Fire chief reveals final moments of seven killed in Bayesian tragedy
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According to legal sources, the captain of the Baysian is being investigated for manslaughter and shipwreck.
An official, who asked not to be named, confirmed earlier reports in Italian media to Reuters on Monday that New Zealander James Cutfield, 51, was under investigation by Italian prosecutors after his superyacht sank in a storm off the coast of Sicily last Monday.
Magistrates met with the 51-year-old man for the second time in a week on Sunday and questioned him for more than two hours, according to Italian daily La Repubblica.
“We never saw this coming,” Catfield insisted Tuesday about the storm.
Being under investigation in Italy does not mean someone is guilty, nor does it necessarily mean that formal charges will be laid.
Tributes are being paid to British shipowner Mike Lynch, his daughter Hannah Lynch, Morgan Stanley Chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judith Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Christopher Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo, who died in the accident.
Sasha Murray, the yacht’s chief stewardess and believed to have been one of 15 people rescued from the boat, described Hannah as a “diamond in a sea of stars”.
Key Points
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The New York lawyer who died in a yacht accident made a shocking post on LinkedIn a few weeks ago.
The lawyer who died when his yacht sank off the coast of Sicily made a shocking post on LinkedIn just two months before the ill-fated voyage.
In one of the few posts on the site, Christopher Morvillo, 59, thanked the legal team who helped win British tech tycoon Mike Lynch’s fraud trial and spoke of “living happily ever after”.
Greig Graziosi and Mike Bedigan report:
Andy Gregory27 August 2024 07:00
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What is a downburst?
According to a translation of the meeting, officials said the superyacht was hit by a downburst and Italian authorities said they would investigate how it affected one vessel and not others nearby.
A downburst is a violent gust of wind at ground level that arises from the strong descending air of a thunderstorm. The winds tend to radiate from a point source, in contrast to the rotating winds associated with a tornado.
Although downbursts typically last only a few minutes, they can be particularly dangerous to aviation.
For many years, most aircraft accidents have been blamed on aircraft, but the dangers are well predicted by meteorologists so pilots can avoid them.
Javed Ahmed 27 August 2024 06:01
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Former court-appointed security guard Mike Lynch says he became ‘like family’
The court-appointed armed guard tasked with keeping an eye on fraud-charged Mike Lynch to make sure he doesn’t flee paid tribute to the tech tycoon, saying his security team “has become more like family than we are tinkerers.”
Rollo Igno also spoke of Lynch’s daughter, Hannah, saying she “remembered a beautiful soul.”
Igno said he had the “privilege” of spending almost every waking moment with Lynch while he was in custody in San Francisco, and called the job unlike any he’d ever held and “life-changing.”
“The first rule as a senior police inspector is simple: never go near the principal,” he said.
“They’re not friends, they’re clients and the relationship is strictly professional. But with Mike, that didn’t work and for me that rule quickly disappeared.”
Andy Gregory2024-08-27 04:59
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Fire chief reveals final moments of seven killed in Bayesian tragedy
Fire chief reveals final moments of seven killed in Bayesian tragedy
Andy Gregory2024/08/27 04:00
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Why is Mike Lynch’s yacht named “Bayesian”?
Autonomy, the software company sold by Mike Lynch in 2011 for £8.64 billion, was a pioneer in analysing business data using machine learning and a technique that Lynch calls “adaptive pattern recognition”.
At the core of the company’s software is a statistical method called “Bayesian inference,” devised by the 18th century mathematician Thomas Bayes.
The yacht’s name, “Bayesian,” evokes the same model that has been at the heart of Autonomy and Lynch’s success.
Bernie Davis2024-08-27 02:58
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How did Mike Lynch make his money?
Mike Lynch, once known as the “British Bill Gates”, and his wife Angela Bakales have had their fortunes valued at £852 million in The Sunday Times Rich List 2023.
The 59-year-old tech mogul is best known for founding Invoke Capital and Autonomy Corporation, and was in the spotlight after being exonerated in a high-profile fraud case.
My colleague Barney Davis shared some more details with me.
Andy Gregory2024-08-27 01:59
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Watch: Captain details Bayesian sinking “within two minutes” of rescuing survivors
Captain details sinking of Bayesian “within two minutes” after rescuing survivors
Andy Gregory2024/08/27 01:00
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Featured | How the yachting world got so big
The sinking of the 56-metre yacht Baysian and the tragic deaths of British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, his guests and crew have given the public a glimpse into the rarefied world of superyachts, writes Lucy Dunn of Boat International.
From the size of the mast (74 metres, roughly the size of seven two-storey houses stacked on top of each other) to the cost (the Baysian went on sale in 2014 with an asking price of $30 million (around £23 million)) to its luxury (the interiors were designed by Rémi Tessier, the designer behind Claridge’s new penthouse), this is a world most people will never normally see.
There are currently 12,626 superyachts sailing in the world’s oceans, with 1,166 under construction or on order. If you’ve been to the Greek islands or the Amalfi Coast this year, you may have glanced at the superyachts sailing in and out of the harbour and wondered who could own one. Or even whether anyone could charter one, with charter rates averaging around £180,000 per week.
While you might think of glamorous influencers and A-listers, the superyacht industry is a home to millionaires, billionaires and centenarians, and is at the heart of the 0.001 percent. It’s rare to find a celebrity with the financial clout to purchase a Lynch-owned yacht, and these are industry titans not widely known.
So what exactly makes a superyacht super? According to Boat International, where I work, the term super applies to any boat, motor yacht or sailing yacht that is over 24 metres in length. In the world of superyachts, size is everything, and yachts are just getting bigger and bigger.
Read the full article on Independent Premium:
Megamasts, moonpools and explorer pods: how the world of yachting has gone supersized
The sinking of Mike Lynch’s “unsinkable” sailboat was not only a heartbreaking tragedy, but also a rare glimpse into the superyacht community. Here, Boat International’s Lucy Dunn looks at this secretive and innovative group and asks why such a high-performance sailboat sank…
Andy Gregory2024/08/27 00:01
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Friends pay tribute to Bayesian chef Recardo Thomas
Recardo Thomas was the superyacht’s chef and the first person confirmed dead.
Mr Tomas, a Canadian-Antiguan national, was found by the Italian coast guard near the wreck and a friend of his, who asked not to be named, said the yachting community was mourning his death.
She told The Independent: “He was a unique and special human being – incredibly talented, with an infectious smile and laugh and an incredible voice imbued with a deep love for the sea and the moon. I spoke to him almost every day. He loved his life, his friends and his work.”
Andy Gregory2024-08-26 22:58
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Captain Baysian to be questioned again on Tuesday, lawyer says
The Baysian’s captain, 51-year-old New Zealand national James Cutfield, is being investigated on suspicion of manslaughter and negligent wreck of a ship, said Aldo Mordilia, one of two lawyers appointed to represent the captain.
Cutfield, who has already been questioned, is scheduled to be questioned again by prosecutors on Tuesday, Mordiglia said.
Under Italian law, being under investigation does not mean guilty and does not necessarily lead to criminal charges.
Chief prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio confirmed on Saturday that an investigation had been opened and that his team would look at all possible elements of liability, including the captain, crew, supervisory officers and the yacht’s manufacturer.
Andy Gregory2024-08-26 21:53
