginia, on Thursday night. He had a shoulder injury and was dehydrated.

However, Mr Jordan was in good condition and refused treatment, leaving the hospital with his parents at around 2am yesterday.

Mr Jordan had been living on his sailboat at a marina in Conway, South Carolina, until January, when he told his family he was “going into the open water to sail and do some fishing,” said his mother, Norma Davis. He sailed out of the marina on January 23, coastguard officials said, and had not been heard from him since.

Jordan said he survived by drinking rainwater and eating fish he caught with his hands.

Marilyn Fajardo, a spokeswoman for the coastguard’s seventh district, said the coastguard in Miami was notified by his father, Frank Jordan, on January 29 that he had not seen or heard from his son in a week. A week later, Ms Davis said, their son was still missing.

Ms Fajardo said alerts were issued from New Jersey to Miami to be on the lookout for Mr Jordan and his boat. Officials also searched financial data to determine whether Mr Jordan had come ashore without being noticed but found no such indication.

A search began on February 8, but Ms Fajardo said the coastguard abandoned its efforts after 10 days. Some sailors reporting seeing Mr Jordan’s sailboat, but none of the sightings were confirmed and the case was suspended

Frank Jordan said his son’s “strong constitution” and religious belief had kept him alive.

“He told me on the phone that he was praying the whole time, so I believe that sustained him a great deal,” said the relieved father.

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