An American sailor who used dental floss and tape to keep his 23-foot boat seaworthy is lucky to be alive after being rescued at sea in South Carolina - more than two months after he set sail for Bermuda.

On Thursday, the de-masted sailboat of 43-year-old Florida resident Terry Watson was discovered off the South Carolina coast. When found, he was delusional, dehydrated and suffering from shock and unable to give authorities many specifics on his ordeal, according to the Associated Press (AP) news agency.

He had been feared lost at sea after an extensive search for his vessel was called off after two days.

During a Police debriefing on Thursday evening, Mr. Watson told Coast Guard officials that he left Florida sometime in July for Denmark and intended to stop in Bermuda along the way. But when he headed south, he said, he ran into bad weather and when he tried to head north again, he ran into more storms.

A Coast Guard spokesman said that rescuers believed Mr. Watson had stopped somewhere along his voyage as a disabled boat would normally have drifted further from the South Carolina coast in two months than where Mr. Watson was picked up.

Mr. Watson told Coast Guard officials that when his mainsail ripped, he was able to fix it by using sail tape and dental floss.

“But the repair was only temporary,” said Coast Guard Petty Officer Scott Carr.

By the time he was found, he had run out of food and water and used his broken mast to construct a shelter.

Mr. Carr also said that although Mr. Watson had a functioning radio, he kept it off in order to preserve its battery power in the event he needed to communicate with another vessel.

Mr. Watson told officials that he encountered a commercial vessel during his voyage but turned down the crew's offer of food and water, but was unable to clarify whether it was before or after he ran into trouble.

A charter fishing boat found Mr. Watson on Thursday, southeast of the North Carolina state line.

“I just need some food - I'll be alright,” Mr. Watson said when he landed ashore. “I wouldn't mind having some chocolate pudding.”