Bayesian yacht’s tragic final voyage: How Mike Lynch’s luxury vessel sailed from Rotterdam before passing Gibraltar on its way to Mediterranean before her doomed final stop in Sicilian port
British tech magnate Mike Lynch’s award-winning luxury superyacht cruised the warm waters of Europe for days on its way to its doomed final stop in Sicily.
The £30 million Bayesian ship, formerly known as the Salute, was launched to mark the 59th anniversary of the recent acquittal in the US in a criminal fraud case.
He had invited his family, his legal team and guests from his venture capital firm Invoke to join him on the yacht and toast his “second life” after nearly a year of house arrest.
The yacht had departed from Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, and sailed past several European countries, including Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, Spain and Portugal, before passing through the Strait of Gibraltar last week, the Italian newspaper reported Corriere della Sera.
The Bayesian, a 56-metre vessel built in Viareggio, Tuscany, by luxury shipbuilder Perini Navi, passed Tangier, Morocco’s northernmost city, on its way from the North Atlantic to the Alboran Sea. It then sailed past Algeria, Tunisia and the Italian island of Sardinia before heading to Sicily.
The £30m Bayesian, formerly known as the Salute (pictured), was sailed to celebrate the recent acquittal of Mike Lynch in the US for criminal fraud.
The yacht departed from Rotterdam (pictured) and sailed past several European countries
The Bayesian and its crew passed through the Strait of Gibraltar on their way to Sicily
It docked in Milazzo, Sicily (pictured) to replenish supplies and refuel
Mike Lynch (pictured) invited his family, legal team and guests from his venture capital firm Invoke to join him on the yacht and toast his “second life” after nearly a year of house arrest.
The last port the ship docked at before sinking on Monday was Milazzo, in the east of the island of Sicily.
The Bayesian reached Milazzo, often used as a hub for journeys to the idyllic Aeolian Islands, the day before Ferragosto, a national holiday on August 15 with roots in the Roman Empire.
Founded by the Roman Emperor Augustus in 18 BC, Ferragosto celebrates the end of weeks of what would have been backbreaking work in the fields. Italians typically do not work, but instead head to the beach to cool off in the summer.
During this period of national rest, the Bayesian ship lay in port waiting to be refueled and provisioned.
The ship then sailed along the northern coast of Sicily, coming closer and closer to its final destination, Porticello.
The yacht sank when a heavy storm hit the area on Sunday night.
Angela Bacares, Lynch’s 57-year-old wife, who was among those rescued, recalled that the boat suddenly “tilted” around 4 a.m. and the glass began to shatter.
The superyacht was illuminated, lighting up the night sky when a waterspout formed nearby: a swirling column of air and water mist.
The 59-year-old was recently acquitted in the US of criminal fraud (File image of Lynch walking into a federal courthouse in San Francisco, California on March 26, 2024)
Experienced deep-sea cave divers arrive at the pier as the rescue operation continues for missing people aboard a sailboat that sank in Palermo, Sicily, Italy, August 19.
The superyacht was moored off the coast of Porticello, near Palermo, when a waterspout swept across the area at around 5am on Monday morning
A boat of the emergency and rescue service sails at sea near the spot where a luxury yacht sank, off the coast of Porticello, near the Sicilian city of Palermo, Italy, August 19
Witnesses describe the moment the yacht sank as very sudden. They say it looked as if the yacht ‘just disappeared’.
“The boat was all lit up. By 4:30 it was gone,” someone said.
‘A normal, happy holiday at sea turned into a tragedy’
Fisherman Pietro Asciutto said: ‘I was at home when the waterspout hit. I immediately closed all the windows. Then I saw the boat, it had only one mast, it was very big. I saw it suddenly sink.’
The Italian coast guard said in a statement that a nearby boat offered assistance to people before emergency services arrived.
It is believed that the Dutch sailing ship Sir Robert BP, which was anchored by the Bayesian, rescued the 15 survivors.
Karsten Borner, the boat’s captain, described how his ship was hit by strong gusts of wind. His team tried to stabilize and maneuver the ship to avoid hitting the nearby Bayesian wave.
Borner told the BBC: ‘When the storm passed we noticed the ship had disappeared behind us.’
British tech magnate Mike Lynch (pictured above) is missing after his superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily
Experienced deep sea cave divers continue the rescue operation for missing persons who were aboard a sailboat that sank off the coast of Porticello, near Palermo, Sicily, Italy, August 19
Teams of the Italian Coast Guard Command and firefighters are carrying out search and rescue operations with helicopters and ships to find the missing people after the Bayesian boat sank
Italian coast guard teams and firefighters are carrying out search and rescue operations using helicopters and ships to find missing people after a yacht sank in a storm east of Palermo in southern Italy on Monday, August 19
Fisherman Fabio Cefalù said he saw a flare from the shore at around 4:30 in the morning and immediately went to the spot. When he arrived, the Bayesian had already sunk, with only cushions, wood and other items from the superyacht floating in the water.
“But we haven’t found anyone else,” he said from the harbor hours later. He said he immediately called the coast guard and stayed on the scene for three hours, but found no survivors. “I think they’re inside, all the missing people.”
Mr. Lynch is one of six missing persons.
His wife tragically announced on Monday that not only her husband was missing after the yacht sank, but also their 18-year-old daughter Hannah.
According to the Times, Hannah completed her A-levels this summer and has secured a place to study English literature at Oxford University.
Two other passengers aboard the Bayesian who remain missing are Morgan Stanley International Chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife.
Mr Bloomer is a close friend of Mr Lynch and was reported missing along with his wife by Italian authorities.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Mr. Bloomer is chairman of insurance company Hiscox and was previously CEO of Prudential until he was ousted in a boardroom coup in 2005.
The other two yet to be found are Lynch’s attorney, Christopher Morvillo, and his wife, Nada.
According to attorney Gary Lincenberg, Morvillo and his wife are believed to have died after the yacht sank near Sicily.
Mr. Lincenberg told Business Insider that “Chris and his wife are no more.”
On Monday, the body of a man was found floating next to the sunken ship.
Authorities identified the man as Canadian Ricardo Thomas, who worked as a cook on the boat and was the only crew member missing.
His body was recovered and police divers spent the day trying to reach the hull of the vessel, which was at a depth of 50 metres off the coast of Porticello, where it was anchored, rescue services said.