Yacht incident that killed Mike Lynch caused by extreme wind

Billionaire entrepreneur, Mike Lynch, 59, and his 18-year-old daughter, Hannah were among seven people who died when a 56-metre superyacht was knocked over.

The Bayesian yacht, owned by Mr Lynch, who grew up in Chelmsford, sank off the coast of Sicily on August 19, 2024.

Mike Lynch (R) and his teenage daughter Hannah (L) were both killed in the accident (Image: Submitted) The 'tech tycoon' founded software giant, Autonomy in 1996 and was cleared in June last year of carrying out a massive fraud over the sale of the company to Hewlett-Packard in 2011.

The boat trip was a celebration of his acquittal in the case in the US.

Investigators examining the sinking of the superyacht said the vessel was knocked over by “extreme wind” and could not recover.

An interim report into the disaster by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) shows wind speeds of 63.4 knots (73.0mph) on the vessel’s beam were sufficient to tip it over, and it may have been “vulnerable” to lighter winds.

It stated that “vulnerabilities” were “unknown to either the owner or the crew of Bayesian” as they were not included in the stability information book carried on board.

Simon Graves, an MAIB investigator, told the PA news agency said: “You have the wind pushing the vessel over and then you have the stability of the vessel trying to push the vessel back up right again.

The yacht sank off the coast of Sicily last summer (Image: Submitted) “And what our studies found was that they show that the Bayesian may have been vulnerable to high winds and that these winds were likely to have been evident at the time of the accident."

At 4.06am local time, wind speeds exceeded 70 knots (80.6mph), “violently” knocking the vessel over to a 90-degree angle in under 15 seconds, investigators said, and “people, furniture and loose items fell across the deck”.

The report read: “There was no indication of flooding inside Bayesian until water came in over the starboard rails and, within seconds, entered the internal spaces down the stairwells.”

The MAIB is investigating as the Bayesian was registered in the UK.

No date has been set for when the final report will be published.

Inquest proceedings in the UK are looking at the deaths of Mr Lynch and his daughter, as well as Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, 70, and his wife, Judy Bloomer, 71, who were all British nationals.

The others who died in the sinking were US lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo, as well as Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas, who was working as a chef on the vessel.

Fifteen people, including Mr Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, were rescued.

The boat trip was a celebration of Mr Lynch's acquittal in the case in the US (Image: Submitted) Several crew members were working in response to the conditions when the vessel was knocked over six minutes later.

Five people were injured “either by falling or from things falling on them”, while the deck hand was “thrown into the sea”, the report said.

Two guests used furniture drawers “as an improvised ladder” to escape their cabin.

Survivors later made their way onto a life raft released from the Bayesian.

They went on to be rescued on a small boat dispatched by yacht Sir Robert Baden Powell, which was also at anchor nearby.

A search was conducted of the accident site and the bodies of those who died were subsequently recovered by the local authorities.

A project to move the Bayesian into an upright position and lift it to the surface has been paused since May 9, when a diver died during underwater work.

Recovery work is set to resume from Thursday, Marcus Cave of British firm TMC Marine, which is overseeing salvage efforts, confirmed.