Former SEC quarterback lost at sea in a kayak for 11 hours says he was at the mercy of the wind [Video]

GRAYTON BEACH, Fla. (WBRC/Gray News) – A former college quarterback who spent more than 11 hours stranded on a kayak in the Gulf of Mexico is lucky to be alive.

Chris Smelley said at about 8:30 a.m. Thursday morning, he went out for a brief fishing excursion in his kayak, not far from the Grayton Beach coast in Florida.

“I was in a big, heavy kayak. And I got out there and right off the shore, the wind was just whipping and a lot stronger than it was at shore,” Smelley said. “I wish there was a story that a giant shark dragged me out or I was battling a sea monster – but it was really just nature – it was just the wind. My body was sitting up tall and I was basically just a big sail. I was giving it everything I could, and there was a long period of …