Second Rescue For Stranded Sailor

Rescued In Sept. Off Central America, In January Off California

(AP)  A man who was rescued from his crippled sailboat off Central America last year was plucked to safety again from his new sailboat this week.

A Coast Guard cutter found Richard Van Pham on Wednesday 20 miles west of Orange County in Southern California. The 62-year-old sailor had no communications or navigation equipment, Coast Guard spokesman Lance Jones said Thursday.

"He was lost and disoriented," Jones said. "He told us he left Long Beach three days ago and was in the process of trying to make his way back."

When the Navy rescued Pham last September nearly 300 miles southwest of Costa Rica, he told them the mast and motor on his boat had been destroyed by a storm and he'd spent three months adrift, surviving by collecting rainwater in a bucket and roasting seabirds on a small grill.

Several people who heard his story offered financial help, including bioengineer Erwin Freund, who gave Pham the 26-foot replacement boat.

Freund said Thursday the boat came equipped with a radio, flares, compass and Global Positioning System.

"I'm sad to hear he's confused and disoriented. If he used the navigational equipment I gave him, he wouldn't have been lost," Freund said.

The Coast Guard escorted Pham to Dana Point, about 35 miles southeast of Los Angeles Harbor.

Jones said Pham could face a fine of some $1,500 for not carrying a distress signal.