PORTSMOUTH, Va.  — Louis Jordan said he survived 66 days at sea by capturing rainwater in a bucket, snagging little fish to catch bigger fish, and praying to God.

On Friday, a day after he was found, the 37-year-old bearded man walked out of a Norfolk hospital grateful for his good fortune and showing no obvious ill effects.

“We were expecting worse with blisters and severe sunburn and dehydration,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Kyle McCollum, who had the first contact with the sailor.

Jordan was plucked out of the Atlantic Ocean about 200 miles off the North Carolina coast on Thursday afternoon by a German-flagged container ship.

The mast of Jordan’s 35-foot sailboat had broken off in heavy weather, and the vessel appeared to have flipped over multiple times, said the ship’s captain, Thomas Grenz. His boat was upright at the time he was found, Grenz said.