Foreigner Drowns Off Chaweng Hotel

[Boater]

The body of an unidentified Caucasian believed to be a foreign tourist was washed ashore recently in front of a beach- side hotel in Chaweng Noi, about 800 meters from the Koh Samui viewpoint.

A team from the Bophut Police Station led by Pol. Lt. Kojorn Lanamtieng, along with volunteers from the Samui Rescue Foundation, rushed to the scene to investi- gate and retrieve the body. The naked body was that of a male with fair complex- ion. He was about 170-175 cm tall and around 45-50 years old.

http://www.samuiexpr...f-chaweng-hotel

Edited January 19, 2012 by Rooo

[limbos]

There are serious and very dangerous undertows on Samui's beaches, usually around this time of the year, during the rainy season and that corner of Chaweng beach is well known for it. Although it looks like this person may not have been taken out by waves but rather slipped, the report mentions other people having problems each year. It's a well known fact to me and various other people on the island who work/have worked on the islands beaches but rather a not well published fact for the general public. I know of various drownings over the years. Almost each year I warn about these undertows on my Samui info blog.

Typically it's elderly people who drown because of the undertows.

[insertmembernamehere]

Samui Express:

The naked body was that of a male...The victim also didn’t have any ID or passport with him.

Samui Express reporting again at its finest....

Whenever I see people swimming far away from shore I think, "What is the point? You can swim parallel to the beach and still be enjoying your swim but be close enough for help to come should you need it." The water only needs to be over your head to enjoy your swim. Why go out so far?

What do you swimmers say?

[longtom]

Samui Express:

The naked body was that of a male...The victim also didn’t have any ID or passport with him.

Samui Express reporting again at its finest....

Whenever I see people swimming far away from shore I think, "What is the point? You can swim parallel to the beach and still be enjoying your swim but be close enough for help to come should you need it." The water only needs to be over your head to enjoy your swim. Why go out so far?

What do you swimmers say?

No problem on Lipa Noi or Maenam beach, no high waves or undertows, there I love to swim out 1km or more. On Lamai/Chaweng beach it's madness.

Edited January 20, 2012 by longtom

[insertmembernamehere]

...I love to swim out 1km or more...

Why? What is the point? To be able to see the beach from farther away? To know that if you got a cramp, were stung by a jellyfish or had any other medical event that rendered you incapacitated that you would be too far out for anyone to even think of coming to your aid?

I think if you ask any lifeguard anywhere they will have many stories of "competent" swimmers getting into trouble. Is whatever you gain by swimming out a kilometer or more actually worth possibly losing all the rest of your life (and all the other times you can enjoy this amazing swimming thing)?

And by the looks of the ace reporting, we should not even be talking about swimming. The accident appears, according to the crack investigators, to be someone slipping off of rocks and has nothing to do with rip tides or swimming at all.

I am just curious what someone was doing at a lookout point on rocks with no clothes on. Is there a secret nudist colony on the island I am not aware of? Or did the mermaid thieves steal his clothes once he was in the water?

[beano2274]

Samui Express:

The naked body was that of a male...The victim also didn’t have any ID or passport with him.

Samui Express reporting again at its finest....

Whenever I see people swimming far away from shore I think, "What is the point? You can swim parallel to the beach and still be enjoying your swim but be close enough for help to come should you need it." The water only needs to be over your head to enjoy your swim. Why go out so far?

What do you swimmers say?

Love the bit about "he didn't have a passport on him", hey when I go swimming (even though i cannot swim), I don't take my passport with me, it might get wet.

Some people like to show off and also forget currents and other dangers cause they are enjoying their swim.

[limbos]

...I love to swim out 1km or more...

Why? What is the point? To be able to see the beach from farther away? To know that if you got a cramp, were stung by a jellyfish or had any other medical event that rendered you incapacitated that you would be too far out for anyone to even think of coming to your aid?

I think if you ask any lifeguard anywhere they will have many stories of "competent" swimmers getting into trouble. Is whatever you gain by swimming out a kilometer or more actually worth possibly losing all the rest of your life (and all the other times you can enjoy this amazing swimming thing)?

And by the looks of the ace reporting, we should not even be talking about swimming. The accident appears, according to the crack investigators, to be someone slipping off of rocks and has nothing to do with rip tides or swimming at all.

I am just curious what someone was doing at a lookout point on rocks with no clothes on. Is there a secret nudist colony on the island I am not aware of? Or did the mermaid thieves steal his clothes once he was in the water?

It was clearly pointed out in my post that this accident most likely didn't happen because of undertows. It was however mentioned in the same article that people do get in problems and die on Samui beaches and I reacted to that part and pointed out the potential problems.

