Police have scaled back the search for a missing father-of-three and admitted there was no hope of finding him alive after he was lost in a boating accident that claimed the life of his art dealer friend.
IT entrepreneur Andrew Findlay, 51, is still unaccounted for after the body of Tim Klingender, 59, was found in the water at Watsons Bay, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, on Thursday.
Police have now revealed neither was wearing lifejackets when their 7.8m inflatable was smashed by 5m waves off Bondi on Thursday, with debris from the boat found near The Gap.
‘This was a violent accident, a tragic accident we believe could have been avoided,’ said Marine Area Command Superintendent Joe McNulty
‘Both of them were not wearing life jackets. That’s a terrible message to share with you today.’
Rescuers believe the boat struck a treacherous hidden underwater rock ledge as it was pounded by the huge surf.
‘Those large swell have contributed to the loss of two good men,’ said Supt McNulty.n’Know your abilities, know your environment and the conditions.’
IT entrepreneur Andrew Findlay, 51, is still unaccounted for after his friend and fellow-sailor Tim Klingender, 50, was found dead in the waters on Thursday morning near Watsons Bay
Mr Klingender’s body was found was ashore on the rocks near a small vessel which had been overturned just after 10am on Thursday
The search for Mr Findlay, a father of three young children, will be scaled back when it resumes on Sunday, with all hope gone for finding him alive.
‘We’re at the conclusion now, we are wrapping the search up,’ the police chief added.
‘The time-frame for survival for anyone in the water, taking into account the temperatures at the moment in July, have lapsed.’
Supt McNulty said the operation had spanned more than 20km on Saturday, from South Head to Cape Solander near Botany Bay.
Caves and cliff faces around the suburb have been searched with a PolAir helicopter seen hovering near the coast attempting to locate more of the boat and Mr Findlay.
The four-tonne vessel the men were in is still lodged tight against the rocks under the cliffs at South Head, with police attempting to recover evidence from it.
He said the men were trolling, a fishing method that involves trailing fishing lines behind a vessel. He said they were too close to the cliffs for the conditions.
The tech entrepreneur was known to be a keen angler according to close friends who are anxiously waiting for news on his whereabouts.
‘It’s just horrendous for everyone,’ one of Findlay’s friends told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Mr Findlay had a love for the water with an old photo resurfacing showing him and his three children canoeing in the Sydney Harbour.
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Mr Findlay’s partner Lakshmi Pillai declined to comment on the matter when approached by reporters.
Police were seen abseiling down a cliff at The Gap on Friday when they discovered more pieces of the destroyed boat.
Friends and family of Ms Pillai also gathered in the area in support of their friend.
Marine police were contacted at around 10:20am on Thursday by members of the public who had noticed pieces of debris floating in the area.
Soon after Mr Klingender’s naked body, which only had socks on his feet, was found swept up on the rocks near a small vessel which had been overturned.
By Friday three marine boats had joined in the efforts to search the area at 8am, as well as a volunteer group from Botany Port Hacking.
Crews have been conducting parallel line searches from The Gap to Wedding Cake Island, just off Coogee, according to NSW Inspector Steve Raymond.
‘Sea conditions around the search area are fair; there is a bit of a swell but visibility is fairly good for the Marine Rescue NSW search crews,’ Raymond told SMH.
The police search of the area was suspended at 5pm on Friday and recommenced as light broke early Saturday
Mr Klingender’s death has been met by shockwaves in the art community, who regarded him an international leader in Australian Indigenous art
Mr Klingender’s death has been met by shockwaves in the art community, who regarded him an international leader in Australian Indigenous art.
‘He leaves behind a huge vacuum for Indigenous art in this country and around the world … he truly was the architect of the market we have today,’ associate and Melbourne gallerist D’Lan Davidson told the Daily Telegraph.
His wife, Skye McCardle, will now be the primary carer of the couple’s two teenage children.
Ms McCardle was in Nepal when news broke about her husband’s passing, before immediately arriving back in Sydney on Friday.
Mr Klingender spent 20 years working for Sotheby’s, where he became an international director between 1998 and 2009.
While there he established a contemporary art department for Sotheby’s, Australia, in 1994, before founding an Aboriginal art department in 1996.
After leaving the organisation, Mr Klingender launched Tim Klingender Fine Art in 2009, which carried the strong ethical standard he was known for within the industry.
Police are now trying to understand what caused the boat to become a wreckage, and whether it was due to a mechanical fault or whether it was beaten by the elements.
