Missing sailor fished, prayed
PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Louis Jordan says he survived 66 days at sea by capturing rainwater in a bucket, snagging little fish to catch bigger fish, and praying to God.
On Friday, a day after he was found, the 37-year-old bearded man walked out of a Norfolk hospital grateful for his good fortune and showing no obvious ill effects.
“We were expecting worse with blisters and severe sunburn and dehydration,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Kyle McCollum, who had the first contact with the sailor.
Jordan was plucked out of the Atlantic Ocean about 200 miles off the North Carolina coast on Thursday afternoon by a German-flagged container ship.
The mast of Jordan’s 35-foot sailboat had broken off in heavy weather, and the vessel appeared to have flipped over multiple times, said the ship’s captain, Thomas Grenz. His boat was upright at the time he was found, Grenz said.
Jordan was unclear how long after leaving port his boat first capsized, said Petty Officer David Weydert, a Coast Guard spokesman.
Jordan demonstrated a firm handshake and weary-looking blue eyes before declining an interview with The Associated Press on Friday. He said he rationed his water and energy to keep going.
“Every day I was like, ‘Please God, send me some rain, send me some water,”’ he said.
Jordan had been living on his 1950s-era boat at a marina in Conway, S.C., near Myrtle Beach, until January. He told his family he was going into open water to sail and fish, said his mother, Norma Davis.
Jordan said he was traveling north when his boat hit bad weather. He said he saw a wave crash into his window, and the boat eventually filled with water.
He said he rationed his water to about a pint a day, but “for such a long a time I was so thirsty.”
By The Associated Press
