32 foreign tourists in a speedboat accident in Samui

[Docno]

all over the English press two dead obviously not headline news in Thailand, I have not used a boat in Thailand for eight years as once was enough overcrowded over safe speed = overturn worse than the roads out here....RIP the tourists never had a chance to learn.

"all over the English press two dead obviously not headline news in Thailand"

Not unusual. Top story in Singapore today is about 5 Singaporeans injured in a car accident in Australia (http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/5-singaporeans-injured-in/2821040.html) ... doesn't seem to have caused a blip in the Australian news. National media are always more interested when their country's own citizens are affected.

[SOTIRIOS]

...incompetent....irresponsible....and with all the rights in the world.....to make sure that it stays that way...

[Arwon]

all over the English press two dead obviously not headline news in Thailand, I have not used a boat in Thailand for eight years as once was enough overcrowded over safe speed = overturn worse than the roads out here....RIP the tourists never had a chance to learn.

"all over the English press two dead obviously not headline news in Thailand"

Not unusual. Top story in Singapore today is about 5 Singaporeans injured in a car accident in Australia (http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/5-singaporeans-injured-in/2821040.html) ... doesn't seem to have caused a blip in the Australian news. National media are always more interested when their country's own citizens are affected.

http://www.mailtimes.com.au/story/3926656/multiple-injuries-in-crash-near-laharum/

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[Docno]

all over the English press two dead obviously not headline news in Thailand, I have not used a boat in Thailand for eight years as once was enough overcrowded over safe speed = overturn worse than the roads out here....RIP the tourists never had a chance to learn.

"all over the English press two dead obviously not headline news in Thailand"

Not unusual. Top story in Singapore today is about 5 Singaporeans injured in a car accident in Australia (http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/5-singaporeans-injured-in/2821040.html) ... doesn't seem to have caused a blip in the Australian news. National media are always more interested when their country's own citizens are affected.

http://www.mailtimes.com.au/story/3926656/multiple-injuries-in-crash-near-laharum/

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Good one... story in a local paper in a farming community where the accident happened. Not quite 'headline news' status... And on page 2, "Bob Jones' prize cow comes down with hoof and mouth".

[Arwon]

all over the English press two dead obviously not headline news in Thailand, I have not used a boat in Thailand for eight years as once was enough overcrowded over safe speed = overturn worse than the roads out here....RIP the tourists never had a chance to learn.

"all over the English press two dead obviously not headline news in Thailand"

Not unusual. Top story in Singapore today is about 5 Singaporeans injured in a car accident in Australia (http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/5-singaporeans-injured-in/2821040.html) ... doesn't seem to have caused a blip in the Australian news. National media are always more interested when their country's own citizens are affected.

http://www.mailtimes.com.au/story/3926656/multiple-injuries-in-crash-near-laharum/

Sent from my GT-P6800 using Tapatalk

Good one... story in a local paper in a farming community where the accident happened. Not quite 'headline news' status... And on page 2, "Bob Jones' prize cow comes down with hoof and mouth".

http://www.3wm.com.au/news-sport/article/160525/crash-near-laharum/38#.V0hSzH3mi2c

Sent from my GT-P6800 using Tapatalk

[Docno]

"all over the English press two dead obviously not headline news in Thailand"

Not unusual. Top story in Singapore today is about 5 Singaporeans injured in a car accident in Australia (http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/5-singaporeans-injured-in/2821040.html) ... doesn't seem to have caused a blip in the Australian news. National media are always more interested when their country's own citizens are affected.

http://www.mailtimes.com.au/story/3926656/multiple-injuries-in-crash-near-laharum/

Sent from my GT-P6800 using Tapatalk

Good one... story in a local paper in a farming community where the accident happened. Not quite 'headline news' status... And on page 2, "Bob Jones' prize cow comes down with hoof and mouth".

http://www.3wm.com.au/news-sport/article/160525/crash-near-laharum/38#.V0hSzH3mi2c

Sent from my GT-P6800 using Tapatalk

OK, so now you found a TV station from the same remote area. To quote the site you linked to:

Horsham lies in the far west of the state approximately 140 kilometers from the South Australian border. Horsham is the halfway point between Adelaide and Melbourne on the busy Western Highway. It is estimated that over 1,500 semi trailers pass through this region each day.

[Johpa]

The truth is Thai people have no idea what a rough sea looks like. Anyone on here who comes from a country that has a coastline on the North Sea, North Atlantic or North Pacific will know what I am talking about. I have been offshore in the North Sea when there have been rollers over 10 mtrs high going up to over 20 mtrs.

