Family of chef who died on Bayesian yacht hits out at crew

Telegraph

15-05-2025

The family of a chef who died when the British superyacht Bayesian capsized off the coast of Sicily have criticised the crew's response to the violent storm that struck the vessel.
Recaldo Thomas, 59, the Canadian-Antiguan cook on the yacht owned by British tech billionaire Mike Lynch, was one of seven people who lost their lives in the tragedy in summer 2024.
His family said on Thursday that they had profound concerns about 'a series of failures', including alleged weaknesses in the design of the yacht and the way in which the crew responded to a storm that barrelled over the area on the night of Aug 18 2024.
'They have serious concerns about a series of failures evidently involved in the causes of this tragedy – failures in the design, safety certification and seaworthiness of the Bayesian, as well as the management by some of the crew to deal with a forecast mesocyclone storm,' lawyer James Healy-Pratt said on behalf of the family of Mr Thomas.
He said the family noted that Mr Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares, 'was up on deck when a number of questionable decisions were being carried out by some of the crew'. They did not expand on specific actions that may or may not have been taken.
'The family note that the Bayesian was an outlier in design with a single mast structure, longer than the wingspan of a jumbo jet, that acted like an aerofoil in the storm conditions,' he added.
Some naval architects have said the mast was too heavy and tall for the vessel and that it rendered the boat inherently unstable. The Italian company that built it has rejected those criticisms.
The yacht was anchored half a mile off the small Sicilian town of Porticello when it was hit by a freak storm of almost tornado intensity.
Amid 70-knot winds and lashing rain, the 184ft-long Bayesian, which boasted a huge, 236ft mast, capsized in 16 minutes.
A preliminary investigation by Britain's Marine Accident Investigation Branch, released on Thursday, concluded that the vessel was struck by a 'mesocyclonic storm front' which demonstrated the properties of 'a significant supercell with associated downdrafts and possible near-surface winds in excess of 100 miles per hour (87 knots).'
The MAIB commissioned the Met Office to study the weather conditions on the night the huge yacht sank. The Met Office found that 'a mesocyclonic storm was highly likely with an associated supercell being probable.'
The Met Office also concluded that 'tornadic waterspouts and downdrafts were possible where local winds could reach extreme hurricane force well in excess of 64 knots.'
The hurricane force winds were strong enough to tip the Bayesian over, investigators said.
The captain and crew would have had no inkling of its vulnerabilities because they were not documented in the vessel's stability information booklet which sets out a vessel's physical limits, the MAIB report said.
After reading the report, Mr Thomas's family said they believed his death was 'preventable'.
Mr Healy-Pratt said: 'They know that further evidence and analysis is required in areas including downflooding and seamanship, and they await the final MAIB safety report and its inevitable list of safety recommendations. The Thomas family are firmly resolute in their journey for truth, very public justice and preventing future tragedies.'
A multinational operation to raise the wreck of the Bayesian from the seabed resumed on Thursday.
It had been suspended last week after the death of a Dutch diver while working underwater.
A consortium is now engaged in 'preparatory activities' to recover the yacht from a depth of around 150ft.
The yacht is expected to be raised and brought to shore later in May.
Aside from Mr Thomas, the victims of the disaster were Mike Lynch, 59, and his daughter Hannah, 18, Jonathan Bloomer, 70, Morgan Stanley International bank chairman, his wife Judy Bloomer, 71, and American lawyer Chris Morvillo, 59, and his wife Neda Morvillo, 57.