“I was just in survival mode,” Smelly told ABC News.
Former college football quarterback Chris Smelley spoke out after being rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard after being stranded at sea in his kayak for 12 hours on Thursday.
“I was just in survival mode,” Smelly told ABC News about survival. “I threw his hands up and screamed,” he said.
Rescuers found Smelly, 37, in the Gulf of Mexico with one hand on a fishing poll and the other waving for help.
A video shows a Coast Guard crew preparing and lowering a rope from a helicopter into the Gulf of Mexico to help. Smelly was eventually rescued two miles off the coast of Grayton Beach, Florida.
Sergeant Jeremy Fisher with the Walton County Sheriff's Office said this was a fortunate case.
“These things don’t often turn out like this,” he said. “Unfortunately, if someone goes out in a kayak without a life jacket on, they may try to get out of the kayak and swim to shore, but then they don't have anything to stay afloat with.”
Smelly set out on a kayaking trip Thursday morning, but strong winds threw her off a safe course. Smelly's family reported her missing, and an intense search effort was launched.
“The wind was too strong because we were still receding,” Smelly said.
Smelly, a former quarterback at the University of South Carolina from 2006 to 2008, spoke of the outpouring of support he felt after being rescued.
“I feel very blessed. I felt surrounded by prayers and love and I'm just thankful to God that it turned out so well,” Smelly said.
