Coast Guard rescues shipwrecked sailor who survived 66 days at sea

Open water
(Image credit: iStock)

For more than two months, 37-year-old Louis Jordan says he survived atop his capsized sailboat, Angel. On Thursday, the Coast Guard rescued a sunburned and dehydrated Jordan from his ordeal, during which he floated more than 500 miles from his South Carolina home, The Washington Post reports.

Jordan had told his family he was sailing out into the Gulf Stream on January 23 for a fishing trip. But after being rescued, he said that on his journey out, his boat capsized, and he was forced to climb onto the now upright hull, where he survived on raw fish and the little food he had packed for his planned trip, rainwater, and a lot of prayers. His family reported him missing to the Coast Guard several days later, but for more than two months, the search for Jordan proved futile. At one point, officials even searched through Jordan's financial information, to see if he had returned to shore unnoticed, but without success.

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Sarah Eberspacher

Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.