LUCKY doesn’t begin to describe this guy
[B]Man Missing for 66 Days Found Alive Off North Carolina Coast[/B]
By Daniella Silva
A North Carolina man missing at sea for 66 days was rescued from his disabled sailboat about 200 miles off the state’s coast, the U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday.
Louis Jordan, 37, was reported missing by his father on Jan. 29. Jordan had set sail on his 35-foot boat “Angel” on Jan. 23 from Bucks Port Marina in South Carolina and had not been in touch with his family, according to the Coast Guard.
Two months later, after an initial unsuccessful search, the Coast Guard said Thursday that Jordan had been found on his disabled boat by a German cargo ship some 200 miles east of Cape Hatteras off North Carolina.
The Coast Guard launched a Jayhawk helicopter crew to transport Jordan from the German ship to Sentara Hospital in Norfolk, Virginia — and said the missing sailor was in good condition.
Louis Jordan spoke to his father, Frank Jordan, for the time in more than two months in an emotional telephone call Thursday, audio from which was later released by the Coast Guard.
“I haven’t heard you in so long,” Louis Jordan tells his father. “Oh man, it’s nice to hear your voice,” Frank says. “People have been praying for you.”
Jordan seemed to lament the loss of his boat “Angel,” saying to his father: “I couldn’t fix it, I couldn’t sail back with my boat — I’m so sorry, it’s such a huge loss.”
“Hey Louis, you’re fine, son, I’m so glad that you’re alive,” Frank Jordan replies. “We prayed and prayed and we hoped that you were still alive. So, that’s all that matters.”
The Coast Guard said Jordan’s boat had capsized and damaged its mast when he was found. He allegedly survived by drinking rain water and eating raw fish, the Coast Guard said.
The helicopter crew landed at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital around 7:30 p.m. ET, where Jordan was able to stand up and walk to the hospital without assistance, according NBC affiliate WAVY.
The Miami Coast Guard had embarked on a unsuccessful 10-day search in February, after his family reported that Jordan was still missing on Feb. 7.
Jordan had never filed a “float plan” to indicate where he was going and when he would return, the Miami Coast Guard said.
“Without that it was hard to create a search pattern,” Miami Coast Guard spokeswoman Marilyn Fajardo said. “We did search and are happy he was found alive and will be reunited with his family.”