Perini Navi Megayacht ‘Bayesian’ Sinks off Italy: One Dead, Six Missing
The 184-ft Perini Navi sailing yacht Bayesian sank in a storm off Porticello in Sicily, the New York Times reported this morning. One person is confirmed dead, while six others are missing. It was reported that 12 guests and 10 crew were aboard, with 15 now rescued. The boat sank in 165 feet of water after being hit by strong winds at 5 a.m. Monday morning. Italian news reports the boat was hit by a waterspout.
One of those missing is British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, who sold his company to Hewlett Packard in 2011. He was cleared of fraud charges related to the sale in a San Francisco court in June.
At this point, the exact cause of the sinking is unknown. Reports are that the Bayesian was caught in a sudden weather event; its mast broke in the waterspout and the boat sank quickly, trapping some passengers in their cabins. According to the Times, “a fisherman in Porticello, told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that he saw a waterspout” off the shore of Porticello shortly before 4 a.m. Soon after he saw a flare. The fisherman went to the site after the weather calmed, about 20 minutes later. There was floating debris but no sign of the ship.
Investigators are waiting to interview survivors and are diving on the yacht to determine what happened.
Mexican Authorities To Remove Abandoned Vessels in Bahia de La Paz
Heidi Benson Stagg is liveaboard sailor on Sonho, a 1979 Tayana 42, homeported in Alameda, CA. She’s been cruising the Sea of Cortez since 2022 and is commodore of Club Cruceros de La Paz. Heidi is alerting readers to the Mexican authorities’ plan to remove abandoned vessels in Bahia de La Paz.
October 2023’s Tropical Storm Norma was downgraded from hurricane status, but the damage was still incredibly devastating to the boating community. Over 40 vessels were beached, in addition to those damaged and sunk at marinas. Ten months later many still remain. Other boats have been abandoned or sunk at their moorings going back years before the recent storm.
The Port Administration of Baja California Sur (API-BCS) issued a press release on August 1, requesting all moored-boat owners to register their vessels for hurricane season at the municipal offices. Those that have not been registered by the end of August will be considered abandoned and actions will be taken by the relevant authorities to prevent sinking or damage to other vessels during a weather emergency. To aid this mission, API-BCS has also begun identifying and tracking vessels with a georeferencing system.
On August 16, API-BCS distributed a notice demanding that all beached boats, and boats that are moored or anchored and are “out of operation and do not fulfill the purpose for which [they were] built,” be removed and either disposed of or taken to a facility for repair.
The regional port captain of La Paz is offering assistance to those who do not have the means to remove boats, and is asking for help in identifying owners of abandoned boats so they may be contacted. They will offer guidance at their offices, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
The deadline to remove/move vessels or communicate with the port captain is August 26. After that date, vessels will be moved by the authorities to a storage yard, and recovery will include providing proof of ownership and reimbursement for costs associated with the removal.
This all comes on the heels of recent activity by Mar Libre, a group of local volunteers who give talks on environmental education in La Paz schools all year round and conduct monthly cleanup at reefs and mangroves. (They completed their 110th consecutive monthly cleanup in July!) The group is led by retired marine biologist Pablo Ahuja, who is passionate about protecting our marine ecosystem.
In the past few months, Mar Libre has organized the removal of eight beached boats. Club Cruceros of La Paz donated a large portion of their disaster relief fund to aid in these efforts, which required the rental of heavy machinery to break up the boats for deposit into a dumpster and hauling them to a landfill site.
The hope is that the Mexican authorities will now take on the essential work to clear the derelict vessels and protect our ecosystem before the heavy-weather months of September and October cause further damage.
For the full verbiage of the press releases (in Spanish and translated to English) and to follow updates from the authorities as they are provided, visit the Club Cruceros Facebook group or the website.
For information on how to support the efforts of Mar Libre, visit their Facebook group, or email [email protected].