Most Thai people are very familiar with rough seas which is why we read here that many operators did not go out that day. That rougher seas exist elsewhere does not negate the rough seas in the Gulf of Thailand. And "roughness" is really relative to the size and design of the boat.

[streetsweeper]

It's going to take an awful lot of bullets to straighten this country out!

[chilli42]

It's going to take an awful lot of bullets to straighten this country out!

That is exactly what it will take to put the place right - unfortunately!

[simonuk]

Same shit as always.

Some <deleted> with no license and no training in charge of a powerful boat with a couple of dozen life in his hands.

No way it will be his fault though ...its the weathers fault.

Needless avoidable deaths. Sadly its the price some pay for visiting a country where no one is ever accountable for their actions when things go wrong.

Lawless arrogant and ignorant.

[MoonShadow]

The truth is Thai people have no idea what a rough sea looks like. Anyone on here who comes from a country that has a coastline on the North Sea, North Atlantic or North Pacific will know what I am talking about. I have been offshore in the North Sea when there have been rollers over 10 mtrs high going up to over 20 mtrs.

Most Thai people are very familiar with rough seas which is why we read here that many operators did not go out that day. That rougher seas exist elsewhere does not negate the rough seas in the Gulf of Thailand. And "roughness" is really relative to the size and design of the boat.

I have been competing in The Samui International sailing Regatta this week; strongest wind measured across the deck was 48knots (on Monday) thats over 90kph! I was out in it on my 24' sailing yacht. Just 1km off of Chaweng beach with the wind blowing off-shore the waves built up to over 1m surprisingly quickly....very uncomfortable conditions. Yesterday off of Koh Hin Ang Wang winds of 26knots were experienced.....

[LUSHGOAT]

I have seen the carry on of these cowboy boat pilots there is absolutely no need for the speed they travel at. They have a total disregard for the laws of the sea I have even seen them and jet skies entering where there was a surfacing buoy for divers. Clowns to say the least but we can complain on here till the 12th of never but sadly nothing will change

[rooster59]

Thailand speedboat crash: Missing Brit was celebrating first anniversary with wife when tourist vessel capsized

Jason Parnell, 46, was travelling on the Angthong Discovery Tour vessel with his wife, Puja, and 30 other holidaymakers when it capsized in rough seas

InstagramJason Parnell with wife Puja on their wedding dayJason Parnell and his wife, Puja, were celebrating their first wedding anniversary
The British man missing after a deadly speedboat crash in Thailand was celebrating his first wedding anniversary with his wife, it emerged today.

Jason Parnell, 46, was travelling on the Angthong Discovery Tour vessel with his spouse, Puja, and 30 other tourists yesterday afternoon when it capsized in rough seas.

Full story: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/thailand-speedboat-crash-missing-brit-8064405

Mirror 2016-05-28

[sambum]

Thailand speedboat crash: Missing Brit was celebrating first anniversary with wife when tourist vessel capsized

Jason Parnell, 46, was travelling on the Angthong Discovery Tour vessel with his wife, Puja, and 30 other holidaymakers when it capsized in rough seas

InstagramJason Parnell with wife Puja on their wedding dayJason Parnell and his wife, Puja, were celebrating their first wedding anniversary

The British man missing after a deadly speedboat crash in Thailand was celebrating his first wedding anniversary with his wife, it emerged today.

Jason Parnell, 46, was travelling on the Angthong Discovery Tour vessel with his spouse, Puja, and 30 other tourists yesterday afternoon when it capsized in rough seas.

Full story: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/thailand-speedboat-crash-missing-brit-8064405

Mirror 2016-05-28

Not being flippant, but yes, I think I got it the first time.

[melvinmelvin]

I have seen the carry on of these cowboy boat pilots there is absolutely no need for the speed they travel at. They have a total disregard for the laws of the sea I have even seen them and jet skies entering where there was a surfacing buoy for divers. Clowns to say the least but we can complain on here till the 12th of never but sadly nothing will change

laws of the seas? you mean the Thai regulation stipulating how boats should be operated in Thai waters?

what is a "surfacing buoy for divers"? never heard about that before, what does it look like? how is it marked?

I can assure you that such buoys are not part of the Thai regulations for "safe travel at sea", or collission avoidance rules if you like.

[evadgib]

Safety sausages and SMB's will be covered if you look hard enough yet ignored in a place where palm leaves or plastic chairs serve as a warning triangles on land.

