Swiss family's Koh Tao escape from near death - thanks to life jackets

[snoop1130]

Swiss family's Koh Tao escape from near death - thanks to life jackets

 

 

Four members of a Swiss family who got thrown in the high seas around Koh Tao nearly became more victims of the island's dubious reputation.

Thai Rath said they had a very close call with death but it emerged the reason they survived was something called life jackets.

And with a little help from their long tail boat driver the husband and wife and their two children made it back to Koh Tao unscathed.

Driver Uthai Seng-sae, 50, said that it was all quiet when he set off to take the family to Koh Nang Yuan.

But as they approached Koh Tao on their return leg a big swell overturned the boat throwing everyone into the water.

The family were wearing life jackets and when the swell died down they were able to save themselves by swimming to shore.

A rescue team on the scene found the family and boat driver already safe.

Later the boat was also recovered.

Source: https://www.thairath.co.th/content/1016855

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2017-7-26

[darksidedog]

Shame. I would have loved to have seen the Thai cops investigate a crime scene on water! They are totally incapable, especially on this Island, of finding anything remotely suspicious on land, that could identify the real perpetrators, so watching them rope off a scene over water, as a snorkeling safari trolls through, would have been hysterical.

Edited July 26, 2017 by darksidedog

[Briggsy]

Inability to drive to conditions (full speed ahead "captain" in all weathers! Gun that throttle!) caused the boat to capsize and subsequently sink.

[TheLobster]

Was this Swiss efficiency in that they brought their own life jackets or were they provided with life jackets by the long tail boat owner?

[PoorSucker]

I am so happy that all posters on this thread knows the distance between Koh Tao and Koh nang yuang.

[samuijimmy]

8 hours ago, TheLobster said:

Was this Swiss efficiency in that they brought their own life jackets or were they provided with life jackets by the long tail boat owner?

 

All tour boat users are given life jackets... some use them some don't... But usually enforced during rough weather, which there has been a fair bit (wind) lately ....

[hobobo]

12 hours ago, darksidedog said:

Shame. I would have loved to have seen the Thai cops investigate a crime scene on water! They are totally incapable, especially on this Island, of finding anything remotely suspicious on land, that could identify the real perpetrators, so watching them rope off a scene over water, as a snorkeling safari trolls through, would have been hysterical.

They could also suggest that the Swiss family planned the mass suicide but couldn't get their life jackets off in time!

[aussie11950]

Good story.

Probably the Swiss family knew already that wearing life jackets is a necessary practice.

nice happy ending.

 

[dfdgfdfdgs]

Hitting the waves head on with a bit of speed is better than going slowly through them, so if anything it's better to 'gun the throttle'.

 

Lots of tourists don't realise this and complain about bad driving on speedboats and other types of boats in tourists areas, but actually the boat driver is driving to the conditions.  If you drive slowly the waves take you and push you sideways, then the next wave tips you over.  If you drive faster you have control of the boat.

[dfdgfdfdgs]

I've swam from Tao to Nangyuan before, with fins on, it's not far, took about 20 minutes.

[sawadee1947]

another accident cause by stupidiness (of the boat owner)

[just.a.thought]

What kind of captains license is required for passenger transport here in Thailand. Are the authorities evere going to enforce the laws regarding training of crew and vessel safety.

Accidents will continue to happen on a regular basis as long as any nit wit can build a boat and then operate hi own passenger service.

Most of the long tail boat, but especially the speedboats, should never have been allowed on the water. Poor construction and overpowered, sailed by people with no real clue,recipe for disaster.

 

Edited July 27, 2017 by just.a.thought

[Beats56]

Accualy the life jacket was invented by Canadians. Said that to all them people that said Canada didn't help.the world. It's only one of the many  contrabutions they made. Sorry for the spelling mistakes. ..Damm auto correct. .

 

[smedly]

2 hours ago, just.a.thought said:

What kind of captains license is required for passenger transport here in Thailand. Are the authorities evere going to enforce the laws regarding training of crew and vessel safety.

Accidents will continue to happen on a regular basis as long as any nit wit can build a boat and then operate hi own passenger service.

Most of the long tail boat, but especially the speedboats, should never have been allowed on the water. Poor construction and overpowered, sailed by people with no real clue,recipe for disaster.

 

money number one, not even sure if safety even makes the list, as for the authorities and safety standards they either don't exist or are not enforced or both, just like everything else in Thailand, it ultimately comes down to my first three words above no matter what it involves.

[sawadee1947]

4 minutes ago, JSixpack said:

by a sudden unanticipated high wave

that is not right. This wave - if there was any - did not come out of the blue. In rain season however you have to be careful and as an experienced sailor you know when you sail or stay safe. And exactly this the owner did not. So he risked the life of his customers who trusted him.

