A former college football star was rescued after becoming stranded in the Gulf of Mexico for 11 hours in his kayak after rescue helicopters initially failed to reach him.
Former University of South Carolina quarterback Chis Smelley was out fishing alone off the coast of Grayton Beach, Florida, around 8:30 a.m. Thursday when he strayed about eight miles offshore.
Smelley, 37, said WBRC that the “whipping” wind on the water was much stronger than he had anticipated.
‘My body was upright and I was basically just a big sail. I was giving everything I could and there was a long period of time where I was at the mercy of the wind,’ she said.
Chis Smelley, 37, was out fishing alone off the coast of Grayton Beach, Florida, around 8:30 a.m. Thursday when he strayed about 8 miles offshore.
Smelley appears in images alone in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. Rescue helicopters did not detect him at first because he was wearing dark clothing inside a dark blue kayak.
After his wife became concerned, he called the Walton County Sheriff’s Office, who launched an urgent search along with the U.S. Coast Guard and Florida Fish and Wildlife officials.
Smelley, who said he feels “very comfortable in the ocean,” had just caught a fish when he noticed how far it had drifted.
“I wouldn’t say I was necessarily scared, but sometimes, especially when the sun started to set, I had seen the rescue helicopters fly over me quite close a few times but they didn’t see me, so I thought I was going to spend the night in the ocean,” he said.
He was wearing dark clothing inside his dark blue kayak, making it more difficult to see him.
Just before the helicopters returned and finally spotted him, Smelley said he was about to clean the fish he caught in an attempt to give it enough energy to return to shore on its own.
Video of the rescue shows Smelley in the middle of the water in the small boat as he tries to signal rescuers to come down.
Once spotted, a shot from inside the helicopter shows a man preparing himself just before descending into the water to save Smelley.
After he was saved, Coast Guard officials took him back to shore, where they performed a medical evaluation.
Once rescuers spotted him, a man prepared himself just before going down into the water to save Smelley 11 hours later.
Smelley said he learned his lesson after admitting he went out into the water without a life jacket or phone. (pictured: her kayak)
Smelley played quarterback for the University of South Carolina Gamecocks from 2006 to 2008.
Although he was in the water for hours and hours, Smelley was not dehydrated or injured, but rather sunburned.
A photograph of police vehicles was also seen on the coast after his rescue.
Smelley, who is now the head football coach at Sylacauga High School in Alabama, said he learned his lesson after admitting he went out into the water without a life jacket or phone.
His wife was glad he had returned home that night, but she was a little angry with him, “in a loving way.”
Smelley said he was tempted to go fishing the next morning, but decided against it. He, his wife and his children still plan to visit the beach that has become a family favorite over the years.
“I wish there was a story that I got dragged by a giant shark or that I was fighting a sea monster, but really it was just nature, it was just the wind,” Smelley said jokingly.
He played for the South Carolina Gamecocks from 2006 to 2008 and also played baseball for the University of Alabama from 2009 to 2010.