Great Britain Billionaire Lynch recovered dead from yacht
After days of searching, there is now certainty: British billionaire Mike Lynch also died in the sinking of a luxury yacht off Sicily.
22.08.2024, 15:21
SDA
The body of the 59-year-old entrepreneur was brought to the surface by special divers from his sailing boat "Bayesian", which was lying at a depth of 50 meters off the Italian Mediterranean island. Only his 18-year-old daughter is still missing.
In all probability, seven people died in the accident on Monday, including two couples who were friends of Lynch. In the meantime, accusations are mounting against the captain of the huge sailing boat, a New Zealander with a lot of experience on the world's oceans. However, the public prosecutor's office initially left open whether it would initiate an investigation.
Lynch wanted to celebrate his acquittal with family and friends
Lynch, one of the richest Britons, actually wanted to celebrate with his family and rich friends on the sailing trip that he had finally won in court after years of dispute over the sale of his company. His wife, who was also on board, was one of the 15 survivors. The 56-metre-long "Bayesian" - named after an 18th century British mathematician - was one of the largest sailing yachts in the world.
The exact course of the accident has not yet been clarified. It is possible that the crew and guests were surprised by a severe storm on Monday morning off the port of Porticello, not far from the island's capital Palermo. The yacht was only half a nautical mile - about 900 meters - from the shore. It reportedly took less than 60 seconds for it to sink. The New Zealand captain claimed: "We didn't see it coming." However, there are considerable doubts about this account.
Passengers trapped in cabins
With the exception of the ship's cook, the entire crew survived. However, half of the twelve passengers are probably dead. In addition to Lynch and his daughter Hannah, they include two married couples who were friends: one of the heads of the investment bank Morgan Stanley, Jonathan Bloomer, with his wife Anne Elizabeth, and the lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Nada. They were all still in their cabins when the accident occurred in the morning and were unable to escape.
It is assumed that the huge yacht was caught by a monster wave and was not stable enough in the water. She allegedly sank within a single minute. There is speculation about a hatch left open on the upper deck or an incorrectly adjusted centerboard on the hull, which can be used to regulate the draft of the ship. The "Bayesian" belonged to the Lynch family.
Sailing yacht with adjustable draught
The 15-year-old ship - built by the Italian shipyard Perrini - was equipped with a system that allowed the draft to be more than halved: under normal sailing conditions, it had a keel depth of almost ten meters when the movable daggerboard was fully extended. This compensated for the counter forces of the 75 meter high mast. However, the draft could be reduced to around four meters - for example, to get into a harbour. This may have been the ship's undoing.
The co-owner of the Perrini shipyard, Giovanni Costantino, held the captain and crew partly responsible for the sinking. "Everything that was done reveals a very long series of mistakes," Costantino told the newspaper "Corriere della Sera" (Thursday). "The people should not have been in the cabins, the ship should not have been anchored. The storm was clearly visible on all weather maps." For example, not a single fisherman from Porticello was on board.
Lynch's friend also died recently
Tech entrepreneur Lynch was often referred to as the "British Bill Gates" in his home country. Lynch sold the software company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard for eleven billion US dollars in 2011 - one of the worst takeover debacles in Silicon Valley. Together with former finance manager Steve Chamberlain, he is alleged to have misled the US group about the state of their company. However, a jury acquitted the two of them. Chamberlain also died a few days ago: he was hit by a car while jogging.
