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The Bayesian is worth 280 million yuan

Phoenix Technology News: On August 22, Beijing time, the sinking of the yacht of British technology tycoon Mike Lynch attracted attention.The luxury yacht, the Bayes, was claimed to be hurricane-proof but sank shockingly quickly in the Mediterranean.

Bloomberg restored the scene when the accident happened. The following is the main content:

It was 3 a.m. local time Monday in Italy, and Captain Karsten Börner and his crew were awake and preparing for an approaching thunderstorm off the coast of Sicily.

They were driving a schooner with a luxury yacht moored behind it, carrying Lynch, a tech tycoon known as the "British Bill Gates," and a group of his friends, family and advisers. The yacht, named "Bayes," is 56 meters long and built to withstand hurricanes. It is worth about 30 million pounds (about 280 million yuan) and is one of the best performing high-end sailboats.

Lynch and his wife Angela

Between 4 and 4:30 a.m., a thunderstorm hit. Borne and his crew struggled to keep their ship, the Sir Robert Baden Powell, upright. Even though they had dropped anchor, he had to run the engines at full throttle to keep the boat stable. A fierce gust of wind and heavy rain hit, and Borne suspected it might be a tornado.

Suddenly, the Bayes was gone. "She disappeared," Borna said. At first, he and his crew thought the superyacht had simply left.However, Borna's first mate insisted that the yacht sank. "I said nonsense. Such a big ship, I can't believe it can sink." Borna said.

Too much joy brings sorrow

Three days later, Italian divers are still struggling to find the wreckage of the Bayesian yacht, which has sunk about 50 meters from the surface. There were 22 people on the yacht, one of whom was confirmed dead and six of whom were still missing, including Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter and Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of Morgan Stanley International. All six are likely dead.

Previously, the "Bayes" had been cruising along the northern coast of Sicily and then anchored outside the port of Portticello, a small fishing village east of Palermo.

The yacht trip was meant to be a celebration, a family vacation meant to bring closure to a difficult period for Lynch. Just months before the disaster, the 59-year-old entrepreneur faced the possibility of up to 25 years in a U.S. prison.Lynch has been fighting charges that he deceived Hewlett-Packard Co into paying too much for his software company, Autonomy Corp.In June this year, a San Francisco jury found him not guilty. Although Lynch is still fighting a civil lawsuit against HP in London, he feels that he has gained a "second life."

On the morning the Bayes sank, local fisherman Fabio Cefalù ventured out to sea. However, he decided to turn back to port because the sea became too rough. Half an hour later, the storm hit Porticello.

"The whole town was overturned, all the tables, chairs and restaurants were overturned," said Giuseppe Cefalù, Fabio's brother who remained on shore. "A trash can was pushed into the middle of the street." The extreme weather lasted 10 to 12 minutes.

60 seconds fast sinking

Fabio said that at about 4:20 a.m., the Bayes sent out a flare. Based on what he saw and the footage captured by the security cameras, it took about 60 seconds for the yacht to sink. Giuseppe added that about 20 minutes later, at the urging of the port authority, fishermen in Porticello began a three-hour rescue operation. They found mattresses, furniture from the boat and what they believed to be one of the ship's four radar modules.

Near the waters where the Bayes sank, Borna first saw the floating wreckage of the ship, then saw a flashing light, which led them to a life raft with 15 people on board, including a baby, four of whom were injured.

The Bayesian docked in Porticello

Borna's crew brought the survivors back to the boat, providing them with dry clothes, towels, tea, coffee and some food. It was already daybreak when the local coast guard arrived and picked up the injured. Borna said Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares, was reluctant to leave, and he guessed she was still in a state of shock. "She stayed on our boat," he said.

Built by Italian shipyard Perini Navi, the Bayesian was launched in 2008 and last refurbished in 2020. According to its brochure, it has the world's second-tallest sailing mast, at 72 meters. Guests sleep in luxurious cabins arranged around the center of the yacht. It is capable of sailing great distances, with a range of up to 3,600 nautical miles (about 6,667 kilometers).

Sicily prosecutors have opened an investigation into the sinking. Officials will examine whether the keel was lifted before the ship took on water, which would have made it easier to tilt, according to a person familiar with the matter. Prosecutors declined to comment.

"The keel stops the boat from heeling and its weight keeps it upright," said Jae Jones, chief inspector at the UK's Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB). "It also acts as a brake, reducing rolling even when at anchor."

A spokesman for the UK Department of Transport said that because the yacht is a British-flagged vessel, the MAIB sent four inspectors to Sicily for an initial assessment. They arrived on the scene on Monday and have been communicating with local authorities and emergency services to determine whether an independent investigation is needed.

Waterspout

The weather phenomenon that hit the Bayes is called a waterspout. They are usually 2 to 3 meters wide and are not uncommon in Italy in late summer, fueled by warm Mediterranean waters. According to Jones, it was "like a swirling ball of wind and water sweeping across the deck."

What a waterspout looks like

Andrew Pedrini, a meteorologist at Atmospheric G2, a weather forecasting agency, said Italy experiences more than 100 "tornado events" each year. However, waterspouts at sea are usually unreported. A superyacht captain who wished to remain anonymous while discussing the tragic incident said that in coastal areas, strong winds can pick up in seconds without any warning and then quickly die down.

Asked whether the tragedy was foreseeable, Sicily Civil Protection Director Salvo Cocina said:We can only predict the possibility, it is impossible to calculate when and where this weather will occur.He added that warming oceans increase the severity of such events.

Body found

Italian divers found four bodies on the Bayesian on Wednesday. The local coast guard said on Wednesday that although four bodies had been found, no statement had been issued to confirm their identities. An Italian government official revealed that divers also found a fifth body inside the yacht, but it has not yet been salvaged.

However, according to BBC and other media reports, the five bodies included Lynch and his daughter Hannah. Rescuers said that the bodies of Lynch and Hannah were found in the cabin, sandwiched between two mattresses.

Rescuers have recovered the body

According to Italian authorities, the six missing people, including Lynch, are likely trapped in the yacht and died. The Italian Coast Guard said the search and rescue operation will resume on Thursday morning to salvage the remaining two missing people. They said the "small space" and "many objects" inside the sunken ship increased the complexity of the search mission.

Italian prosecutors are investigating how the yacht sank in just minutes."Everything happened very quickly," said Coast Guard officer Vincenzo Zagarola. (Author/Xiao Yu)

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