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Mostly Cloudy Police inspect Kandi Won in Bay Park
Marine Bureau seeks clues in accident that killed three children
The yacht that has been the focus of attention in the waters around Oyster Bay for the past two weeks was raised from its 60- to 70-foot temporary resting place last week and sent on a flatbed truck to East Rockaway, where police will examine it at the Nassau County Marine Bureau in Bay Park.
The Kandi Won, a 34-foot cabin cruiser, capsized in the waters of Cove Neck on the night of July Fourth with 27 passengers aboard, and three children were trapped in the cabin and drowned.
“It will be there until the investigation is over,” said Nassau County Police spokesman Det. Vincent Garcia said of the craft’s examination in Bay Park. “They will go over the boat and look for anything that may have contributed to it capsizing.”
The Kandi Won will be checked for any mechanical failures or possible structural damage that might have caused it to overturn, Garcia explained. Police will also try to determine how many life jackets were available onboard that night. The boat and its passengers were returning from watching a fireworks display when it tipped over.
Larry Weiss, a spokesman for the United States Power Squadrons District 3, said that the law requires boats to be equipped with a life jacket for every passenger on board, but they need not be worn by children under age 12 who are inside the cabin.
“What people can do now is be safe and careful about boating safety,” Weiss said, adding that the “best way to honor these three souls is to prevent any future accidents. The public must be made aware that boating is serious. They should be alert and educated. I tell my friends I’m chicken of the sea, which is a joke, but not really. The public needs to be cautious and even afraid of the water.”
A call for capacity limits for larger recreational boats
On Monday, U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer, joined by the parents of 7-year-old Victoria Gaines, one of the victims, called on the U.S. Coast Guard to mandate capacity limits for recreational boats larger than 20 feet, and to require that those limits be posted onboard.
