Bayesian superyacht’s ‘tallest mast in world’ doomed £14m vessel as it was caught by the storm, says expert

THE BAYESIAN superyacht’s own gigantic mast doomed the £14m boat when it was caught in a storm, an expert claims.

The luxury vessel had the tallest aluminium mast in the world which went a whopping 75m high.

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Yacht Charter Fleet

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Yacht Charter Fleet

Six people are still missing after the Bayesian sank early yesterday morning in a tornado off the coast of Sicily.

The single massive mast snapped in two, with glass smashing throughout the boat, and passengers fleeing for their lives as it capsized.

Celebrated British entrepreneur Mike Lynch , his daughter, and Morgan Stanley boss Jonathan Bloomer are among the missing.

Nautical architect expert Gino Ciriaci has now said the tall mast became a danger to the boat in the winds, he told Libero.

He said the tallest mast in the world “is also the most dangerous mast in the world because it catches the wind at a great height.

“If it had been a very low boat, perhaps things would have gone differently.

“But the Bayesian, precisely because of its mast… offered tremendous resistance to the wind.

Ciriaci also said that the rigging, the steel cables that move the sails, would also offer “enormous resistance”.

He said that a strong wind hitting it from the side could cause it to capsize.

“It is not strange that a tornado managed to knock down the mast of the Bayesian.

“Let’s be honest, when there is a wind of that strength it also knocks down trees in the city. I see no blame or possibility of avoiding it”.

The ship’s captain James Calfield , 51, spoke from hospital yesterday and said had no idea the tornado was coming towards the ship.

“We didn’t see it coming,” he told La Repubblica .

But the yacht’s former stewardess said it is a “bit strange” that the ship sank in bad weather, having sailed through it before.

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Monica Jensen, 48, said the vessel had faced bad weather “all over” including crossing the Atlantic., she told the Telegraph.

Jensen worked on the Bayesian from November 2018 to October 2020 for a private owner, and said it was then sold.

She was onboard for two Caribbean seasons and cruised around Italy, Malta, Greece, and the Balearics on the yacht.

The body of the boat’s chef was found near the wreckage 50m under the water.

Furniture is now blocking the divers from being able to get into the bridge of the boat.

Luca Mercalli, president of the Italian Meteorological Society, said 200kmh winds could be felt over Sunday through Monday.

He described the weather as: “A so-called funnel cloud forms, generating winds of up to 200kmh which can create a water spout at sea by sucking water into the air.

“The event can be restricted to a few hundred metres and be over in ten minutes.”

Waterspouts form when warm air from the surface of the water mixes with cold air from higher in the atmosphere.

When they mix it creates a vortex that picks up water from the sea and spins it at up to 80kph.

On average they last about five to ten minutes with the largest being able to grow to a hundred metres wide.

WHO WERE THE PASSENGERS?

In a bizarre twist of fate, it was revealed yesterday that Lynch’s ex-colleague and fraud trial co-defendant Stephen Chamberlain died days before the yacht tragedy.

The majority of passengers were understood to be from the UK.

Citizens from New Zealand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Canada, the US and two dual British-French nationals were also on board.

Eight of those rescued were receiving treatment in hospital last night, according to the Italian Coastguard. None was thought to be in a serious condition.

Among the injured are the Kiwis lawyer Ayla Ronald and captain James Catfield, 51; Sasha Murray, 29, of Ireland; and Myin Kyaw Htun, 39, from Myanmar.

Who are the six still missing from the Bayesian yacht tragedy?

By Ellie Doughty, Foreign News Reporter

THE BAYESIAN superyacht was hosting a lavish party for 12 guests, with 10 crew also onboard.

After 15 people were rescued from the water on Monday, six people remain missing and one has been found dead.

Italian authorities said the man recovered near the yacht wreckage was the chef working onboard.

Four of the missing are British and two are American.

Mike Lynch, 59, and his daughter Hannah, 18, are among the four Brits lost at sea.

International chairman of bank giant Morgan Stanley, Brit Jonathan Bloomer, 70, is also missing along with his wife Judy.

As is top New York lawyer Chris Morvillo, a solicitor at major firm Clifford Chance who worked for Mike Lynch, and his wife Neda.

Reuters

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