Flares, a cell phone, and a VHF radio couldn’t spare Louis Jordan the harrowing 66 days he spent lost at sea aboard his dismasted wooden sailboat, some 200 miles off the shores of North Carolina. The US Coast Guard has advice for other boaters about equipment and planning that could help prevent similar future disasters. Mr. Jordan disappeared after leaving for a fishing trip on January 29, and wasn't seen again until the-German-flagged cargo ship-Houston Express-spotted him drifting off the coast, aboard his disabled 35-foot 1965 wooden-Alberg-sloop, “Angel,” and took him aboard. The United States Coast Guard 5th District Command Center in Portsmouth, North Carolina, was notified at 1:30 p.m. Thursday.

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