By Paul Sandle
LONDON (Reuters) -A yacht that sank off Sicily last year, killing UK tech tycoon Mike Lynch and six others, was vulnerable to violent winds and was probably knocked over by gusts of more than 117 kilometres (73 miles) per hour, an interim UK report said on Thursday.
The 56-metre-long (184-foot) Bayesian was moored off Porticello, near Palermo, in August when it was hit by a strong downward wind, forcing it onto its side where it began taking on water, Britain’s Marine Accident Investigations Branch said.
Described by the boat builder’s owner as basically unsinkable, Bayesian sank in about 18 minutes after the strongest gusts hit, tipping it 90 degrees.
The investigation established that when the yacht’s retractable keel was raised, wind speeds in excess of 117 km per hour on the beam were sufficient to knock it over. It could also have been vulnerable to winds of lower speed, it said.
These vulnerabilities were not identified in the stability information book carried on board and were consequently unknown to either the owner or the crew.
The report said the 72 metre (79 yard) aluminium mast, the world’s tallest, accounted for half of the force that pushed the boat onto its side.
“The findings indicate that the extreme wind experienced by Bayesian was sufficient to knock the yacht over,” said Andrew Moll, chief inspector of Marine Accidents.
“Further, once the yacht had heeled beyond an angle of 70 degrees, the situation was irrecoverable.”
The sinking of Bayesian, close to port, stunned the local community and those who sail in European waters.
Lynch, a British tech trailblazer, had been celebrating his acquittal on 15 counts of fraud in June 2024.
He was sailing with his family and friends who supported him during the U.S. trial.
His 18-year-old daughter died, along with lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda, banker Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy, and chef Recaldo Thomas.
15 SECONDS
The report said the weather rapidly worsened shortly before 4:00 a.m (0300 GMT) and the yacht started dragging on its anchor.
A deckhand woke up the skipper, who went to the bridge, while the chief engineer went to the engine room to prepare the vessel for manoeuvring.
The wind suddenly increased at 4:06 a.m., causing the yacht to heel over to 90 degrees in less than 15 seconds, sending people, furniture and loose items flying across the deck.
Water came in over the starboard rails and within seconds entered the vessel down the stairwells, it said.
One crew member was thrown into the sea, while two guests used drawers as a ladder to exit a cabin, the report said.
The skipper told guests and crew on the bridge to abandon the yacht and swim clear of the mast and boom as it was sinking.
Around 18 minutes later the yacht sank in the 50 metre-deep sea.
Nine crew members and six guests were rescued from a life raft.
The Bayesian was built in 2008 by Perini Navi, an Italian luxury yacht maker.
Giovanni Costantino, CEO of the Italian Sea Group, which owns Perini, said in August the yacht was “one of the safest boats in the world” and basically unsinkable.
The company did not comment on the UK report.
An Italian investigation into the sinking is ongoing and the British investigators said circumstances could change after more evidence was released and the wreck was examined.
The yacht remains on the seabed and a salvage operation is scheduled to resume on Thursday after a diver was killed last Friday during preliminary operations to lift it.
“Last week’s tragedy affected all involved,” said Marcus Cave, head of naval architecture and a director of TMC Marine.
“However, everyone is still committed to complete this project.”
(Reporting by Paul Sandle. Editing by Kate Holton, Kate Mayberry and Mark Potter)
