Early Monday morning, tragedy struck as the British-flagged luxury yacht “The Bayesian” capsized off the picturesque coast of southern Sicily. The vessel, carrying 22 people, met a sudden and devastating fate, leaving a trail of missing passengers, survivors, and heartache.
Missing Passengers
Among the unaccounted-for individuals are British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter, Hannah Lynch. Lynch, once hailed as the British equivalent of “Bill Gates,” founded the software firm Autonomy in the 1990s. However, his $11 billion sale of Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard in 2011 led to fraud charges in the United States. Recently acquitted in a San Francisco trial, Lynch organized the ill-fated yacht trip as a post-trial celebration for family, lawyers, and employees. Hannah, set to study English at Oxford University, remains missing.
Also missing are Jonathan Bloomer, the 70-year-old British chairman of Morgan Stanley International, and his wife Judy, a dedicated charity trustee. American lawyer Chris Morvillo, a partner at the prestigious Clifford Chance law firm, worked on Lynch’s recent US fraud trial and is among the unaccounted-for passengers, along with his wife Neda.
The Sole Fatality
The body of a man was recovered from the sea hours after the yacht capsized. Identified as the yacht’s chef, he has been variously named as Ricardo or Recaldo Thomas. Born in Canada and residing in Antigua, his tragic loss underscores the severity of the disaster.
Tales of Survival
Amidst the chaos, stories of survival emerge. Angela Bacares, Lynch’s 57-year-old wife and Hannah’s mother, managed to escape. Suffering abrasions on her feet, she recounted the harrowing moments when the yacht began to tilt around 4:00 am local time. Climbing to the deck, she witnessed the vessel’s sudden capsize.
Briton Charlotte Golunski, a partner at Lynch’s investment firm Invoke Capital and a former Autonomy employee, survived alongside her partner James Emslie and their one-year-old daughter. Their presence on deck during the yacht’s sinking proved crucial. In a dramatic account, Golunski described holding her baby above the waterline until a lifeboat inflated, allowing 11 people to climb aboard unharmed.
Ayla Ronald, a London-based lawyer originally from New Zealand, also survived. She had worked on Lynch’s fraud case at Clifford Chance. Her partner, believed to be named Matthew Fletcher, made it out alive as well.
Other survivors include James Caulfield, a New Zealander, and Sasha Murray, an Irish citizen who sustained a foot injury during the tragedy. Frenchman Matthew Griffith also emerged from the ordeal.
The Crew
The yacht’s crew, composed of Sri Lankans and a 39-year-old citizen of Myanmar named Myin Htun Kyaw, played a critical role during the disaster.
As rescue efforts continue, the world mourns the loss of life and hopes for the safe return of those still missing. The once-glamorous voyage aboard “The Bayesian” now stands as a haunting reminder of the fragility of human existence on the open sea.
