Jay Miller the Bruins Enforcer from the 80’s and a fan favorite played the hero role the other day saving a man that was knocked overboard off his boat and left floating in the cold Atlantic.
Late Saturday afternoon, Mr. Miller was returning from a fishing trip off Nantucket on board his 38-foot Intrepid. The crew included his captain and a group of Exxon Mobil executives, major sponsors and supporters of the Genesis Fund.
The boat was about two and a half miles off State Beach, late and hustling back to Oak Bluffs Harbor, when one of the crew turned to Mr. Miller and said, “I see something white in the water, what is it?”
Mr. Miller slowed the boat and turned to investigate. “All of a sudden I saw a hand, almost like a wrist, just kind of flip out of the water,” Mr. Miller said in a telephone call yesterday. “And I said, ‘that’s a body.’”
Mr. Miller turned the helm over to his captain and told him to hurry as he prepared to help pull the man from the water. Mr. Miller and his crew managed to pull Charles A. Samuelson of Cohasset onto the boat’s swim platform and then into the boat. One of the men on board was an ex-EMT who administered first aid for hypothermia.
“We asked where his boat was and he pointed and said ‘my boat’s over there.’ And we saw a sail about four miles away.’”
Mr. Miller downplayed his actions by stating;
“It wasn’t anything spectacular, it was just picking a guy out of the water,” said Mr. Miller. “I happened to be the last one back. I’m not a hero. I was in the right spot, and so was he.”
Mr. Charles A. Samuelson, the man who was rescued recovered quickly and refused any further medical assistance when they reached the marina.
As a big Boston Bruins fan while researching this story I came across these old videos on You Tube of some of Mr. Miller’s memorable moments from when he wore the Black & Gold that I had to share with you. It brought back a lot of great memories of watching TV 38 & the Bruins game with my Dad back in the day when the Bruins were a bit more formidable. Hopefully those days will return at some point.