Edited May 28, 2016 by evadgib

[optad]

That is <deleted> up. Totally avoidable with just a little caution. I am very sorry for the families concerned.

[berg1666]

Even in a slight swell 1-2m it is very easy to flip a shallow V speedboat when running across the swell. Had a scary experience on a trip to Koh Maak and literally had to force the driver to change his line as he was running across the swell (as the shortest distance between any two points is a straight line, even if you don't make it there in the end!)

[charlieboots]

when I was younger are used to travel on these boats a lot (both the 'slow' and the 'fast'). When you are young you are in 'holiday mode' and just think everything will be okay and anyway, there's lots of other people doing the same thing so why not follow them?. As I got a bit older I had some terrible experiences going between islands on boats and another on a day excursion. The boats will go out in visibility and rough seas that are incredibly dangerous. My last experience in Thai boat was so extreme and so traumatising that I vowed to never go in one again unless it was an emergency. My life is too valuable for the sake of saving 2 or 3 thousend baht.

This is incredibly sad news. AGAIN

[chrisinth]

Even in a slight swell 1-2m it is very easy to flip a shallow V speedboat when running across the swell. Had a scary experience on a trip to Koh Maak and literally had to force the driver to change his line as he was running across the swell (as the shortest distance between any two points is a straight line, even if you don't make it there in the end!)

Actually, running across the sea, in conditions that lead to concern, is probably the most comfortable path the cox'n could take. Going into the sea (in a 1-2 meter swell) at speed will be bouncy while going down-sea (surfing) could end up dipping the nose or being swamped at the stern.

Forcing the cox'n of the vessel to drive his boat the way you would like, really isn't the done thing. Anywhere.

[melvinmelvin]

Even in a slight swell 1-2m it is very easy to flip a shallow V speedboat when running across the swell. Had a scary experience on a trip to Koh Maak and literally had to force the driver to change his line as he was running across the swell (as the shortest distance between any two points is a straight line, even if you don't make it there in the end!)

Actually, running across the sea, in conditions that lead to concern, is probably the most comfortable path the cox'n could take. Going into the sea (in a 1-2 meter swell) at speed will be bouncy while going down-sea (surfing) could end up dipping the nose or being swamped at the stern.

Forcing the cox'n of the vessel to drive his boat the way you would like, really isn't the done thing. Anywhere.

wouldn't disagree with that,

should keep in mind that the vast majority of entries in this thread is written by folks that know buggar all about driving power boats in swells

and know buggar all about the longitudinal and the athwartships stability of a laden power boat

[Gene1960]

Even in a slight swell 1-2m it is very easy to flip a shallow V speedboat when running across the swell. Had a scary experience on a trip to Koh Maak and literally had to force the driver to change his line as he was running across the swell)

Had very similar experience near Phuket. The driver stuffed the nose into a wave, fortunately the wave was not breaking and we didn't flip over.

I have always wondered why all the speedboats have such a shallow deadrise, like the lake boats in Europe have.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[berg1666]

Even in a slight swell 1-2m it is very easy to flip a shallow V speedboat when running across the swell. Had a scary experience on a trip to Koh Maak and literally had to force the driver to change his line as he was running across the swell (as the shortest distance between any two points is a straight line, even if you don't make it there in the end!)

Actually, running across the sea, in conditions that lead to concern, is probably the most comfortable path the cox'n could take. Going into the sea (in a 1-2 meter swell) at speed will be bouncy while going down-sea (surfing) could end up dipping the nose or being swamped at the stern.

Forcing the cox'n of the vessel to drive his boat the way you would like, really isn't the done thing. Anywhere.

wouldn't disagree with that,

should keep in mind that the vast majority of entries in this thread is written by folks that know buggar all about driving power boats in swells

and know buggar all about the longitudinal and the athwartships stability of a laden power boat

At full tit (around 40kmh) that these boats can do, with a full load of tourists and baggage, you would be insane to run broadside on to a swell of even 2m. One swell at the wrong frequency would tip you over.

If you have ever been in charge of a boat then you would know the reality. Much better off to either slow to a reasonable speed (15-20kmh depending on the frequency of the swells), or take the swell on the quarter and then double back. Yes, plenty of pounding, and you would end up taking the long (read safe) way round, but you would get there in the end.

It's nothing to do with comfort. It's about stability, safety and delivery. Sad to hear there are so many who don't understand how the boat/ocean interface works on here (not to mention the dynamics of having 8 X excitable 90kg tourists on board), but then again with the number of fatalities from literally stupid mistakes we see, not surprising.

