Bayesian

2024

Sicily, a waterspout, seven dead Location: off Porticello, Sicily, Italy · Coordinates: 38.22°N 13.48°E · Casualties: 7 · Survivors: 15 · Depth: 50 m · Cause: waterspout · capsized — Capsized at approximately 04:30 on 19 August 2024 in a violent waterspout off the north coast of Sicily. Her 72-metre mast, one of the tallest on any yacht in service, may have contributed to the catastrophic heel. She sank in under two minutes at ~50 m depth; recovery operation spanned May and June 2025. · Fate: raised 2025 · Type: sailing yacht · Perini Navi · Tonnage: 534 tons · Crew: 10 · Flag: United Kingdom · Isle of Man · Launched: 2008 Luxury sailing yacht, 56 metres, owned by the British software entrepreneur Mike Lynch, who had been acquitted of fraud charges in a years-long U.S. trial weeks earlier. Capsized in a violent waterspout off Porticello, Sicily, before dawn on 19 August 2024. 7 dead, including Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter. Investigators are still working out how a modern superyacht, built to survive severe weather, went down in minutes. The Vessel The MY Bayesian was a British-flagged luxury sailing superyacht built at the Perini Navi yard at Viareggio, Italy in 2008 as the Salute. She was 56 metres long, 473 gross tons, and powered by twin diesel engines (for motor operation) combined with her primary three-masted schooner sailing rig. Her sailing rig included the tallest aluminium mast in the world at 72 metres; her specific design was a combination luxury sailing vessel and motor yacht. She was owned by the family of the British technology entrepreneur Mike Lynch, founder of the Autonomy Corporation. She had been renamed Bayesian in reference to Lynch's specific mathematical and statistical interests in Bayesian analysis. Her operational role was private charter and family use in the Mediterranean. Her master on her final voyage was Captain James Cutfield, 51, a British career merchant marine officer. Her complement on 19 August 2024 was 22 persons: 10 crew plus 12 passengers (including Mike Lynch, his daughter Hannah, several Lynch family friends and associates, and their partners). The Disaster MY Bayesian capsized and sank at approximately 04:10 on 19 August 2024 in approximately 49 metres of water approximately 700 metres off Porticello, Sicily. The specific capsize was extraordinarily rapid: the ship rolled onto her side and sank within approximately 4 minutes of the initial stability loss. The specific rapidity of the sinking substantially prevented effective evacuation. The specific passengers and crew were predominantly in their below-deck cabins when the capsize occurred; many were unable to reach the surface during the brief window before the ship sank. The specific emergency response was substantial. Italian Coast Guard and Carabinieri marine units responded rapidly; multiple specialised diving teams were deployed for search and recovery operations. The specific search and recovery operations continued for approximately one week. Of the 22 aboard, 7 died: Mike Lynch (the owner, age 59); Hannah Lynch (his 18-year-old daughter); Jonathan Bloomer (Chairman of Morgan Stanley International, age 70); Judy Bloomer (his wife, age 71); Christopher Morvillo (Lynch's US defence attorney, age 59); Neda Morvillo (his wife, age 57); and Recaldo Thomas (the ship's chef, age 59, the only crew member who died). The specific seven dead all drowned in the rapid sinking; they were unable to reach the surface before the ship was fully submerged. The specific remaining 15 aboard (9 crew plus 6 passengers) survived: the specific survivors had been able to reach the ship's dinghy