‘I survived three months at sea with just my dog – eating sushi saved my life’

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A bloke who survived three months at sea with his dog after a storm sent his boat off course said he 'ate a lot of sushi' for sustenance.

Tim Shaddock and dog Bella had set sail from Mexico in early April and intended to travel to French Polynesia before their catamaran was struck by stormy weather just a few weeks into the trip, destroying the electronics.

He was miraculously rescued after a helicopter accompanying a tuna trawler spotted his drifting boat 1,200 miles from land, and the moment he and Bella were saved was caught on camera.

READ MORE: Real-life Cast Away as bloke and his dog rescued after three months at sea

Australian media has compared his tale to the hit Hollywood film 'Cast Away' starring Tom Hanks.

And now, he has spoken out. Mr Shaddock joked that he survived on 'a lot of sushi' but thought at points that he 'wasn't going to make it'.

"I'm feeling alright. I'm feeling a lot better than I was, I tell ya," Shaddock told reporters back on dry land in Mexico.

"To the captain and fishing company that saved my life, I'm just so grateful. I'm alive and I didn't really think I'd make it," Shaddock said.

It comes as new footage of his rescue was released. In it the captain of the ship that saves him says 'hi sir', the Australian can be seen putting his hand on his chest and holding back tears as he responds 'hi sir, thank you, thank you so much.'

They ask if he has drugs or weapons, to which he responds that he only has 'fishing gear and survival gear'.

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After he was rescued, he told reporters that he and Bella survived on raw fish.

"It was a lot of chewing of 'sushi','" he joked, pointing out how 'skinny' he had become during his ordeal.

He said there were 'many, many, many bad days' at sea.

"The energy, the fatigue is the hardest part," he said. He said passed the time fixing things on his vessel and stayed positive by going into the water to 'just enjoy being in the water.'

"I would try and find the happiness inside myself, and I found that a lot alone at sea. I would go in the water too, and just enjoy being in the water," he recounted.

He revealed that he encountered Bella in the middle of Mexico and she followed him on his journey.

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