Lost at Sea for 66 days

Seajet said:
I have read it, while it explains a little, and gets around the nonsense about sitting on the upturned hull, it doesn't explain

Setting off fishing in a 35' sailing boat,

his healthy well fed appearance,

suddenly cured broken shoulder,

catching fish with his bare hands,

recording before he departed apologising for losing the boat,

plans already afoot to write a book

etc !

I would be very surprised if he spent 66 days at sea.
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Sailor rescued: How do you survive 66 days lost at sea?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-32182432
 
I don't think there's anything to suggest he's not telling the truth. The cabin of the boat was intact and he had supplies. He wasn't in a liferaft under a tropical sun. A poster on cruisers' forum who sounded convincing reckoned a busted collar bone would heal in 6 weeks, or maybe it was just badly injured but healed. The "found on the upturned hull" part sounds wrong and hasn't been repeated after the initial report but as the original rescuers would have seen where he was found it's most likely just miscommunication from them rather than a lie by Mr. Jordan. The phone call I think Seajet was referring to was made *after* he got back.

As for "Why didn't he do X?" or "Why had he not done Y?"....watch the video interview, read the stuff on CF. Easily explained by confidence grossly exceeding competence.

Intentional deception is not needed as a factor in this. He strikes me not as a calculating liar, but as someone without the skills and experience I would personally consider prudent as a prerequisite for venturing offshore.
 
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What happened to the boat? It was said by him in the telephone conversation that it was lost.Surely if it was not that far away you would arrange for it's retrieval?
 
Horace said:
What happened to the boat? It was said by him in the telephone conversation that it was lost.Surely if it was not that far away you would arrange for it's retrieval?
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I suspect the bill for retrieving a dismasted boat which was allegedly a wreck to begin with from 200 miles offshore would significantly exceed its value
 
Horace said:
What happened to the boat? It was said by him in the telephone conversation that it was lost.Surely if it was not that far away you would arrange for it's retrieval?
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I believe that it is USGC policy never to recover boats. They'll save your life, but if you want your boat back you have to make an arrangement with a commercial towing service. Sometimes the USCG will sink an abandoned ship with gunfire if they think it could be a hazard to navigation.
 
laika said:
I don't think there's anything to suggest he's not telling the truth. The cabin of the boat was intact and he had supplies. He wasn't in a liferaft under a tropical sun. A poster on cruisers' forum who sounded convincing reckoned a busted collar bone would heal in 6 weeks, or maybe it was just badly injured but healed. The "found on the upturned hull" part sounds wrong and hasn't been repeated after the initial report but as the original rescuers would have seen where he was found it's most likely just miscommunication from them rather than a lie by Mr. Jordan. The phone call I think Seajet was referring to was made *after* he got back.

As for "Why didn't he do X?" or "Why had he not done Y?"....watch the video interview, read the stuff on CF. Easily explained by confidence grossly exceeding competence.

Intentional deception is not needed as a factor in this. He strikes not as a calculating liar, but as someone without the skills and experience I would personally consider prudent as a prerequisite for venturing offshore.
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I had misunderstood re the phone call, it was apparently made when he returned; the foresight people were dubious about was that the call should be recorded, then he announced he's writing a book.
 
I had always imagined that, if a vessel wasn't going to be recovered after a rescue at sea, the last thing to be done would be to open the seacocks and sink her.
 
BlowingOldBoots said:
The link in Post 36 by tobermoryphil is more believable, if you have not read it you should, it makes the case probable but not as reported so far.
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+1.
...not least because he describes the "broken shoulder", which others have cited as evidence of fabrication, as a mere broken collarbone. They hurt like stink for a day or two, but still leave you moderately functional. Collarbones also happen to be the fastest-healing bones in the body: unless a particularly messy break, you're good for most jobs after a couple of weeks.

Jordan's story is still full of unpatched holes, but this isn't necessarily one of them.

If you were to be lolling around in a dismasted yacht in the Gulf Stream, an Alberg 35 wouldn't be the worst.
 
Babylon said:
I had always imagined that, if a vessel wasn't going to be recovered after a rescue at sea, the last thing to be done would be to open the seacocks and sink her.
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That used to be the done thing, and it would still be considerate not to leave an unlit 35' hull floating around which someone else might hit; but I suspect insurers would get awkward if one admitted scuttling one's own boat so one would have to do it discreetly ?
 
Seajet said:
... but I suspect insurers would get awkward if one admitted scuttling one's own boat so one would have to do it discreetly ?
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IIRC, the Hunter Legend that lost its rudder a decade or so ago on the ARC was scuttled after getting the OK from the insurers. Presumably they considered there to be a risk of a bigger pay out if it was simply left abandoned and it was later involved in a collision.
 
Babylon said:
I had always imagined that, if a vessel wasn't going to be recovered after a rescue at sea, the last thing to be done would be to open the seacocks and sink her.
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I think if that was my boat I would still make every attempt to retrieve her even if she were 200 miles out.
 
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