While he's a survivor, he seems like a lousy sailor.

Richard Van Pham, who fascinated the world when he was rescued from a crippled sailboat southwest of Costa Rica last year, was plucked to safety by the Coast Guard this week after he was found off the coast of Orange County.



Pham's adventures were compared to those of Robinson Crusoe, the fictitious shipwrecked mariner who used his wits to survive, after it was reported he lived on fish, seabirds and turtles for three months while his storm-damaged boat drifted aimlessly around the ocean.

This time the Coast Guard cutter Blacktip found him 20 miles off the coast of Orange County on Wednesday. When he didn't respond to Blacktip's inquiries, crew members boarded his sailboat.

The crew discovered the 62-year-old sailor's vessel had no communications, navigation or visual distress signal equipment, Coast Guard spokesman Lance Jones said Thursday.

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