Hamilton Man Rescued After Unmanned Boat Circles Him on Winnipesaukee

The N.H. Marine Patrol rescued a Hamilton man on Friday morning after he fell from his Boston Whaler while boating on Lake Winnipesaukee.

While Philip Lake, 45, of Hamilton had already been plucked from the water before the Marine Patrol officers got there, his boat was still "circling at a high rate of speed," according to a statement on the incident issued by the Marine Patrol.

Witnesses on shore saw Lake go overboard and went into action, picking up Lake and bringing him back to shore just before 11 a.m. But his boat was still going. Lake went into the water "on the inside of the very tight circle created by the boat as it traveled around him at a high rate of speed," the Marine Patrol said in its statement about the incident.

Marine Patrol Sgt. Dave Ouellette and Sgt. Crystal McLain were eventually able to get a hold of the driverless boat - a 17-foot long, 90-horsepower Boston Whaler - and stop it. It was towed back to shore.

Lake was not injured and the boat was not damaged, the Marine Patrol said.

The incident happened on the northern end of New Hampshire's largest lake, between Shep Brown's Boat Basin and Bear Island near the town of Meredith.

The Marine Patrol said that Lake was not wearing a life jacket and was not using the boat's safety lanyard, also known as a kill switch, when he fell overboard. They used the incident as a chance to remind boaters that the Marine Patrol recommends all boaters wear a life jacket in a boat and also use the safety lanyard, which officials say is designed to stop the boat's engine when the driver falls overboard.