‘Bayesian’ Salvage Begins

Operations began on Sunday to raise Bayesian, the 183-ft Perini Navi sloop that sank during a storm on August 19, 2024. The accident, which occurred while the boat was anchored off Porticello, Sicily, took the lives of owner Mike Lynch, a British tech magnate, his 18-year-old daughter, and five others. Fifteen other people who were aboard at the time were able to get off.

The sinking occurred during a passing storm. According to one eyewitness, it looked as if a waterspout hit the boat around 5 a.m., causing it to heel over far enough that it flooded and sank in 16 minutes. Those who perished were caught below.

The Italian coast guard is supervising the $30 million salvage operation. Two floating cranes will do the heavy lifting of the 470-ton yacht from its resting place 160 feet down. The boat’s 246-ft mast, reportedly the tallest aluminum mast in the world, will be cut off to allow for easier raising of the hull. Once the hull is raised, righted, and stabilized, it will be transported by barge to the nearby port of Termini Imerese, where it will undergo a thorough investigation to try to figure out the exact cause(s) of the sinking. One focus of that investigation will be determining what ports, doors, and/or vents might have been open that allowed such rapid flooding.

In related news, Italian authorities announced last week that three members of the 10-person Bayesian crew, including Capt. James Cutfield, are now “officially under investigation” for possible criminal involvement (recklessness, negligence, and inexperience) in the incident.