KKMI Gets To the Bottom of Your Boating Needs
The Well-Loved ‘Some Like It Hot’ T-Shirts
We thought it was a long shot, but we were wrong. In Friday’s ‘Lectronic Latitude we wrote about 1997 Baja Ha-Ha participant Keri Hendricks, whose well-loved “Some Like It Hot” T-shirt from that event had finally worn out. She asked if there might be a box of them lying around so she could get another. We’ve been following the Japanese Kanban inventory system to keep our inventory costs down, so we just didn’t have any on our shelf. But a couple of readers sent pics of shirts in their collection.
It’s great to see in this world of fast-fashion, wear it once and toss it into a landfill, that Latitude 38 readers and Baja Ha-Ha participants are practicing a more sustainable fashion consciousness. Chris Maher, owner of the Express 34 Keaka, picked up a few shirts on his way south with family and friends aboard the family’s Morgan 38 Blarney3 and their Beneteau First 42 Blarney4.
Steve Bondelid wrote in, saying, “Here’s mine. And it’s really loved to this day,” and sent in these pictures to prove it.
We’re hoping Keri and Chris will connect for a T-shirt and that everyone who has a favorite Latitude 38 “Some Like It Hot” T-shirt earned on a Baja Ha-Ha will continue to enjoy it until it falls off their back.
Mike Draper, with the Nordic 40 Escape from Fresno, is the 96th boat to sign up for this year’s 30th annual Baja Ha-Ha. You can join them all by clicking here and then sailing south, leaving San Diego on November 4.
Send a photo of your favorite Latitude 38 T-shirt here.
Looking Ahead to Labor Day Weekend Regattas
With just a couple of weeks left until Labor Day, have you made your plans yet for the last holiday weekend of summer? If not, here are some suggestions from the realm of Northern California sailboat racing.
Labor Day Weekend will actually begin in August. On Saturday, August 31, we see the last great run from the fog to the sunshine with the Jazz Cup. South Beach Yacht Club will preside over the start near Treasure Island, and Benicia YC will stand by to finish the race and welcome the sailors to a party with live music. Learn more about the 26-mile mostly downwind race and sign up here. Enter by midnight on August 23 to save $25 on the registration fee.
If you prefer small boats (really small boats!), the Estuary is the place to be. On the Saturday and Sunday, August 31-September 1, Encinal YC will host the Millimeter Nationals. Millimeters are 12.5-ft singlehanded keelboats roughly based on a scaled-down version of the 12-Meter boats used in the America’s Cup. For more on the Millimeter, see Ros deVries’ Boat of the Month take on them, and their class website, millimeter.org.
Hitch up the Wagons for the Weekend
The trailer-sailer/campout crowd is invited to head to Humboldt County for the Redwood Regatta on Big Lagoon on August 31-September 1. Humboldt YC in Trinidad runs this one. The camping that you can sign up for along with the race is a great bargain and will begin on Thursday, August 29. A long sandy beach, the Big Lagoon Spit, protects the lagoon from the open ocean. It’s north of Arcata along Highway 101.
On Sunday, September 1, only, Inverness YC will run their long-distance Hog Island Race on Tomales Bay. The race is open to International 110s and monohulls16-ft or bigger and multihulls, using Portsmouth Yardstick scoring. So far, 22 boats have signed up, including a dozen I-110s plus Open Class entries ranging from Daysailers to a Weta trimaran.
Back on the San Francisco Cityfront
The 54th International Knarr Championship (IKC) will kick off on Friday, August 30, and run through September 7. The IKCs alternate among San Francisco, Denmark and Norway, and we expect to see a strong Scandinavian showing in the City by the Bay. St. Francis YC will preside over the regatta, which got its start in San Francisco in 1969. Read the Deed of Trust here. This one should feature some great spectating from the vicinity of Crissy Field and the Wave Organ spit. So far, 20 boats have signed up.
A ‘Save The Dater’ — Latitude 38 Baja Ha-Ha Fall Crew Party
