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Very Senior Member
Total Posts: 350 |
SINGAPORE: A 22-year-old undergraduate from the Singapore Management University is still missing in the waters off Raffles Marina, at Tuas in western Singapore.
Levin Angsana was with four others on board a 24-foot keel boat when he fell into the sea. The search for him is still underway.
It was a routine training session for the team of five who set off from Raffles Marina at about 1pm on Thursday. The crew, including skipper and ex-national sailor Renfred Tay, were heading back at about 3pm when tragedy struck.
According to one crew member, Levin was at the front of the boat trying to bring down the spinnaker - a sail which catches the wind. In the process, the spinnaker got hooked under the boat and Levin got down to a prone position to release it. That is when he lost his balance and fell into the sea.
He was not wearing a life jacket. Levin then tried to climb back into the boat but was unsuccessful.
Renfred Tay then jumped in and caught hold of Levin.
Life jackets were thrown into the water, and it was when Renfred turned away to grab a life jacket that Levin disappeared.
Professor Howard Hunter, President, Singapore Management University, said: "We have a whole team that has been out here since yesterday afternoon working with the Raffles Marina and the MPA. We've been with family members since the first time they were notified yesterday."
Levin's parents flew in from Brunei on Friday, but were too distraught to speak to the media. After a short debrief, they were brought out to sea in the hopes of finding their son.
Weather conditions on Thursday was said to be windy, with waters slightly choppy, but perfect conditions for sailing.
Sailing mate, Koh Zi Yi said: "He's quite a good sailor and he's quite proficient in his duties on board."
The university said Levin and the team have been training since May for a regatta to be held in September. Levin also put in extra hours because he wanted to take on the role of skipper.
Singapore's maritime authorities are also working with its Malaysian counterpart in the search operations.
Meanwhile, the Singapore Sailing Federation (SFF) said it is saddened by the accident in the waters off Tuas. However, it added that for keel boat sailors, there is no real need for them to wear life jackets unless there are strong wind conditions and treacherous waters.
The SFF said all rules and regulations related to sailing follow those from the International Sailing Federation (ISAF). According to the ISAF, keel boat sailors do not need to wear life jackets while training or even racing.
Low Teo Ping, President, Singapore Sailing Federation, said: "Having said that, if there is a requirement on the part of the officials who determine that the wind conditions are such - either too heavy seas or the wind conditions are too strong - then it may be a requirement by flying a flag that requires everyone in the keel boat to then wear a life vest."
Mr Low said during training, it is up to the skipper of the boat to decide if a life jacket is needed to be worn by everyone on board. He added that sailors are usually well trained in rescue techniques as well.
The SFF said keel boats are safe and that this was a rare incident. It also said that it is very unlikely the rules on life jackets will change. -CNA/vm
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Very Senior Member
Total Posts: 350 |
Body found.
Condolences.
The search for 22-year-old Singapore Management University's undergraduate, who went missing in the waters off Raffles Marina on Thursday, has ended.
Police found the body of Levin Angsana at 7.25am on Saturday, off Raffles Marina.
Levin was with four others on board a 24-foot keel boat when he fell into the sea.
According to a crew member, Levin was at the front of the boat trying to bring down the spinnaker - a sail which catches the wind.
In the process, the spinnaker got hooked under the boat and he lost his balance and fell into the sea when he got down to a prone position to release it.
Levin then tried to climb back into the boat, but was unsuccessful.
The search operations, which began on Thursday, was coordinated by the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) and involved personnel and craft from MPA, Police Coast Guard, Republic of Singapore Navy and Raffles Marina.
The search operations were also assisted by the Royal Malaysian Police.
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Ultra Senior Member
Total Posts: 2575 |
Very sad. My condolences.
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Senior Member
Total Posts: 189 |
My condolence too.
The radio mentioned that the deceased's sister was unhappy with SMU. Her brother was a non-swimmer and the sailing club did not safeguard his safety. She felt that the school was slow in calling in the navy divers to search for him; resulting in the rescue mission looked more like retrival (of dead body) mission.
She is thinking whether to take further action against SMU.
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Senior Member
Total Posts: 189 |
"Urged by his crew members to climb back on, he replied that he could not muster the strength to do so and then lost his grip.
Like the other four crew members on board, he had not been wearing a life jacket.
Seeing him in difficulty, boat captain and national sailor Renfred Tay, 23, dived in, and a life jacket was thrown into the water.
Meanwhile, the 24-foot-long keel boat, which could not stop because it was still being pushed along in the wind, circled to return to the spot.
Mr Tay managed to grab hold of Mr Angsana and urged him to 'stay calm and keep on kicking'.
The boat captain then left him, swimming off to get the life jacket. When he turned around to hand it over, Mr Angsana was gone. "
Mr Angsana can't swim. The captain shouldn't have left him alone.
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Very Senior Member
Total Posts: 754 |
Point to note #1: You can't activate navy divers just like that.
Point to note #2: Sailors who can't swim are liabilities.
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Ultra Senior Member
Total Posts: 2575 |
Maybe they need a new rule that only people who can swim are allowed to sail. I'm quite surprised why this chap went sailing even though he can't swim. Isn't it very dangerous?
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Senior Member
Total Posts: 189 |
When he joined the sailing club, most likely the registration form would have a field on whether the applicant can swim.
If there is such a field and the student had declared that he's a non-swimmer, then the club needs to closely monitor his safety since they admitted him even though he's a non-swimmer. They decided to take him in even though he's a liability.
If SMU or the police followed the procedures on activating the navy divers, then the deceased's sister can't fault them.
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Very Senior Member
Total Posts: 562 |
After the dragon boat incident, there was much discussion about water safety and the use of the PFD (personal floatation device?? - but I call it life-vest/jacket).
I felt it was common sense that if one is to participate in seasports, one should always don a life-vest (or PFD.. whatever!) regardless one's ability to swim.
I'm not trying to be insensitive, but I felt that every action, whether negligent or otherwise, would bear a certain consequence. In this incident, the consequence of one's failure to don a life-vest is fatal.
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Ultra Senior Member
Total Posts: 2575 |
Perhaps they should make it compulsory for sailors to wear life vests. Apparently it is not compulsory.
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Very Senior Member
Total Posts: 562 |
In my opinion, not compulsory doesn't mean don't need. For example, it is not compulsory to bring a pen to an examination, but it doesn't mean you do not need it. I think certain precautions could have been taken initially to prevent the heartaches later. I would rather err on the safe side, than live over the edge, especially when the mistake can be fatal.
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Ultra Senior Member
Total Posts: 2575 |
The crew of the sailing boat may not have known that the deceased couldn't swim.
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posted
Sat 05 Jul 2008 03:11 PM
