Fisherman spent 24 hours floating in fish crate after being washed overboard A Coast Guard helicopter hoisted Ryan Harris, 19, of Sitka, from his plastic "lifeboat" on Saturday, more than 24 hours after the boat sank on Friday, the Daily Sitka Sentinel reported Monday. "I never thought I was going to die, but I was worried about Mac," Harris told the newspaper Monday. I'm glad to be here. Ryan Harris shows blisters on his hands he developed while gripping the edge of the 4-foot-square fish bin (AP) The two managed to grab some empty fish totes that had washed loose. Huffman stabilized one while Harris climbed inside. The men weren't able to get Huffman into a bin but he took a plastic bin lid for flotation. Eight-foot waves soon separated the men. The Coast Guard said that Huffman told them the lid drifted away during the two hours that he struggled to get into the survival suit. At one point, Harris said, his bin dumped him and he struck his head, but he was able to get in and keep it balanced for the remainder of the 26 hours until his rescue. The toughest part was not knowing the fate of his friend, Harris said. "I gave myself a pep talk," he said. He kept repeating for four hours: "I'm Ryan Hunter Harris and I'm not going to die here."