<P> Steven Callahan (born 1952) is an American author, naval architect, inventor, and sailor noted for having survived for 76 days adrift on the Atlantic Ocean in a liferaft . Callahan recounted his ordeal in the best - selling book Adrift: 76 Days Lost At Sea (1986), which was on the New York Times best - seller list for more than 36 weeks . </P> <P> Callahan holds a university degree in Philosophy . A naval architect by training, Callahan has designed and built boats, taught design, lived aboard, raced, and cruised boats of all kinds . Since the 1980s, he has also written widely for the yachting press worldwide, has been a contributing editor to Sail and Sailor magazines, senior editor of Cruising World, has authored Adrift and Capsized, the story of four men who drifted for four months on an overturned, half - flooded boat . He's also lectured widely and contributed to a number of other books on design, seamanship, and survival . </P>

Man who survived 76 days in the ocean