MISLE report indicated a solo sailor was traveling from Bermuda to Charleston, SC when his vessel took on water.  He activated his SPOT device and was rescued by the Coast guard and taken to the hospital.  His vessel was left afloat with the navigation lights on.

An interview with the operator revealed that the winds/weather were the cause.  He knew he wasn’t going to reach the coast and had lost both autopilots.  Besides the SPOT, he had a VHF radio.  He didn’t have an EPIRB and didn’t mention having a cell phone.   He was fighting weather/sea spray for 2 days before activating the SPOT.  According to him, it took 3 hours between SPOT activation and rescue.
Oregon Inlet