Man rescued in the sea after 66 days of catching fish with his hands

Miami (AFP) - A US man missing at sea for more than two months was celebrating a miraculous rescue on Thursday after being picked up by a passing ship and airlifted to dry land, the US Coast Guard said.

Louis Jordan, 37, who was reported missing on January 29, told family members he had survived by catching fish with his hands and drinking rain water, according to the Coast Guard.

He was spotted drifting on his stricken sailboat approximately 200 miles (322 kilometers) off the coast of North Carolina by the German-registered Houston Express tanker and taken aboard.

A US Coast Guard helicopter then hoisted him to safety back to a hospital in Norfolk, Virginia, a statement said.

Frank Jordan, the sailor's father, told CNN he did not know what had caused his son's boat to break down.

US media reports said the boat had capsized and Louis Jordan was found sitting on the upturned hull when he was plucked to safety.

Frank Jordan said his son was in good spirits during a brief conversation with him following his rescue. He told CNN he had not given up hope Louis would be found alive despite his inexperience as a sailor.

"I knew he had a good seaworthy boat," Frank Jordan said. "I felt the boat was going to keep him alive, so I had all sorts of worries because he's not an experienced sailor."

Louis had left the relative safety of the marina where the boat was moored to "go out and catch some fish."

How his son ended up so far off course was unknown, Jordan said.

"I called him at one point a few days after he left land... and he was a few miles offshore. As far as how he got off track, I don't know," he said.

He 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," he said.

Great story of survival.

Something seems kind of fishy.

^How?

Missing sailor: I survived by staying inside, rationing


CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The man rescued from a disabled sailboat off the North Carolina coast responded to critics of his story on Monday, explaining that he avoided sunburn and blisters by staying in the vessel's cabin and that he survived by rationing food and water.

Louis Jordan's three-paragraph statement says he stayed inside the cabin to keep dry and avoid sun, wind, waves and sea spray.

"Every time I went outside, I exposed myself to getting my clothes drenched, which would have made it harder for me to keep warm," Jordan said. "My blankets were already soaked, and often there was no way of hanging up my clothes to dry. Keeping dry was vital to my survival."

Jordan also says he set up a makeshift mast with a small sail to get the boat headed in a westward direction.

He says he rationed food and water and kept his calorie expenditure low.

"That meant I had to stay inside the boat as much as possible, therefore I didn't have a sunburn, or blisters, as if I were found clinging to an upside-down boat," Jordan said.

Jordan was spotted by a German-flagged boat Thursday, more than two months after sailing out of a South Carolina marina. Coast Guard crew members who retrieved him said they were surprised by his fit appearance and overall health.

Thomas Grenz, the captain of the German tanker ship that spotted Jordan last week and brought him aboard, said Jordan's U.S. passport described him as weighing 290 pounds, but he was probably down to 200 pounds when the crew found him.

Officials with the U.S. Coast Guard say it wasn't clear how long after he left the marina in Conway, South Carolina, that his boat first capsized. Jordan's sailboat was upright when the German boat found him.

Jordan told his family that he was going into open water to sail and fish, according to his mother, Norma Davis.

He told WAVY-TV that he was sailing north when he encountered bad weather. He said he saw a wave crash into his window and that his boat eventually filled with water.

The Coast Guard began a search on Feb. 8, but it was abandoned after 10 days. Some sightings of Jordan were reported by other sailors, but they couldn't be confirmed.

Jordan's statement thanked the Coast Guard rescuer who dropped down from the helicopter to lift Jordan off the boat. He also thanked Grenz and his crew for turning their ship around to save him.

"Their sacrifice demonstrates that our basic humanity is to care for and protect one another," Jordan said. " I'm grateful for all of your support and for your honoring my story. I'm writing a book on it now. All the glory goes to God for answering my prayers so perfectly. God is truly great."