News

He happened to be at the right place at the right time. A kayak fisherman helped to rescue a group of stand-up paddleboarders in distress after drifting off course near Changi Boardwalk on Aug 24 evening. Stomper , who was the fisherman, shared a of the incident to remind people to be safe on the water. He was returning to the mainland in his kayak with his companion named Cruz when he heard a commotion. "I saw a group of SUP (stand-up paddleboard) users in distress," recounted the Stomper. The paddlers had drifted off course and were exhausted because of the strong winds and currents. When he asked the paddlers whether they were okay, a woman replied: "No, we're not okay. We're asking for rescue." The Stomper said: "There was a boat there trying to get the users on. The nature of Changi Boardwalk makes it challenging for larger vessels to enter as there are pillars and sharp barnacles making it difficult to navigate safely. The boat came out of the pillars and we helped get the SUP users on the boat safely." That was when the Stomper learnt that three people were unaccounted for. "It was getting dark," said the Stomper. "Cruz and I knew it would be extremely challenging to look for drifting SUPs without proper lighting," Luckily, while escorting the boat back to the beach, the Stomper came across one of the paddlers drifting at sea. "We gave him water to hydrate and towed the gentleman back to Ohana," said the Stomper, referring to Ohana Beach House in Changi. "Along the way, near the shore, we came across Kelvin (owner of Ohana) on a boat and he clarified all parties were safely on shore except the one we were towing. "We managed to get the user back on shore and headed into Ohana for a beer." The Stomper advises taking the following precautions when heading out on the water: Download the new STOMP app today.