Teen heroically jumps from jetski onto runaway boat to stop vessel after captain was knocked overboard
A leap of faith.
A New Hampshire teen heroically jumped from a jetski onto a rogue boat to stop it from spinning uncontrollably in a popular lake after its captain was knocked off during a sailing lesson.
Brady Procon, 17, sprang into action Wednesday when his father, Justin, told him an unmanned boat was speeding in circles in Smith’s Cove on Lake Winnipesaukee, according to WMUR-TV.
“I was sitting on the porch, and my dad yelled that there was an out-of-control boat in the wake zone,” Procon told the outlet.
A sailboat instructor had been teaching lessons to kids from the vessel when he bent over to reach for a tennis ball he used to teach turning.
In that brief moment, one of the kids’ boats tipped over onto the instructor’s boat.
The mast from the student’s sailboat hit the boat’s throttle, sending him flying into the water and the vessel spiraling uncontrollably.
Procon and other residents quickly helped clear the kids away from danger before the teen hopped on his neighbor Justin King’s jetski to make the daring leap.
A video shows King bringing the teen close to the rogue boat before Procon jumps onto the vessel and turns off the throttle, ending the chaotic scene.
“I dove off my jetski, hopped on his jetski, and then he maneuvered his jetski up to the boat so I could jump in it,” Procon told Western Mass News.
Fortunately, no one was reported to be hurt during the incident.
The fearless teen said he didn’t consider the danger when he made the jump and was just doing what needed to be done to end the situation.
“If it hit that dock, it would have ricocheted off and probably hit somebody’s house, dock, or people,” the teen said.
Procon, who has been deemed a hero by locals for putting himself in harm’s way, believes “anyone would have done that if they had that opportunity to do it.”
“They were calling me a hero, and all that, but I wouldn’t say I’m a hero,” said the teen, who is set to be shipped off to Navy boot camp in the fall.
“To be in any military branch, you have to have bravery, I guess. I wouldn’t even count what I did as brave, but some sort of don’t think, just do.”
Lake Winnipesaukee is about 50 miles from Portsmouth, NH.
