Shipwrecked sailor returns home

Louis Jordan came home Wednesday.

The sailor who embarked on a fishing trip Jan. 23 and was rescued from his wrecked boat last week returned to the place where his headline-making voyage began — the Bucksport marina.

The tiny wooden box that serves as the marina’s office turned into a welcoming center as friends gathered to celebrate the homecoming of the boater some call “Captain Louis.”

Near the cans of Vienna sausages and ravioli, the shelves of T-shirts and the cooler of soft drinks, Jordan shared hugs and handshakes. One marina resident even brought him a dish of banana pudding.

“One of the things I learned while I was out there was the value of relationships,” Jordan said. "It's what makes us valuable as humans. It's not what we own. It's how we care for each other and love each other. It’s our heart. It’s what gives a person worth. I’m grateful to see everyone here.”

Most folks at the marina hadn’t seen Jordan — other than on television — since he set sail in January. Before that, he’d spent six months at the small port sanding Angel, his single-masted 1950s-era sailboat that doubled as his home. He also worked in the marina store and took care of some of its landscaping.

Over time, he befriended many of the regulars.

“He’s a gentle spirit,” said Evon Jordan, Louis Jordan’s stepmother. “Folks seem to gravitate to that.”

Derriel Morris, who has been docked at the marina since November, said he greeted “Captain Louis” nearly every morning. Their boats were stationed about 20 feet apart, and Morris said his neighbor on the Waccamaw River always asked if he needed anything.

“That’s kind of the way boaters are,” he said. “They always want to know how the other guy’s doing. ... You don’t have to worry about needing anything. Somebody’s already asked you.”

When Louis Jordan didn’t return from his winter fishing trip after a few days, friends and family grew concerned.

On Jan. 29, the Coast Guard in Miami was notified by Jordan’s father, Frank, that he hadn’t seen or heard from his son in a week.

At one point, a group gathered at the marina to pray for the missing boater.

Frank Jordan, who lived on a boat at the marina several years ago, remembers being floored at how many people showed up to pray for his son.

“They all knew him,” he said. “I was surprised that there were so many people in the little community.”

As the weeks passed, some feared Louis Jordan had died at sea. Yet they clung to hope, knowing the outdoorsman had a knack for persevering in untenable conditions.

“He's a survivor,” Morris said. "We used to see him walk down that damn gravel road barefooted, like it didn't even bother him. No shirt, shoes and it'd be 20 degrees. It's like, "Louis, ain't you cold?" Nope, he's fine.”

Still, a family’s fears lingered.

“I don’t know if his dad would’ve made it if there was no closure,” Evon Jordan said. “It was really, really having an effect on him, not knowing if his boy was dead or alive. But he held on to faith. ... [He said] ‘If he’s on that boat, that boat will be his shelter.’ As it turned out, the boat was his shelter.”

When Louis Jordan’s damaged boat was finally discovered by a passing German freighter last Thursday, he had been drifting for more than 60 days.

Family members rejoiced at the news that he was alive.

“There’s no words,” Frank Jordan said.

Despite the euphoria over Louis Jordan’s rescue, the sailor has faced questions about his story. Some Coast Guard members expressed surprise at his good health — he’s about 50 pounds underweight but otherwise appears sturdy — and some critics say his tale simply doesn’t add up.

Louis Jordan has said his vessel capsized during rough weather, but somehow remained afloat. He rationed food, drank rainwater and ate raw fish to survive.

That, friends say, sounds like the man they know.

“If there was somebody that could do it by living off of rainwater and fish, he could do it,” said Jeff Weeks, the marina’s manager.

Morris said he’d seen Louis Jordan eat raw fish on his boat. He also said his neighbor preferred to collect and drink rainwater because he believed it purer than the flow from a spigot.

“I watched him throw his net out,” he said. “Most fishers would give up in 25 minutes. I’d see him throw that thing out four, six, eight hours a day. Just over and over and over. He’d catch a fish and sit there and eat it. So when they said that he was living on rainwater and eating fish, that didn’t shock me one bit.”

Some of the media criticism bothers the boater’s friends, who don’t doubt Louis Jordan’s version of the events.

“If I’d a had a rock, I’d have thrown it at my television,” Morris said. “They don’t know him. ... It ain’t in Louis’ character to do anything like this.”

Morris said his friend is a reserved person, not a publicity hound.

“If he had to go through these reporters and these cameras and do it all over again, he would have sunk his boat and left,” he said. “He’s a very private person. He does not want all this fuss. He don’t want to be bothered by it. It’s just not Louis.”

Louis Jordan answered a few questions Wednesday, but kept his responses brief.

When asked about the raw fish stories, he said that after graduating from Conway High School he moved to Alaska and lived with Eskimos. There he learned to eat muktuk, or raw whale flesh.

He also said he plans to live in North Carolina for awhile and write a book about his days lost at sea.

“It’s pretty entertaining,” he said of the story.

One adventure that’s not in his future: Another saltwater fishing trip.

“I don’t plan on getting in the ocean anytime soon,” he said. “That’s for sure.”

This story was originally published April 8, 2015 at 12:59 PM with the headline "Shipwrecked sailor returns home."