And, just because he hadn't "made contact" doesn't mean he was dead since 2009, just no one who knew him has responded.
One would think there would be some easy evidence onboard of the last landfall in a modern civilization; wrappers, receipts, mail, or something like that. Of course, if he wanted to disappear, avoiding modern civilizations while still getting provisions would be a fairly simple matter for an experienced sailor with a good ship.
Just goes to show you how big and empty the oceans are, the boat could have been drifting around for years outside the shipping lanes and maybe due to El Nino the currents or winds shifted enough to bring it back into "civilization".
One wonders just how long it would be possible to hide out on the open ocean, assuming adequate provisions. Of course, a ship big enough to either carry all the supplies necessary or act as a floating island to farm on is more likely to be spotted, but done right, could possibly be passed off as an exploration ship or experimental platform.
It does leave me curious just how long one could outfit a relatively small but fully seaworthy ship to survive without any outside contact. Obviously fishing extends food supplies, but if one were willing to get by on nothing but Datrex bars or similar and water, how many months of food could, say, a typical ~35 footer carry, while leaving room for sleeping, some sort of reliable desalinator and other necessary supplies?
