Bayesian yacht may have sunk due to ‘unusually large mast’, says entrepreneur
An entrepreneur linked to missing British tech tycoon Mike Lynch suggested that the 160-foot superyacht Bayesian may have sunk because of its massive mast.
Scott Painter, who took over Lynch’s multi-billion dollar software company Autonomy, founded in 1996, said Lynch’s yacht may have been at greater risk during Monday morning’s tornado off the coast of Sicily because its mast is more than 240 feet tall.
The Bayesian, which capsized with 22 people on board, had “an unusually large mast” for a single-masted ship, Painter told the Daily Mail.
“The mast was every sailor’s ultimate bragging right,” Painter told the outlet. “That mast must have been over 240 feet tall, which is either the tallest or second tallest in the world.”
Painter added: “It could certainly contribute to capsizing as it would destabilize the yacht. And if it were to lean too far to one side, it could definitely capsize the yacht.”
Painter, who acquired the Autonomy brand in 2021 and developed it into an electric vehicle subscription company, said he had received panicked calls from relatives who had heard about the sunken ship and feared he was on board.
“We are praying for positive news,” Painter said. “Mike is a legend and the loss of him and his daughter would be truly tragic.”
Painter also confirmed that Bauer, Autonomy’s CEO and president, was not on board the luxury yacht at the time it sank.
“Mr. Bauer is safe in Munich and was not involved at all,” Painter said. “This is pretty crazy news. This boat was extraordinary. This doesn’t make much sense.”
The 160-foot luxury sailboat with 22 people on board sank off the port of Porticello when a violent storm hit at sunrise on Monday, the Italian coast guard said.
Fifteen passengers and crew members of the ship survived, including a mother who held her one-year-old daughter above her head to prevent her from drowning.
Police diving teams searched Monday and Tuesday for six of the passengers missing since the ship capsized, but the search has been slow because the ship is currently 50 meters below the surface and divers can only stay underwater for 12 minutes, officials said Tuesday.
What you should know after a tornado sank the yacht Bayesian off the coast of Sicily, leaving one person dead and six missing:
- A superyacht capsized off the coast of Sicily when a tornado struck the region early Monday morning, killing one passenger and leaving five others missing – including Michael Lynch, a tech tycoon known as “Britain’s Bill Gates,” officials said.
- According to the Telegraph, Lynch had invited guests from the law firm Clifford Chance, which represents him, as well as from his own company, Invoke Capital, to the trip.
- Captain James Catfield, who was piloting the 184-foot British-flagged boat, was among 15 crew and passengers who survived the tornado before sunrise Monday.
- Footage from a surveillance camera taken 200 metres from where the Bayesian sank on Monday shows it slowly disappearing.
- The Italian authorities stated that the passengers’ chances of survival in the accident were very slim, but one should “never say never”.
A body was recovered and identified as that of the ship’s cook, officials said.
In addition to Lynch, the missing people include Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter Hannah, as well as Johnathan Bloomer, CEO of Morgan Stanley International, Bloomer’s wife Judy, and top New York lawyer Christopher Morvillo and his wife, jewelry designer Neda Morvillo.
Lynch, often referred to as the “British Bill Gates” or “British Steve Jobs,” was acquitted two months ago by a San Francisco jury of fraud charges related to the sale of his software company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard for $11 billion in 2011.
The sale cemented Lynch’s reputation as Britain’s answer to the Apple magnate – but the matter quickly turned negative after HP downgraded Autonomy’s value by $8.8 billion.
Several of the guests on board his yacht were lawyers from the law firm Clifford Chance, who had helped Lynch win his fraud case.
The group reportedly celebrated Lynch’s acquittal after the three-month trial.
Another lawyer who represented Lynch, Ayla Ronald, survived the horrific incident along with her partner, her firm said in a statement.
Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, was rescued from the wreckage and is recovering from her injuries.
