For 11 hours, an Ohio man fought for his life in Lake Erie, cleveland.com reports. He nearly made it to shore multiple times before being swept out by currents. He treaded water for hours. He almost drowned. Then he found a broken bucket.

A recreational fisherman saved a missing kayaker on Lake Erie who had been stranded for 11 hours after departing from Merwin's Wharf on Tuesday afternoon.

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.”

An overdue kayaker was rescued after hours of treading water in Lake Erie, authorities announced. At 7:52 a.m., the U.S. Coast Guard Eastern Great Lakes confirmed that the kayaker had been brought the safety.

A kayaker pulled from Lake Erie told authorities he treaded water for 12 hours and held onto a bucket before he was rescued Wednesday morning.