How Mike Lynch’s widow may have survived Bayesian sinking, according to its former captain
Mike Lynch’s widow may have survived the Bayesian tragedy because her concerns about the safety of the superyacht prompted her to leave her cabin, its former captain has suggested.
Angela Bacares survived the sinking off the coast of Sicily last month, while her tech entrepreneur husband and 18-year-old daughter were among seven who died.
Stephen Edwards, who was the captain of the Bayesian for five years until 2020, suggested that she may have survived because her tendency to be concerned about safety onboard led her to leave her cabin before the boat began its fatal rollover.
Seven people died after the Bayesian superyacht sank off the coast of Palermo, Sicily – PA
Mr Edwards told The Telegraph that Ms Bacares “always wants to know what is happening and what the crew are doing”.
“She is always the first person to come up to the bridge if she hears us scuttling about up there. That could explain why she was saved and Mike wasn’t,” he said.
In the aftermath of the tragedy the widow reportedly told doctors that the boat had tilted, waking her and her husband.
According to Italian newspaper La Repubblica, Ms Bacares said she had climbed up to see what was happening before chaos ensued, with shattered glass all over the yacht.
Stephen Edwards, who previously captained the ship – LinkedIn
Mr Edwards, who has spoken to former colleagues who were on the Bayesian that night, said that the sinking happened in just a few minutes once the yacht began taking on water, with the extreme tilt of the boat and broken furnishing making it extremely difficult for its occupants to climb to safety from the lower cabins.
“Those who stayed curled up in bed were in the worst situation,” he said, adding that some of the guests also got up to see what was happening.
“Then the storm hit hard, placing them in the melee of flying furniture, glass and other items,” he said. “Some had made it to the saloon at this point and they are the ones who survived, as their route outside would have been a little clearer.”
He added: “Inside the cabins, the only way to think of this is that people were lying in their beds one minute, and the next the room was on its side, totally dark, with the door now either in the floor or in the ceiling above.
“Cabinets crashed open as the catches were weak, resulting in glassware and crockery falling out. I’m told almost all the furniture broke loose inside the boat.”
Crew members who were on deck rescued passengers who were close at hand, but Mr Edwards said that heading down towards the flooded lower parts of the yacht “would have meant certain death”.
The former captain said the nine crewmembers who survived are all suffering from PTSD.“They are not doing very well,” he said. “The dominant feeling is still one of shock from the event. They are dealing with what happened, how it happened and how quickly it happened.”
Some passengers were able to use rapid inflatable emergency lifeboats – PA
He said that once the weather worsened, the usual drills were started, with the yacht’s three generators running and connected, its bow thruster made available and the main engines ready to start.
According to Mr Edwards’s account, the chief engineer was on his way to the bow in order to haul the anchor, which had come loose and was swinging around, when an extreme storm called a downburst drove the yacht onto its starboard side.
At an angle of more than 42 degrees, known as the flooding point, water pours into the vents that must be open so that the engines and generators can operate.
Mr Edwards said he was “100 per cent certain” that the stern door was closed.
“I also suspect all the hatches were closed, but if they weren’t it was because people were trying to escape through them,” he added.
#Mike #Lynchs #widow #survived #Bayesian #sinking #captain