Man reunited with family after two months lost at sea

A US man missing at sea for more than two months has been picked up by a passing ship and airlifted to land.

Louis Jordan, 37, apparently survived by catching fish with his hands and drinking rainwater.

He was spotted drifting on his stricken sailboat 200 miles off the coast of North Carolina, by a German tanker.

Coastguards say his mast was broken in rough weather.

"We are so grateful that the motor vessel was able to find him…We are so happy to be able to reunite him with his family," a spokeswoman said.

The crew of the German tanker spotted Louis Jordan sitting on the overturned hull of his 35ft sailboat yesterday. He was floating about 200 miles off the coast of Cape Hatteras.

A Coast Guard helicopter crew from North Carolina took Mr Jordan to a hospital in Norfolk, Virginia, last night.

Mr Jordan sailed out of a marina in Conway, South Carolina, on January 23 and had not been seen or heard from since, a total of 68 days.

Coast Guard spokeswoman Lieutenant Krystyn Pecora said Jordan had a shoulder injury.

His father, Frank Jordan, said his son also was dehydrated.

Mr Jordan had been living on his docked sailboat at the Bucksport Plantation Marina in Conway, 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, of Jacksonville, North Carolina.

The family had not heard from him since, she said.

“We expected him to come back and he did not return,” Ms Davis said in a telephone interview. “We knew something happened. To us it’s just a miracle. We’re just so thrilled that he was found alive.”

Ms Davis said Jordan’s father, her ex-husband Frank Jordan, spoke to their son after he was recovered by the Coast Guard and that in addition to injuring his shoulder he was dehydrated.

Mr Jordan had spent months sanding and painting his docked 1950s-era, single-masted sailboat in Conway, where marina manager Jeff Weeks said he saw him nearly every day.

Mr Jordan was the only resident in a section of about 20 boats docked behind a coded security gate, Mr Weeks said.

Mr Jordan appeared to be knowledgeable about wild fruits and mushrooms and fished for his meal in inland waterways, Mr Weeks said. But his January trip may have been his first time sailing in the open ocean.

Records show that Mr Jordan sailed out of the marina in Conway on January 23 aboard the sailboat Angel, said Marilyn Fajardo, a spokeswoman for the Coast Guard’s 7th District.

The Coast Guard in Miami was notified by Frank Jordan on January 29 that he had not seen or heard from his son in a week. One week later, Ms Davis confirmed their son was still missing.

A search was begun on February 8 but Ms Fajardo said the Coast Guard abandoned its efforts after 10 days.

Despite reports from other sailors claiming to have seen Mr Jordan’s sailboat, none of the sightings was confirmed.

Ms Davis said she is looking forward to celebrating her son’s return.

“We do plan on having a wonderful Easter celebration with family and I can’t wait to get him back,” she said.