EVEN COOLER FOR THE MIDDLE OF THE WEEK. SCOTT: NEW THIS MORNING, WE’RE HEARING FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE IOWA STATE CREW CLUB ABOUT THE MOMENTS LEADING UP TO LAST WEEK’S DEADLY BOATING ACCIDENT. FIVE PEOPLE WERE PRACTICING LAST SUNDAY ON LITTLE WALL LAKE IN HAMILTON COUNTY. TWO MEMBERS OF THE CREW CLUB ULTIMATELY DIED AFTER THEIR BOAT CAPSIZED. ALEXIS AURANDT WAS IN CHARGE OF THE BOAT ON THAT DAY. IN A STATEMENT TO KCCI, SHE SAYS THE WATER WAS CALM WHEN THEY STARTED TO PRACTICE. AFTER A FEW WARM-UP DRILLS, THE WIND PICKED UP AND A WAVE WENT UNDER THE BOAT AURANDT TOLD US, “IT WAS SO POWERFUL THAT IT PUSHED US COMPLETELY OVER. THERE WAS NO WAY TO CORRECT FOR IT. WE HAD NO IDEA IF ANYONE HAD EVEN SEEN US AND WE KNEW THE
ISU Crew Club president recounts events leading up to fatal accident
The president of the Iowa State Crew Club has released a statement about the events leading up to the death of two students. On March 28, a boat capsized at Little Wall Lake in Hamilton County. Five students were on the boat and three were rescued. Yaakov Ben-David, 20, and Derik Nanni, 19, died as a result of the accident. The Crew Club President Alexis Aurandt released the following statement to KCCI:”At 6:30 a.m. Sunday morning, I checked the weather forecast. It was forecasted to be 11-14mph with an increase to 17 mph by 11 a.m. There was nothing in the forecast about high winds or gusts. 14 mph winds is just cutting it to allow us to get on the water. We decided it would be best to just go up to Little Wall and see what the wind was really like. We arrived at Little Wall a little after 7:30 a.m., and it was very calm that morning. The lake was like glass near some of the shorelines and very tiny ripples everywhere else. So we decided we would put out a boat that morning. We launched our boat around 8:45 a.m. We did a couple warm-up/technique drills until the wind hit at 9:30 a.m. Out of nowhere, we felt the wind pick up drastically. There was white caps all around us and 1 foot rolling waves. I instantly had us try to turn around and get back to the beach we docked from. We were about half way turned around, putting us perpendicular to the waves, when a wave went right under our boat. It was so powerful that it pushed us completely over. There was no way to correct for it. Before I knew it, we were all in the water and the boat was floating upside down (bottom pointing directly up). I remember hearing frantic breathing. I told everyone to breathe and to comprehend what just happened. We had no idea if anyone had even seen us, and we knew the water was cold. We decided that we all needed to swim to shore. All members on the boat passed their swim tests, and due to the nature of rowing, no one was wearing life jackets.”Iowa State University announced last week that USRowing will be conducting a safety review following the incident. The university said students involved with the Iowa State Crew Club had initially brought safety concerns forward in February 2020. The Iowa State Crew Club will not practice or compete until USRowing completes it review.
The president of the Iowa State Crew Club has released a statement about the events leading up to the death of two students.
On March 28, a boat capsized at Little Wall Lake in Hamilton County. Five students were on the boat and three were rescued. Yaakov Ben-David, 20, and Derik Nanni, 19, died as a result of the accident.
The Crew Club President Alexis Aurandt released the following statement to KCCI:
“At 6:30 a.m. Sunday morning, I checked the weather forecast. It was forecasted to be 11-14mph with an increase to 17 mph by 11 a.m. There was nothing in the forecast about high winds or gusts. 14 mph winds is just cutting it to allow us to get on the water. We decided it would be best to just go up to Little Wall and see what the wind was really like. We arrived at Little Wall a little after 7:30 a.m., and it was very calm that morning. The lake was like glass near some of the shorelines and very tiny ripples everywhere else. So we decided we would put out a boat that morning. We launched our boat around 8:45 a.m. We did a couple warm-up/technique drills until the wind hit at 9:30 a.m. Out of nowhere, we felt the wind pick up drastically. There was white caps all around us and 1 foot rolling waves. I instantly had us try to turn around and get back to the beach we docked from. We were about half way turned around, putting us perpendicular to the waves, when a wave went right under our boat. It was so powerful that it pushed us completely over. There was no way to correct for it. Before I knew it, we were all in the water and the boat was floating upside down (bottom pointing directly up). I remember hearing frantic breathing. I told everyone to breathe and to comprehend what just happened. We had no idea if anyone had even seen us, and we knew the water was cold. We decided that we all needed to swim to shore. All members on the boat passed their swim tests, and due to the nature of rowing, no one was wearing life jackets.”
Iowa State University announced last week that USRowing will be conducting a safety review following the incident. The university said students involved with the Iowa State Crew Club had initially brought safety concerns forward in February 2020.
The Iowa State Crew Club will not practice or compete until USRowing completes it review.