We Have Wild Video of a NH Teenager Jumping Into a Runaway Boat to Stop It. Bonus: He's Joining the Navy.

If you'll indulge me this personal recollection for a moment, growing up, one of my best friends used to spend his entire summers at his family's campsite on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. When we got old enough, his parents used to give him use of the place and their power boat for a few weekends. And regardless of who among our common circle of friends were there at any given time, those days on the lake are among the happiest memories of my misspent youth. (I'm still sorry about the mess we left that one time. When we were young and irresponsible, we were young and irresponsible.)

It's been said that Whippersnookie (our name for it) could be included among the Great Lakes. But that the reason it's not isn't because it's too small, but because it's too clean and surrounded by natural beauty. And I once vowed to myself that if I ever achieve F-You levels of wealth, I'd buy a big house on its sacred, idyllic shores and boat each day away from Memorial Day to Labor Day. 

But with boating comes an inherent level of danger. And not just from 21-year-old assholes filled with lethal doses of testosterone, HGH and PBRs. Sometimes freak accidents happen to the most cautious and responsible mariner. And when they do, it takes a man of courage to keep a cool head, leap into action, and save the day. Which is precisely what happened on the lake this past weekend:

WMUR - A teenager jumped onto a runaway boat that was going in circles on Lake Winnipesaukee after the captain fell overboard.

The unmanned boat was in Smith's Cove on Lake Winnipesaukee on Wednesday.

"I was sitting on the porch and my dad yelled that there was an out-of-control boat in the wake zone," said Brady Procon, 17. 

He and his father, Jeremy, said the boat was part of a local sailing association. The operator, a sailing instructor, was mid-lesson teaching children how to sail when he reached for the tennis ball used to teach turning.

As he went for it, one of the kids' boats tipped over, the mast hit the instructor's throttle and sent him flying into the water and the boat in a spiral.

After getting the kids away from the runaway boat, the Procon's neighbor, Justin King, told Brady to hop on the back of his Jet ski, bringing him close to the boat to jump on and stop it. …

"[I]t was fun, I'd do it again," Procon said.

 

The 17-year-old will be off to the Navy in the fall. 

First of all, there's always some slim chance Brady Procon was named after a grandfather or something. But doing the math, he was born around 2007. So it's about a 99.98% probability he was named after the quarterback who threw 50 touchdowns that year and won the MVP. Therefore it should fill every New Englander with swell of pride that this young man is living up to his name. 

Second, the part about him heading off to serve in the United States Navy is so on the nose, it's tempting to believe it's not true. And yet here we are. He hasn't even started Basic Training yet, and he's already going around doing heroic deeds on the high seas. And probably saving lives in the process. The Department of Defense needs to make sure this video is seen by every single one of our geopolitical rivals. Russia. China. Pirates. Just so they get a sense of who they'll have to answer to if they start anything. We've got kids who haven't even seen the ink dry on their high school diplomas flying through the air to grab the wheel of rogue watercraft like they're frigging Aquaman. What's this kid going to be like once the most powerful fleet in the history of warfare is done training him up? 

I'll end with this. I've quoted it before and will continue to, because it needs to be repeated forever. It was said in a war zone by a reporter in the first Gulf War when a soldier offered him his very precious phone time so that he could check in with his wife and kids back in the states. "Where does America keep finding these young people?" One of them was just found on Lake Winnipesaukee. Thank you for your service, Brady Procon. Stay safe, sailor.