[JSixpack]

2 minutes ago, sawadee1947 said:

that is not right. This wave - if there was any - did not come out of the blue. In rain season however you have to be careful and as an experienced sailor you know when you sail or stay safe. And exactly this the owner did not. So he risked the life of his customers who trusted him.

We'll need to agree to disagree. OP says the sea was calm. Even experienced sailors can't anticipate all contingencies that do arise. I think if you Google around you'll find plenty of such cases, far worse than this one.

[sawadee1947]

2 minutes ago, JSixpack said:

OP says the sea was calm

I was sailing round the world for 3 years. I never ever dared to leave a safe harbor when the weather was about to change. And I never met any hurricane because I  checked my weather fax,  and listened to the navy  weather forecast.

[George FmplesdaCosteedback]

The passengers on the other boat trip sinking were not all so lucky, five dead.

Good the Swiss Family made it back to the beach. (I remember a film about a story like that...)

Sounds to me that the boat helmsman wasn't paying attention, and got caught broadside on to a big wave.

Happy ending for once !

 

 

[just.a.thought]

16 hours ago, JSixpack said:

Doesn't seem to be any training or vessel safety problem here, just the usual TVF Poster need to identify imagined nitwits. You might ask yourself whether all the licensing, regulation, intensive training, and state-of-the-art engineering have been able to guarantee a complete lack of airline crashes.

So in your opinion there is nothing wrong with the way passenger transport is conducted in Thailand,especially on the water.

Your example with the airlines is absolutely idiotic,but just to answer the obvious. Yes regulations,intensive training and state-of-the art engineering has SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED airline crashes to the point where it today is the safest form of transportation.

[just.a.thought]

16 hours ago, JSixpack said:

Doesn't seem to be any training or vessel safety problem here, just the usual TVF Poster need to identify imagined nitwits. You might ask yourself whether all the licensing, regulation, intensive training, and state-of-the-art engineering have been able to guarantee a complete lack of airline crashes.

Yet the boat get hit by a small wave (look at the picture) and sinks. Indication of too high speed and poor construction combined with the captains failure to realize his own and the vessels limitations.

[tryasimight]

2 hours ago, just.a.thought said:

Having sailed for the last 40 years commercially ( 25 as captain), no I do not agree with you. It is a matter of lack of training and poor seamanship as well as no safety standards. But please do tell,what do you think the cause of this sinking was? blaming the sea-state is not an option,the conditions was not nearly severe enough for that to be the main cause of the sinking.

jut a stab in the dark.......running in front of the wave, wave 'caught up', boat broached and turned turtle.....all as a result of poor seamanship. I could be wrong.

 

I've been in that situation in crocodile infested waters ( 14 foot aluminium run about, not me driving) thankfully the boat didn't turn completely over but sobered us all up very, very quickly

Edited July 28, 2017 by tryasimight

[just.a.thought]

16 hours ago, tryasimight said:

jut a stab in the dark.......running in front of the wave, wave 'caught up', boat broached and turned turtle.....all as a result of poor seamanship. I could be wrong.

 

I've been in that situation in crocodile infested waters ( 14 foot aluminium run about, not me driving) thankfully the boat didn't turn completely over but sobered us all up very, very quickly

In breaking waves that could be the case. The picture shows choppy waves but no breaking waves.

Edited July 29, 2017 by just.a.thought

[metisdead]

Offensive troll posts and replies have been removed. 

 

Replies to now removed posts have been removed. 

Edited July 30, 2017 by metisdead

[agudbuk]

Why didn't the Swiss navy come to the rescue?

Sent from my SM-C900F using Tapatalk

[JSixpack]

On 7/28/2017 at 10:02 AM, just.a.thought said:

So in your opinion there is nothing wrong with the way passenger transport is conducted in Thailand,especially on the water.

Your example with the airlines is absolutely idiotic,but just to answer the obvious. Yes regulations,intensive training and state-of-the art engineering has SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED airline crashes to the point where it today is the safest form of transportation.

 

My opinion is limited to this case. Exaggeration won't make yours. And you do agree that SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED doesn't mean "eliminated."

 

On 7/28/2017 at 10:16 AM, just.a.thought said:

Yet the boat get hit by a small wave (look at the picture) and sinks. Indication of too high speed and poor construction combined with the captains failure to realize his own and the vessels limitations.

No, the picture doesn't show THE wave and the small waves support the idea that the sea was relatively calm until that "big surge" hit. If you google for "rogue wave swamps boat" you'll see that it happens regardless of speed, construction, captain expertise, and vessel limitations--which all vessels have.