Mike Lynch's yacht doomed by extreme wind, report finds
The superyacht that sank off Sicily, killing British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and six others, was probably knocked over by winds of more than 117km/h, an interim UK report says.
The 56-metre-long Bayesian was moored off the small port of Porticello, near Palermo, in August 2024 when it was likely hit by a very strong downward wind, killing Lynch, his daughter Hannah and five others, Britain's Marine Accident Investigations Branch says.
The investigation established that, when the yacht's retractable keel was in the raised position, wind speeds in excess of 117km/h on the beam were sufficient to knock Bayesian over.
It said it was possible the yacht was similarly vulnerable to winds of lower speed.
These vulnerabilities were not identified in the stability information book carried on board and were consequently unknown to either the owner or the crew of Bayesian.
"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 report says a sudden increase in the wind speed caused the yacht to keel over to 90 degrees in less than 15 seconds.
Water came in over the starboard rails and within seconds entered the vessel down the stairwells, it says.
About 18 minutes later the yacht sunk in the 50 metre-deep sea.
The Bayesian was built in 2008 by Perini Navi, an Italian luxury yacht maker.
It featured the world's tallest aluminium mast, measuring 72 metres.
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 provide an immediate comment on the UK report.
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