[BigC]

Samui Express:

The naked body was that of a male...The victim also didn’t have any ID or passport with him.

Samui Express reporting again at its finest....

Whenever I see people swimming far away from shore I think, "What is the point? You can swim parallel to the beach and still be enjoying your swim but be close enough for help to come should you need it." The water only needs to be over your head to enjoy your swim. Why go out so far?

What do you swimmers say?

i must rememeber when i go swimming to strap my id and passsport on my incase i drown lol. or maybe i could try and swim to malaysia for a border swim lol

[longtom]

...I love to swim out 1km or more...

Why? What is the point? To be able to see the beach from farther away? To know that if you got a cramp, were stung by a jellyfish or had any other medical event that rendered you incapacitated that you would be too far out for anyone to even think of coming to your aid?

I think if you ask any lifeguard anywhere they will have many stories of "competent" swimmers getting into trouble. Is whatever you gain by swimming out a kilometer or more actually worth possibly losing all the rest of your life (and all the other times you can enjoy this amazing swimming thing)?

I grew up at a lake where we routinely swam for hours, and where the waves were even bigger than Lipa Noi beach on a quiet day. There is sometimes not even a ripple in the water, so pretty easy to judge. Maybe I exagerated a bit and it's usually only 500m, difficult to judge the distance from the water.

I agree about the jellyfish threat, but usually they appear in crowds and are of the non-stingy kind (small white), anyway I stay out of the water when I see them (easy to spot if no waves). Still I would say the drive to the beach with the motosai is more dangerous than the swimming.

[limbos]

...I love to swim out 1km or more...

Why? What is the point? To be able to see the beach from farther away? To know that if you got a cramp, were stung by a jellyfish or had any other medical event that rendered you incapacitated that you would be too far out for anyone to even think of coming to your aid?

I think if you ask any lifeguard anywhere they will have many stories of "competent" swimmers getting into trouble. Is whatever you gain by swimming out a kilometer or more actually worth possibly losing all the rest of your life (and all the other times you can enjoy this amazing swimming thing)?

I grew up at a lake where we routinely swam for hours, and where the waves were even bigger than Lipa Noi beach on a quiet day. There is sometimes not even a ripple in the water, so pretty easy to judge. Maybe I exagerated a bit and it's usually only 500m, difficult to judge the distance from the water.

I agree about the jellyfish threat, but usually they appear in crowds and are of the non-stingy kind (small white), anyway I stay out of the water when I see them (easy to spot if no waves). Still I would say the drive to the beach with the motosai is more dangerous than the swimming.

Your view on jelly fish is unfortunately not correct. Not all jelly fish around Samui waters appears in crowds and not all non stingy. There are jelly box fish in Thai waters, although not many, but Samui waters and the Gulf do see their share of box jelly fish. Pictures available on request.

[Birdman]

...I love to swim out 1km or more...

....Why? What is the point?....

a mixture of fun, excitement, challenge, natural experience, getting away feeling. Actually it is impossible to explain that part someone who lacks that inner impulse and asks such a question. Also not so many boats and jet-skies and other swimmer around.

[insertmembernamehere]

Birdman:

. Actually it is impossible to explain that part someone who lacks that inner impulse and asks such a question. Also not so many boats and jet-skies and other swimmer around.

Swipe noted. . .

I am a decent swimmer, but a careful one. Additionally, I don't think tourists on jetskis (Thais as well) are going to notice a head bobbing in the water far out. Anyway, you would have to make your way through the jetski zone; that would frighten me.

Longtom:

No problem on Lipa Noi or Maenam beach, no high waves or undertows, there I love to swim out 1km or more. On Lamai/Chaweng beach it's madness.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought you could not, as a general rule, understand if there was an undertow or undercurrent in the sea by just looking at the water.

[limbos]

Birdman:

. Actually it is impossible to explain that part someone who lacks that inner impulse and asks such a question. Also not so many boats and jet-skies and other swimmer around.

Swipe noted. . .

I am a decent swimmer, but a careful one. Additionally, I don't think tourists on jetskis (Thais as well) are going to notice a head bobbing in the water far out. Anyway, you would have to make your way through the jetski zone; that would frighten me.

Longtom:

No problem on Lipa Noi or Maenam beach, no high waves or undertows, there I love to swim out 1km or more. On Lamai/Chaweng beach it's madness.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought you could not, as a general rule, understand if there was an undertow or undercurrent in the sea by just looking at the water.

Undertows can't really be spotted since they occur underwater, you may be able to spot a rip current pending on your vantage point and experience with rip currents.