NC- Sailor missing 66 days found alive by German freighter off Cape Hatteras

[Hiandmighty]

http://m.live5news.com/live5news/pm_/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=od:G8CqqT9n

Survived by drinking rain water and eating raw fish.

 

[zwiebel]

He is in amazingly good condition after being missing so long. So wonderful for Jordan's family, the people who found him and Jordan himself of course!
http://nypost.com/2015/04/03/lost-at-sea-boater-found-after-66-days/

 

[lizzybeth]

Anyone else think this story sounds "fishy"? He does look amazingly good for someone stranded at sea for that long. I know he had food on the sailboat when he left the dock but still...I think he said he capsized three (?) times?
His family didn't sound as emotional as I would have thought they would have after thinking he was dead. Of course, after reading here for so many years I realize that not everyone reacts the same way in situations.

 

[wfgodot]

Louis Jordan’s Facebook page foreshadowed his fate. A year ago, the 37-year-old South Carolina man began posting photos of himself on his beloved 35-foot sailboat, Angel, which he had painstakingly restored. Over the coming months, he uploaded pictures of food he had jarred and fish he had caught for dinner. Jordan, it seemed, was preparing for a journey.

On December 28, 2014, he posted a video to Facebook. It was grainy footage of a woman recounting a near death experience.

Less than a month later, Jordan would be the one facing death at sea.

Yeah, whatever.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...-rainwater-raw-fish-and-prayers/?tid=pm_pop_b

ETA instructive title to Post piece:

Shipwrecked sailor says he survived 66 days at sea on rainwater, raw fish and prayers

 

[Hiandmighty]

I think "trust but verify". He is a member of cruisers forum and I checked there to see what they were saying but the story had just broke and there weren't many comments.

 

[sonjay]

Anyone else think this story sounds "fishy"? He does look amazingly good for someone stranded at sea for that long. I know he had food on the sailboat when he left the dock but still...I think he said he capsized three (?) times?
His family didn't sound as emotional as I would have thought they would have after thinking he was dead. Of course, after reading here for so many years I realize that not everyone reacts the same way in situations.

The first article I read about this, last night, had this quote from a Coastie:

“There is no reason to question what happened and we'll get more information when they can speak to him”

Source: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/louis-jordan-watch-dramatic-helicopter-5450859

That right there set off little alarm bells. If there really is no reason to question what happened, then there would have been no reason to say "there is no reason to question what happened."

 

[SeaEclipse]

I don't know. He was really found 200 miles off the coast more than 2 months after he was reported missing and sitting on the upturned hull of his boat. If it was some kind of prank, it was a really elaborate one and one in which he definitely could have died. The father's facebook postings definitely imply that he started thinking his son was dead about a month ago...

 

[Hiandmighty]

I think the boat was disabled but not capsized until recently. It's a full keel boat and it probably rolled twice during the 66 days before it finally partially capsized. He broke his collarbone.

He is an inexperienced sailor who was liveaboard at the marina. The previous owner of the boat said he told this guy there was plenty structurally wrong with it and that he shouldn't take if offshore.

At this point to me it sounds true.... But we will have to see how it falls out if it does

 

[PeggyAnnMcKay]

I didn't really question the validity of his story until I read it here and everyone's thoughts. Then I started thinking about the weather. How did he not get hypothermia - he was out there during winter months. We've also had some major storms, although I don't know if they hit where he was, but still, I can't imagine he had smooth sailing, blue skies, and 70 degree days with a light breeze.

 

[sonjay]

I read the book "Adrift:76 Days Lost at Sea" by Steve Callahan.

In a liferaft with rudimentary fishing gear, an initial supply of water, some water-making devices, lifelong experience at sea, and major mental preparation for survival, Callahan barely survived his ordeal. He lost a third of his body weight, and it was six weeks after his rescue before he was able to walk again.

I have a lot of trouble believing that this well-nourished and healthy-looking man survived almost as long on the hull of an overturned sailboat. And with a broken collarbone!

I'm looking forward to hearing more about his experience. Maybe there's no reason to question what happened.

 

[KaaBoom]

Anyone else think this story sounds "fishy"?

