Report finds extreme wind caused Suffolk tech tycoon Mike Lynch's superyacht to capsize
The boat was knocked over off the coast of Sicily last August, killing seven people
Last updated 15th May 2025
An interim investigation into the sinking of a superyacht off the coast of Sicily has found extreme wind caused it to tip over, killing seven people, including British billionaire Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah.
Investigators said the vessel owned by Suffolk tech tycoon Mr Lynch's could not recover after wind speeds of 63.4 knots (73.0mph) were sufficient to knock it over to a 90-degree angle in under 15 seconds.
What happened?
At the time of the incident, in the early hours of the 19th of August 2024, the Superyacht, named the Bayesian, was anchored off the coast of Sicily when a sudden and violent storm hit in the early hours of the morning.
The yacht capsized quickly, and early reports suggested some guests were unaccounted for. A search and rescue operation was launched, with 15 people, including Mr Lynch’s wife Angela Bacares, safely pulled from the water.
In the hours that followed, the bodies of all seven people who died were recovered by Italian authorities.
More on the rescue can be read here.
The report: why it sank
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) report says gusts of more than 70 knots — around 80mph — struck the 56-metre yacht Bayesian in the early hours of 19 August last year, violently knocking it onto its side.
An inquest was opened back in October.
It found that once the boat had tilted past 70 degrees, the situation was "irrecoverable".
The superyacht was registered in the UK, meaning the MAIB is legally required to investigate.
According to the report, the vessel was likely “vulnerable” to even lighter winds — but those risks were not included in its onboard stability information, and were unknown to both the crew and its owner.
There was no sign of flooding until water came in over the starboard side and down internal stairwells. Five people were injured during the incident, and several guests had to use furniture drawers as makeshift ladders to escape their cabins.
Fifteen people were rescued from the water by a lifeboat after the yacht’s skipper ordered everyone on deck to “swim clear” as the vessel went down.
Those who died in the capsize included the Bloomers from Kent, 70-year-old Morgan Stanley, International chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy who were from Sevenoaks, as well as US lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda, and Canadian-Antiguan chef Recaldo Thomas.
The night before, a deck hand posted a video of approaching lightning on social media and later raised concerns that the yacht was being dragged by its anchor.
The Bayesian was on a private trip to celebrate Mr Lynch’s acquittal in a long-running fraud case in the US. He founded the software firm Autonomy, which was sold to Hewlett-Packard in 2011.
The MAIB says it has only been able to work from a limited amount of verified evidence, as access to the wreck remains restricted by Italian authorities, who are also carrying out a criminal investigation.
Efforts to recover the yacht were paused earlier this month after a diver died during underwater work.
A full inquest into the deaths of the British victims is ongoing. No date has been set for the MAIB’s final report.