[Gtto]

I am a scuba instructor in Thailand. Most speedboats I have been on have been captained by people that seem to only care about how fast they can drive. When the weather is bad small boats should be forbidden to leave port. End of story. I was in Cozumel, Mexico and was supposed to dive. Captain of the port said the weather was too bad. Closed the port. No boats allowed out under penalty of arrest. No diving that day even though much money was lost. Cozumel decided that negative publicity from an incident was worse than short term loss of income. It is time Thailand did the same.

[sambum]

I am a scuba instructor in Thailand. Most speedboats I have been on have been captained by people that seem to only care about how fast they can drive. When the weather is bad small boats should be forbidden to leave port. End of story. I was in Cozumel, Mexico and was supposed to dive. Captain of the port said the weather was too bad. Closed the port. No boats allowed out under penalty of arrest. No diving that day even though much money was lost. Cozumel decided that negative publicity from an incident was worse than short term loss of income. It is time Thailand did the same.

Same power of arrest should apply to swimmers that ignore red flags.

Edited May 29, 2016 by sambum

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Thailand speedboat capsize: Body of Jason Parnell found

KOH SAMUI:-- The body of Briton Jason Parnell, who went missing after a speedboat capsized near the island of Koh Samui in Thailand, has been found, the Foreign Office has confirmed.

According to the AFP news agency, his body had been trapped among rocks.

The Foreign Office confirmed on Saturday that Briton Monica O'Connor, 28, had also died in the accident.

A total of three people were killed when the boat, with 32 passengers and four crew, capsized on Thursday.

Full story: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-36407682

-- BBC 2016-05-29

[khunPer]

From normally reliable source in the speed boat tour business, I've been told that the company "Angthong Explorer 3" was established – or renamed – after a collision incident a few years before, in June 2010, where two speed boats banged into each other at 11 pm night, commuting between Koh Samui and Koh Phangan's Full Moon Party. The news story says: »...they hit each other due to low visibility during a storm about three kilometres off shore.« There should be two persons missing and about 40 injured (The Nation wrote). Media story "Australians hurt in Thai boat cruise collision" from ABC News, here.

[bradflorescu]

Due to my job as a travel journalist I had many a "chance" to enjoy the services of Thai boat operators.

Those of you who ever traveled to Koh Lipeh by speedboat must know what a blood-freezing experience that is. 19 years old drivers checking their phones while pushing the 1000 HP engines to the max on a Beaufort 5-6 rough sea. I never feel comfortable when drivers are younger than the boats they man.

Last time I came back from Lipeh I took the big, slower ferry and the trip was rough but dry. 15 minutes after we finally made it to the Pakbara pier, a speedboat ferry pulled ashore. All passangers were soaked in seawater and had that stare in their eyes ("we've been in Hell and back"). Why a trip to and from an idyllic tropical island must be so rough, tough and dangerous...escapes my logic.

On another trip to Koh Lipeh, on a 40-seater speedboat, I had to personally shout at the driver to slow down before we all break our necks. He looked surprised and powered down from 25 knots to 20, but just for a few minutes. The boat was dangerously rocking and bumping while the waves (about 1.5 meters high) were hitting it from the starboard. Water splashed all over us. Sitting was almost impossible, as the boat movement made everyone imponderable for a fraction of a second. This lasted for 90 minutes.

Now, movig back to the Samui accident, I had the opportinity to speak with some of the survivors. The sea was quite tough mid-week due to the very strong westerly winds that blew over the Gulf since Monday. The tour company that sold them the trip said "yes, the sea is rough, but the boat operators have made some CALCULATIONS and said you can go." And off they went.

Most tourists, unfortunately, do not have the slightest understanding of weather conditions. They hate rain and that's about it. They don't know about the corelation between strong winds and high seas and cannot read the open water sea conditions by a mere observation from the shore (e.g.: foam on top of breaking waves). Also, they do not check the boat before boarding it. While it can be very safe to approach a level 4 sea on a 30-feet sailboat, riding it on a 10-footer at 20 knots is not by far safe and definitely not comfortable.

To conclude: I doubt it that the Thai authorities will ever be able to inforce no matter what safety-at-sea regulations as long as the operators think that "money is more important than life" (quote from a Thai tour guide) and, most importantly, as long as tourists don't really give a damn about their own safety.

RIP.

[chrisinth]

Due to my job as a travel journalist I had many a "chance" to enjoy the services of Thai boat operators.

Those of you who ever traveled to Koh Lipeh by speedboat must know what a blood-freezing experience that is. 19 years old drivers checking their phones while pushing the 1000 HP engines to the max on a Beaufort 5-6 rough sea. I never feel comfortable when drivers are younger than the boats they man.

