Kayaker using bucket to stay afloat for hours rescued by fishermen

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO/Gray News) - A kayaker found clinging to a bucket to keep his head above water is safe, thanks to two fishermen who heard his faint cries for help.

The kayaker, whose name has not been released, was stranded on Lake Erie for more than 12 hours when his kayak filled with water and floated away.

On Wednesday at about 7:30 a.m., Larry Smith and Charles Steven, two fishermen from Bedford were on their boat when they thought they heard someone yelling for help.

Initially, they didn’t see anything, but then they drove out further on Lake Erie and at some point saw an arm come out of the water.

“This time when we see it we see an arm come up out of the water, and then the arm goes back into the water,” Smith said.

The kayaker had survived the night in the frigid waters clinging onto the bucket, wearing only a pair of shorts and no life vest.

“The bucket is what was keeping him afloat. I guess he was probably tired. It was like he had a death grip on that bucket,” Smith said.

The fishermen worked quickly to get the man out of the water.

“I shut the boat down. He grabbed him first, by the arm, then I went around and grabbed his other arm,” Steven said. “Then we pulled him in the boat. And then once he got in the boat, I had a jacket, I took the jacket, put it around him. And asked him, ‘You alright?’ I say, ‘You want me to call 911?’”

But the kayaker simply asked for a phone so he could call his partner and let her know he was OK.

The Coast Guard had been alerted by police when the kayaker failed to return to his parked vehicle, according to one official.

Steven and Smith took the kayaker to Edgewater Beach where medic crews were waiting. The man denied medical treatment and was released to his family.

Steven and Smith are now being hailed as heroes, thankful this was the day they decided to go fishing.

The two said the kayaker was clearly exhausted but thankful.

“He was very thankful. One of the first things I told him, is that he needs to thank God, not us,” Smith said.

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