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From beginning to end, it was a textbook case of how to survive on a deserted Canadian island.

And marooned American boater Bob Brott says his survival was due in part to Les Stroud, the creator and star of Survivorman.

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“I am a huge fan of your fellow countryman, Survivorman — I love that show,” said Brott, speaking to the National Post by phone from Minnesota.

“Believe it or not, that’s what I reflected back on when it came to making decisions,” he said.

Brott’s ordeal had started with nothing more than a faulty bilge pump, but within minutes it left him and his cousin Gary Soucie clinging to the bottom of a capsized boat in rough waters.

The pair, both from the U.S. Midwest, had been walleye fishing on Lake of the Woods, the massive lake that straddles Ontario, Manitoba and Minnesota.

On the afternoon of July 31, Brott had been just about to change fuel tanks on his 1974 Glasspar when he noticed that the bilge pump had become clogged.

As high waves poured in over the gunwales — and frantic bailing proved useless — the men had only enough time to don lifejackets before being pitched into the waves. Brott’s cellphone was lost in the melee; Soucie’s was destroyed by water damage just as he tried to hit “911.”

“I went into the water holding the phone over my head like the Statue of Liberty to keep it dry — but it didn’t work,” Soucie said.

Altogether, it was less than five minutes between diagnosing the faulty pump and having the boat sink under their feet.