Last time I came back from Lipeh I took the big, slower ferry and the trip was rough but dry. 15 minutes after we finally made it to the Pakbara pier, a speedboat ferry pulled ashore. All passangers were soaked in seawater and had that stare in their eyes ("we've been in Hell and back"). Why a trip to and from an idyllic tropical island must be so rough, tough and dangerous...escapes my logic.

On another trip to Koh Lipeh, on a 40-seater speedboat, I had to personally shout at the driver to slow down before we all break our necks. He looked surprised and powered down from 25 knots to 20, but just for a few minutes. The boat was dangerously rocking and bumping while the waves (about 1.5 meters high) were hitting it from the starboard. Water splashed all over us. Sitting was almost impossible, as the boat movement made everyone imponderable for a fraction of a second. This lasted for 90 minutes.

Now, movig back to the Samui accident, I had the opportinity to speak with some of the survivors. The sea was quite tough mid-week due to the very strong westerly winds that blew over the Gulf since Monday. The tour company that sold them the trip said "yes, the sea is rough, but the boat operators have made some CALCULATIONS and said you can go." And off they went.

Most tourists, unfortunately, do not have the slightest understanding of weather conditions. They hate rain and that's about it. They don't know about the corelation between strong winds and high seas and cannot read the open water sea conditions by a mere observation from the shore (e.g.: foam on top of breaking waves). Also, they do not check the boat before boarding it. While it can be very safe to approach a level 4 sea on a 30-feet sailboat, riding it on a 10-footer at 20 knots is not by far safe and definitely not comfortable.

To conclude: I doubt it that the Thai authorities will ever be able to inforce no matter what safety-at-sea regulations as long as the operators think that "money is more important than life" (quote from a Thai tour guide) and, most importantly, as long as tourists don't really give a damn about their own safety.

RIP.

I would be extremely interested to know the make of the 1,000 HP engine driving a speedboat in Thai waters.

As a travel journalist, hope you still have this information.

Thanks.

[melvinmelvin]

Due to my job as a travel journalist I had many a "chance" to enjoy the services of Thai boat operators.

Those of you who ever traveled to Koh Lipeh by speedboat must know what a blood-freezing experience that is. 19 years old drivers checking their phones while pushing the 1000 HP engines to the max on a Beaufort 5-6 rough sea. I never feel comfortable when drivers are younger than the boats they man.

Last time I came back from Lipeh I took the big, slower ferry and the trip was rough but dry. 15 minutes after we finally made it to the Pakbara pier, a speedboat ferry pulled ashore. All passangers were soaked in seawater and had that stare in their eyes ("we've been in Hell and back"). Why a trip to and from an idyllic tropical island must be so rough, tough and dangerous...escapes my logic.

On another trip to Koh Lipeh, on a 40-seater speedboat, I had to personally shout at the driver to slow down before we all break our necks. He looked surprised and powered down from 25 knots to 20, but just for a few minutes. The boat was dangerously rocking and bumping while the waves (about 1.5 meters high) were hitting it from the starboard. Water splashed all over us. Sitting was almost impossible, as the boat movement made everyone imponderable for a fraction of a second. This lasted for 90 minutes.

Now, movig back to the Samui accident, I had the opportinity to speak with some of the survivors. The sea was quite tough mid-week due to the very strong westerly winds that blew over the Gulf since Monday. The tour company that sold them the trip said "yes, the sea is rough, but the boat operators have made some CALCULATIONS and said you can go." And off they went.

Most tourists, unfortunately, do not have the slightest understanding of weather conditions. They hate rain and that's about it. They don't know about the corelation between strong winds and high seas and cannot read the open water sea conditions by a mere observation from the shore (e.g.: foam on top of breaking waves). Also, they do not check the boat before boarding it. While it can be very safe to approach a level 4 sea on a 30-feet sailboat, riding it on a 10-footer at 20 knots is not by far safe and definitely not comfortable.

To conclude: I doubt it that the Thai authorities will ever be able to inforce no matter what safety-at-sea regulations as long as the operators think that "money is more important than life" (quote from a Thai tour guide) and, most importantly, as long as tourists don't really give a damn about their own safety.

RIP.

I would be extremely interested to know the make of the 1,000 HP engine driving a speedboat in Thai waters.

As a travel journalist, hope you still have this information.

Thanks.

3 outbourds of 300 + HP each

or

4 outbords of 250 HP each would do the trick, many makes available