EXCLUSIVE Bayesian's watery grave: Wreck where billionaire Mike Lynch, his daughter and five others died is pictured... and the hatch that was initially blamed for disaster

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

Clearly visible through the murky depths 150ft below the surface, this is the first time British superyacht Bayesian has been seen since it sank beneath the waves last August.
Captured in astonishing detail by a renowned photographer, it shows the gold letters of the doomed vessel's name still proudly displayed on the submerged stern.
After just nine months at the bottom of the Mediterranean, the images also show how the wreck is already being reclaimed by nature, with seaweed colonising its once-pristine deck as fish explore the new habitat.
As investigations continue into how the 'unsinkable' £30million yacht could sink so suddenly - with the loss of seven lives, including those of British billionaire Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah - the images appear to rule out one theory.
According to photographer Massimo Sestini, who captured these exclusive images, the Bayesian's stern hatch remains firmly closed.
That is despite the initial claim by shipbuilders that it had been left open on the night of the tragedy, allowing water to surge in when a freak storm struck.
His photos also show how the wreck lies largely intact on the sea bed off the coast of Sicily as a £20million salvage operation continues to raise it to the surface.
The Bayesian - famous for its trademark 236ft mast, one of the world's tallest - took just 16 minutes to sink in the early hours of the morning.
Although the Bayesian's tragic sinking with the loss of seven lives happened just nine months ago, Massimo Sestini's images show how the wreck is already being colonised by seaweed and fish
It had been hit by a fierce storm with 100mph winds while at anchor off the fishing village of Porticello.
Earlier this month an interim report by British investigators highlighted 'vulnerabilities' in the yacht's stability which meant its crew were unable to prevent the 184ft luxury sailing boat from tilting violently on its side.
The captain and crew would have been unaware as the information was not laid out in a safety booklet onboard, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch said.
Earlier this month the vessel – which locals say is cursed – claimed the life of an eighth person, a Dutch diver who was working on the £20million salvage operation.
In response, all manned diving operations were temporarily suspended, with exploration instead carried out by undersea robots.
Diving the wreck before the latest tragedy, Mr Sestini said conditions on the seabed were treacherous.
A lack of sunlight at that depth combined with sediment swirling in the current combined to reduce visibility to as little as one metre.
'When I connected my camera to the computer and saw the images of the wreck on the screen, my heart sank,' said the photographer, who himself almost drowned while diving beneath a frozen Italian lake earlier this year.
Divers can only spend ten minutes at a time on the wreck - with the dangers of the unforgiving conditions and poor visibility 150ft below the surface underlined by the tragic loss of a Dutch diver on May 9 during recovery efforts
Sicilian fishermen say the benign waters of the Mediterranean on a calm day belie the fearsome winds which can be whipped up by sudden storms
His photographs of the Bayesian's wreck shows its sinking was 'truly a great mystery', he told Italian publication Oggi.
'The wreck seems intact,' he added.
Mr Sestini said while it was 'said at the beginning' that an open stern hatch caused 'huge amounts' of water to inundate the yacht when the storm struck, 'my photos show that the door is closed'.
Within days of the disaster on August 19 last year, the CEO of Italian Sea Group - which bought the Bayesian's constructors Perini Navi two years ago - blamed 'human error'.
The stern hatch was 'clearly' open, Giovanni Costantino told Italian media.
The firm has yet to comment on the MAIB report.
Bayesian was legally owned by Mr Lynch's wife Angela Bacares, who survived the disaster.
The other victims were banking executive Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo and the yacht's chef, Recaldo Thomas.
The tragedy last August killed seven people including British billionaire and tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his daughter Hannah
The moment the doomed Bayesian sank in the early hours of August 19 last year was captured by security cameras of a nearby villa on the coast
Three crew members are currently facing possible charges of manslaughter and causing a disaster under an Italian criminal investigation.
However Under Italian law the fact the men - captain James Cutfield, chief engineer Timothy Parker Eaton and deckhand Matthew Griffiths - have been placed under investigation does not imply guilt and does not necessarily mean that charges will be brought against them.
Minute by minute, how the Bayesian tragedy unfolded
August 18 - PM: The Bayesian was anchored at Cefalù on the northern coast of Sicily to shelter from the forecast weather and to allow for easy disembarkation of guests the following day.
August 19 - 00.30am: Having checked the weather the captain and the last guest had retired, leaving deckhand (DH1) and the evening steward (S1) on duty.
01.00am: The second deckhand (DH2) took over the watch. The wind at this time was noted as being no more than 8kts (9.2pmh).
03.00am: DH2 noted the wind as being at 8kts (9.2pmh) from the west but thought that the thunderclouds and lightning seemed to be getting closer.
03.55am: The deckhand 'videoed the advancing storm and posted it to their social media feed' before closing the hatches and cockpit windows.
03.57am: The winds had picked up to 30kts (35mph) and the Bayesian was listing and dragging its anchor.
04.00am: The deckhand ran to wake up the skipper and the crew leapt into action and began preparing to manoeuvre the Bayesian by starting the generators and steering pumps.
The rest of the crew, woken by either the captain or the yacht's change of motion, got up and made their way out of the crew accommodation.
Chef Recaldo Thomas was spotted in the galley stowing cutlery, pots and pan and called out 'Good morning!' to nearby stewards.
The Bayesian was lying with the wind about 60 degree off the port bow and moving at 1.8kts south-south-east of its original position.
Two guests – a British couple – had been woken by the movements and decided to head to the saloon with their baby.
4.06am: Disaster struck as the wind suddenly increased to more than 70kts (80.5mph) ripping the awning away. The Bayesian 'violently heeled over' in less than 15 seconds to a 90-degree angle.
The sudden movement sent people as well as furniture flying across the deck leaving five people including the captain injured while a deckhand was thrown into the sea.
Two guests trapped in their cabin were forced to used furniture drawers as an improvised ladder to escape into the saloon area.
The yacht's crew were able to push four guests through the cascading water up to the skipper on the flying bridge.
The captain called for the guests and crew to swim clear of the mast and boom as the vessel sank.
04.22am: The crew had launched the Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRB). They noted that the wind had eased and that Bayesian was only a short distance from shore.
In the water, a deckhand(DH2) improvised a tourniquet for one of the guest's gashed arm while a cushion was used as a flotation device foe the baby. Some of the survivors were treading water and others held on to some cushions that had floated free from Bayesian.
One of the guests frantically searched for other survivors in vain using the torch from their phone - while the captain and chief officer frantically freed the life raft from the sinking wreck.
04.24am: The captain and chief officer frantically freed the life raft from the sinking wreck. It was was inflated and the survivors were able to get inside it where the crew began administering first aid.
The skipper tried to raise the alarm by shouting at and then paddling towards the nearby vessel the Sir Robert Baden Powell.
04.34am: The Chief Engineer fired a red parachute flare from the life raft. Despite the winds being calm at the surface, the flare was carried sideways. He then used the life raft's torch to signal towards a hotel on the cliffs above them, passing cars, and Sir Robert Baden Powell.
04.43am: The Chief engineer fired a second parachute flare that was seen by the crew of Sir Robert Baden Powell. Responding to the flare, the skipper dispatched its tender towards the visible lights of the EPIRB and life raft.
04.53am: The tender carrying the 15 survivors returned to Sir Robert Baden Powell and a brief search was look for the missing seven people who were also on board.
04.56am: The tender from Sir Robert Baden Powell returned to the scene with Bayesian's Chief Engineer and skipper on board to search for other survivors. The local coastguard was called to arrange to transfer the survivors to shore.