Savannah Siew, 17, will sail for Singapore at the 2013 SEA Games. (Photo 1 courtesy of SingaporeSailing)
Savannah Siew, 17, is one of the sailors selected to represent Singapore at the upcoming 2013 South-east Asian (SEA) Games in Myanmar.
Savannah, who will partner Kimberly Lim in the 420 women’s class at what will be her first SEA Games, finished second with Kimberly at the 2013 420 World Championship which was held in Valencia, Spain, in July.
In 2012, she won the Under-16 and Junior Girl gold at the 420 World Championship. She was also the top woman sailor at the 2012 Asian Sailing Championship.
We caught up with Savannah to find out more about her sailing experience.
Les Tan: When did you start sailing? How old were you then?
Savannah Siew: In primary 2? Like when I was 8. (:
How did you get started with sailing?
Savannah: I started because my dad, Siew Shaw Her, was a national sailor too, and he got me started on it.
What is it about sailing that you enjoy? Has that changed over the years?
Savannah: I think as I started getting older I started to enjoy it more. The overseas trips and trainings and competition overseas were a lot of fun although training there were so much tougher and more tiring because of the stronger wind conditions and being away from home.
I love the feeling of being out in the vast open sea and sailing in tough conditions, as it challenges both my physical and mental limits.
What are your sailing dreams?
Savannah: My dream is to follow in my father’s footsteps and represent Singapore at the Asian Games in 2014 and the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
What are your memorable moments in sailing? The good, the bad, the funny.
Savannah: The first storm I was caught in while sailing gave me a scar on my left cheek which stayed for many years! But it seems to have faded off now.
And there was once we were having a world championship in San Francisco and during a training session I capsized in water that was less than 10 degrees Celsius, and I couldn’t [set the boat] upright for about 15 minutes. When I finally got up and went back to shore, I was shaking so badly my teammates had to help me derig my boat, and I went to sit in the sauna with a cup of hot chocolate. Hehe. (-: I can’t forget that because the place is beautiful. We got to sail under the Golden Gate Bridge!
And I think all the places I went were beautiful. Since sailing is in the coastal areas, we usually get to go the quieter areas and the scenery and all that slow pace life is really really enjoyable and unforgettable. We’re really lucky people.
What are the misconceptions other people have about sailing?
Savannah: It’s probably that everyone does not even know what it is and what we do during competitions. Hahaha. We have different boats with different ways of sailing and then there are so many aspects to it that it’s so difficult to explain. Even the racing and all of that. Some people think we windsurf, which is the board with a sail, and they stand and hold the sail. Some people think it’s engine powered!
Which schools did you represent in sailing? What was memorable about inter-school competitions?
Primary school – Tao Nan. Secondary school – Tanjong Katong Girls’ School. Junior college – Raffles Institution.
In primary school the competition was very stiff and it was very fun. During the prize giving we would have like “who can cheer louder” kind of silent competition hahaha. (:
As we got older, we were close to friends even with our competitors! Maybe because we were primary schoolmates or secondary schoolmates or we just grew up training together and after the inter-schools and no matter who won or lost we would all take pictures and hug and talk and have lots of fun. Especially after, when we have combined schools movie after our individual school celebratory dinners. We would sometimes have almost the whole cinema to ourselves. (:
I understand reading is a hobby of yours. What good book have you recently read? Why did you like it?
Savannah: The most recent book I read was by Jodi Picoult, called Salem Falls. I love all of her books such as Nineteen Minutes, My Sister’s Keeper. Her books are emotional and quite sad. I don’t know if it’s weird that I like to read these kind of books but I really enjoy reading them!
Savannah Siew Bio
Class: 420 women crew
Date of Birth: June 18, 1996
Age: 17
Height: 164cm
Weight: 51kg
School: Raffles Institution (Junior College)
Hobbies: swimming, reading, cooking, baking
Major Sporting Achievements:
2013 420 World Championship, Overall Ladies – Silver
2012 420 World Championship, U16 & Junior Girl – Gold
2012 Asian Sailing Championship, Women – Gold
The Red Crew wish Savannah Siew all the best at the 2013 SEA Games! Do drop Savannah a note of support in the comments section if you can. We’re sure she’ll appreciate it. Upload photos showing your support of Savannah on Instagram using #ourteamsg, or on the Team Singapore campaign’s website: www.ourteamsg.com
enjoyed reading.
Good luck for the SEA Games