No, not really. I don't think it is that unusual for people to survive for long periods of time lost a sea. These three Mexicans were lost for nine months, and survived.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesús_Vidaña

 

[Hiandmighty]

Again, from what I have read his boat was not overturned the whole time. It was demasted and disabled. He was liveaboard so would have supplies handy plus most sailors and boaters have a "ditch bag" that is in case of a survival situation and contains food, water, perhaps a water purifier, etc. it is meant to free float in case of submersion.

It wasn't until recently that his boat capsized/partially capsized and since it is a monohull, it is possible he was still able to partially seek shelter in the cabin.

It wouldn't surprise me if this case took a turn (we websleuthers expect that!!) but as of right now, his story is POSSIBLE.

Broken collarbones will start healing soon after the break. I suspect he may have long term aches and pains from this since it wasn't tended to.

 

[Hiandmighty]

New article:

"While initial reports painted a picture of Jordan having survived atop the hull of the overturned vessel, in frigid waters, Pecora said after the sailboat flipped over and dismasted, it then righted and the sailor was able to live inside the protected cabin."

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2015/0403/Sailor-who-survived-66-days-at-sea-How-ordeal-could-have-been-prevented

"“I'm not saying he wasn't safety conscious. He did have safety gear on board, but the VHF antenna snapped when the boat rolled over. The cell phone didn't work and the flares were never seen. If he’d filed a float plan and had an EPIRB on board it could have dramatically lessened the ordeal," Commander Eason added."

 

[cuffem]

Check his toenails.

 

[EllieBee]

Hmmm, I thought there was something "hinky" (does anyone still use that word, lol?) about this story.

However, I know next to nothing about boats and even less about survival.

I collapse into a blubbering heap when we lose power for a couple of hours during a thunderstorm. Yeah, I'm pretty soft.

So my suspicions are probably unfounded.

 

[EllieBee]

Check his toenails.

You have my interest. Why the toenails?

 

[sonjay]

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2015/04/03/4222354_man-missing-at-sea-since-january.html?rh=1

"The Coast Guard also began monitoring the use of Jordan's credit card, cellphone and social media for clues about where he might be and encouraged his family to file a missing person's report with police in case he showed up on land, Doss said."

The Coasties apparently thought he might be on land during at least part of those 66 missing days.

http://www.rep-am.com/articles/2015/04/04/news/national/872454.txt

"Jordan asked his Coast Guard rescuers to drop him off without seeking medical care, but he was taken to a hospital anyway as a precaution."

"he walked away from a hospital hours later in good condition, with no signs of sunburn, dehydration or other ailments."

Read more here: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/201...-at-sea-since-january.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy
​

 

[Hiandmighty]

Right, but they found nothing for those 66 days indicating he was on land.

This guy sounds like he is a "poor man" and sometimes these kinds of guys (maybe after a divorce or whatnot) decide to get a boat and liveaboard as a means of living cheap.

He didn't have an EPIRB and that is about 250.00.

He did post at several points before this happened on cruisers forum, so he did have an online presence at some point.

(Im not sure how many credit cards etc he has. He may live off the radar for the most part)

Some people at cf have looked at his route and he would have had to hail some draw bridges getting out to sea, so there should be a record of him doing this, if he did.

There was also one story years ago of a sailor who supposedly capsized and floated in the water for numerous days and actually got caught in the currents and landed several hundred miles away from where he began his journey. It was remarkable (and still is) that he survived but later on he admitted he scuttled his boat on purpose to commit suicide but his self-preservation instinct kicked in and he decided he wanted to survive. (Webb Chiles is this guy's name if anyone wants to read about this one).

There could definitely be more to this story.

 

[Hiandmighty]

As the guy gives interviews, it becomes clear he was living in a disabled boat for 66 days with some measure of "comfort". He slept in his Bunk but his pillows and bedding stayed wet from the rollovers. He was liveaboard so he had a measure of supplies. Because he lived in the boat, he was not sunburned.

Its not as dramatic as if first sounded, though he was helpless and adrift for 66 days.

Video: http://www.13newsnow.com/story/news/2015/04/02/coast-guard-rescue/70849184/

 

[meegan]

Can't wait for the final confirmation on this story.