Americus men stranded three days in Gulf of Mexico by storm

AMERICUS - John Edgemon says he has had enough of the sea after being stranded for three days with his father, brother and a friend in a Gulf of Mexico storm. <br> <br> ``I&#39;m not going offshore for awhile,&#39;&#39; Edgemon said Wednesday, with barely a trace of a smile. <br> <br> Edgemon, 24, his 52-year-old father, John, and brother James, 24, still were tired, bruised and wind-burned two days after being rescued from the 45-foot racing schooner Sweetwater through 35-knot winds and high seas off the coast of Tampa, Fla. <br> <br> The Edgemons and a friend, former Americus resident Greg Aldridge, set out Thursday from Panama City, Fla., for what was supposed to be a leisurely cruise to Key West. If the weather was good, they planned to go on to Cancun, Mexico. <br> <br> Because their weather report was incorrect, the Sweetwater crew didn&#39;t know they were sailing into a temperature inversion caused by winds blowing from the north, south and southeast. <br> <br> For more than three days, the men drifted with a broken propeller shaft and sails shredded by 50-knot winds and waves up to 35 feet. <br> <br> There was plenty of food and fresh water aboard, the elder Edgemon said, but nobody could hold any food down because of the rolling boat. <br> <br> When Edgemon&#39;s wife, Meri, had not heard from her husband by Saturday morning, she called Edgemon&#39;s ex-wife and the boys mother, Sally Edgemon, and Aldridge&#39;s wife, Alicia. <br> <br> Mrs. Aldridge called the U.S. Coast Guard in Tampa, and the Coast Guard sent an aircraft to search for the boat. <br> <br> Early Sunday, the Coast Guard cutter Merlin finally managed to throw a tow line to the Sweetwater, but had to withdraw because of a damaged engine, taking the line with them. <br> <br> ``I had the line in my hand. We thought we were headed in, then watching that boat move away into the night, knowing it would be at least 12 hours before another one would reach us ...,&#39;&#39; the elder Edgemon said. <br> <br> The four went below and waited. <br> <br> ``I never even thought about death. We always had a ray of hope; we knew there was going to be another boat,&#39;&#39; Edgemon said. <br> <br> Almost 12 hours later, about 4 p.m. Sunday, the Coast Guard cutter Kodiak Island sighted the Sweetwater and moved in for a rescue attempt. The storm had calmed, but the seas still reached 17 feet with 30-knot winds. <br> <br> After one tow line snapped, the two boats connected, and the Sweetwater was towed to Tampa.