GILFORD, N.H. — A dramatic recovery of an out-of-control boat on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire was caught on camera Wednesday, when the operator of a training vessel was knocked off and the boat continued spinning.
Rich Bono captured the scene on video and said a 17-year-old on the back of a Sea-Doo was able to hop onto the spiraling boat, get it under control, and stop it.
The boat was driven by an instructor with the Lake Winnipesaukee Sailing Association, who was training young sailors.
Sailing school President Jay Norden told NEWS CENTER Maine that the instructor put the boat in neutral gear and had bent over to pick up a tennis ball from the water, which is a used as a tool for training. That's when Norden said a passing sailboat tipped a bit, and its boom hit the throttle forward on the instructor's boat. The sudden movement threw the instructor from the boat, and the boat continued on without him.
Norden said the other instructors quickly jumped into action and cleared the area, making sure all of the students were out of the way of the spinning boat and pulling the instructor from the water.
He was wearing a life vest but was not using his emergency cut-off lanyard, which would have cut the power to the engine when he fell off the boat.
The school has since done its own investigation, and Norden said they are making sure every instructor is using that cut-off lanyard at all times to make sure this never happens again.
No injuries were reported, and Norden said they were grateful for the action of the young man who jumped onto the boat to stop it.