CNN
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Suddenly, the winds of Hurricane Force defeated a luxurious Bayesian superyacht that sank from the coast of Sicily last August.
The 184-foot sailing boat owned by British tech giant Mike Lynch sank about half a mile from Porticello Port on the north coast of the Italian island, killing seven people, including Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah.
An interim report by the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Division (MAIB) provides a detailed account of the hours of Bayesian’s sudden overturn and visiting a desperate attempt at escape by 12 guests and 10 crew members.
On the evening of August 13th, when some of the Bayesian guests and crew retired at night, the sea was calm and the winds were lighter, but thunderstorms were predicted, the report said.
Bayesian skipper James Cutfield told the overnight watch keeper to wake up if wind speeds exceed 23 mph or if the boat began dragging the anchor, the report said.
Around 3am, one of the watch keepers noticed storm clouds and lightning approaching, but the wind was blowing about nine miles from the west.
An hour later, the wind picked up to 34 mph. Around 3:55am, the watchkeeper filmed a video of the ongoing storm, and, according to the report, closed the cockpit windows and hatches in front of the yacht to protect the interior of the yacht from the rain after posting on social media.
Witnesses described the intense eggs and hurricane-like winds, leaving an avalanche of debris near the pier.
At 3:57am, the yacht began dragging anchors, and the watch keeper awakened the skipper and other crew, the report said. Some of our guests were also awakened by the storm. Lynch headed for the boat’s flybridge and confirmed at 8am that morning whether the taxi would have to cancel due to the storm. The yacht chef began storing cutlery, pots and pans.
The wind suddenly increased to over 80 miles, and by around 4:06am the yacht “heels violently” to a 90-degree angle within 15 seconds, flying people, furniture and other loose items onto the deck, the report said.
“There were no signs of flooding within the Bayesian, but water entered the rails on the right board and within seconds it entered the interior space under the stairs,” the report said.
According to the report, two guests used furniture drawers as ladders to scramble to escape the wreck.
Survivors stepped on the water and used cushions from the boat as flotation equipment before the boat’s chief executive could remove and inflate the life raft, the report says.
In response to the flares from the life raft, skippers from nearby ships rescued the survivors before calling the local coast guard, the report said.
Seven people have been killed in the accident, including yacht Chef Riccardo Thomas, Morgan Stanley International Director Jonathan Bloomer, a well-known American lawyer Chris Morvillo, and his wives Judy Bloomer and Neda Morvillo. Katfield and the other 14 survived the sinking, including Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares.
A study found that a 73 mph wind is sufficient to knock Bayesians beyond the point of no recovery. He also said that Bayesian could have been vulnerable to light winds.
“These vulnerabilities (when the sails are in a motorized state with a downed motorised state, with a central board and 10% of consumables) have not been identified in the stability book carried on board,” the report states. “As a result, these vulnerabilities were unknown to either the owner or the Bayesian crew.”
Marine rescue experts are currently working to recover yachts from the ocean to better understand what happened.
