Family of chef who died on Mike Lynch’s superyacht have ‘concerns’ after report

The family of a chef killed in the sinking of Mike Lynch’s superyacht in Italy say they have “serious concerns about a series of failures” before his death.

It comes after Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) investigators said in an interim report that the 56-metre (184ft) Bayesian was knocked over by “extreme wind” off the coast of Sicily on August 19 last year.

The yacht had a vulnerability to winds but the owner and crew would not have known, the report said.

After the report was published, the family of Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas, 59, a cook who died on the vessel, said they believe his death was “preventable”.

Lawyer James Healy-Pratt said on their behalf: “They have serious concerns about a series of failures evidently involved in the causes of this tragedy – failures in the design, safety certification and seaworthiness of the Bayesian, as well as the management by some of the crew to deal with a forecast mesocyclone storm.

“The family note that the Bayesian was an outlier in design, with a single mast structure, longer than the wingspan of a jumbo jet, that acted like an aerofoil in the storm conditions.”

Mr Healy-Pratt said the family note that Mr Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, who owned the vessel, “was up on deck when a number of questionable decisions were being carried out by some of the crew”.

He went on: “They know that further evidence and analysis is required in areas including downflooding and seamanship, and they await the final MAIB safety report and its inevitable list of safety recommendations.

“The Thomas family are firmly resolute in their journey for truth, very public justice, and preventing future tragedies.”

The interim report into the disaster shows wind speeds of 63.4 knots (73.0mph) on the beam were sufficient to tip the vessel over.

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.

The vessel was in a “motoring condition” with its sails lowered and the centreboard — which is used to help stabilise it — was in a “raised” position, the report said.

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

“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 went on: “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 billionaire entrepreneur Mr Lynch, 59, and his daughter Hannah, 18, 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.

Fifteen people, including Ms Bacares, were rescued.

The MAIB report stated that during the previous day, the Bayesian was sailed to the site where it later sank in order to “shelter” from forecast thunderstorms.

At 3am the following morning the wind speed was “no more than eight knots (9mph)” but a deck hand thought “thunderclouds and lightning seemed to be getting closer”.

Some 55 minutes later the deck hand posted a video of the advancing storm on social media, then went on to the deck to close windows to protect the interior from rain.

They noted that the wind had reached 30 knots (34.5mph) and thought the vessel was dragging its anchor.

At 4am they woke the superyacht’s skipper.

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.

The skipper instructed guests and crew on an area of the deck to “swim clear of the mast and boom as the vessel was sinking”.

Survivors later made their way on to 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 at anchor nearby.

The MAIB said its report was based on “a limited amount of verified evidence” as a criminal investigation by Italian authorities has restricted its access to the wreck and other pieces of evidence.

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

Recovery work was due to resume on Thursday, Marcus Cave of British firm TMC Marine, which is overseeing salvage efforts, said.

Further details such as “escape routes” will be included in the final report, according to Mr Graves, who added: “Once we get access to the vessel we’ll be able to tell a fuller picture of activities on board and the sequence of events.”

Mr Lynch and his daughter were said to have lived in the vicinity of London, while the Bloomers lived in Sevenoaks, Kent.

The 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.