Italy - Sailing yacht sank off Italian coast, 15 rescued, 7 missing, 19 August 2024

[branmuffin]

Yes! I simply cannot understand hiw they were still in their rooms.
Yes, there had likely been drinking at the party and yes, it was 4am and probably at least some of the people were sleeping before the storm hit.
But with what I imagine as being a great deal of tossing and turning, windows breaking, how could they have been asleep?
Even if they had sound canceling headphones on (MOO - hypothesizing) - wouldn’t the movement wake them?
This was a big yacht but not a cruise ship - and you feel motion in a storm with a cruise ship, so you’d definitely feel it here.

Did they think it was safer to stay down below??

Because otherwise - if they weren’t down below because they chose to be - they had too little time between waking and their path being blocked.

Also - Hannah was found in her room on the left side, correct? So she never left it or she tried to leave and went back.
Her father had the stateroom next to hers but was found in the forward left cabin with 4 others, whose cabins had been on the right. So all those 5 wound up moving to presumably seek air pockets.

I do recall an earlier article (I would need to find it) where we have a quote from Angela, Hannah’s mother and Mike’s wife, where she says initially she was not worried but when the boat tilted and windows started breaking they went up/out to see what was going on. Will try to hunt down that quote unless someone else also recalls. It means she and her husband left the stateroom - but perhaps she went up to deck while he remained below - for too long? Sadly yes.

Those poor people.

Article that suggests they had been sleeping -

Sicily yacht sinking: trapped passengers ‘may have died on Bayesian because they were asleep’ – as it happened

Public prosecutor launches inquiry into deaths of British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and six others people in sinking off coast of Italian island

www.theguardian.com

I don't think there were any windows in any of the passenger bedrooms. They were below decks. The designers used lots of mirrors to create light, hence why the dive team had such a hard time getting their bearing while under water.

 

[ItalyReader]

I don't think there were any windows in any of the passenger bedrooms. They were below decks. The designers used lots of mirrors to create light, hence why the dive team had such a hard time getting their bearing while under water.

I hear what you are saying because from the outside it does look like there are no windows 2 levels below, and wow yuck, I would hate that.
In any case I did find one of the articles (there are quite a few) that mention the windows breaking - perhaps she heard windows breaking from a level above?
"She said she and Lynch weren't worried at first but that changed when the yacht's windows shattered."

MSN

This means Mike Lynch was awake too.

 

[ItalyReader]

I hear what you are saying because from the outside it does look like there are no windows 2 levels below, and wow yuck, I would hate that.
In any case I did find one of the articles (there are quite a few) that mention the windows breaking - perhaps she heard windows breaking from a level above?
"She said she and Lynch weren't worried at first but that changed when the yacht's windows shattered."

MSN

This means Mike Lynch was awake too.

@branmuffin
So I found some photos - there were windows in at least some of the staterooms - if you go here you can see a room with 3 portholes - BAYESIAN Yacht Photos (ex. Salute) - Perini Navi Yachts

 

[Rikissa]

I wonder where the stairs for the passengers ended up, somewhere in the large area under the white upper level. There seems to be an opening for stairs in front of the upper level, probably for the crew, as I doubt they were allowed to use the stairs in the passenger area. The passengers would have to get up to the 'saloon/dining area' first, before being able to get to the deck,while the stairs for the crew led up to the deck directly. See photos in link above.

 

[SouthAussie]

Did they think it was safer to stay down below??

Yes, it is safer for passengers to be below deck in a storm.


Passengers should go into the cabin and sit in the centre of the boat. If you are in an open boat with no cabin, passengers are to sit on the floor in the centre of the boat, away from metal objects.
Sailing in a Storm


Protecting passengers during a thunderstorm

The first task is to get everyone below decks and located as follows:

• Up as high in the cabin as possible (i.e. away from the waterline)
• Away from the sides of the vessel
• Well away from the mast
• As far as possible from the lightning protection system
• Away from all electrical cabling and electronic instruments

How to protect your boat and passengers

 

[ItalyReader]

Yes, it is safer for passengers to be below deck in a storm.


Passengers should go into the cabin and sit in the centre of the boat. If you are in an open boat with no cabin, passengers are to sit on the floor in the centre of the boat, away from metal objects.

Sailing in a Storm: It’s Not as Difficult as You Think - Van Isle Marina

In this blog, we will detail the signs that the weather is turning stormy, how to prepare for a bad weather encounter, and the first key steps to take.

vanislemarina.com

Protecting passengers during a thunderstorm

The first task is to get everyone below decks and located as follows:

• Up as high in the cabin as possible (i.e. away from the waterline)
• Away from the sides of the vessel
• Well away from the mast
• As far as possible from the lightning protection system
• Away from all electrical cabling and electronic instruments

https://www.clubmarine.com.au/explore-boating/articles/when-lightning-strikes.html#:~:text=Protecting%20passengers%20during%20a%20thunderstorm,the%20sides%20of%20the%20vessel

Below deck perhaps, but 2 levels below deck in their cabins?
As you point out, up as high in the cabin as possible - I believe this would be the living/dining area "main level" and not the lower level where the cabins are.

 

[Tortoise]

I wonder if any of them were undressed, with the heat, and may have thought they had a minute to grab some clothing.

 

[SouthAussie]

Below deck perhaps, but 2 levels below deck in their cabins?
As you point out, up as high in the cabin as possible - I believe this would be the living/dining area "main level" and not the lower level where the cabins are.

Some articles (on sailing forums) say that passengers should be lying on their bunks - preferably strapped in with storm straps, if they have them - during a storm. To stop from being tossed around and getting injured.

imo

 

[ItalyReader]

Some articles (on sailing forums) say that passengers should be lying on their bunks - preferably strapped in with storm straps, if they have them - during a storm. To stop from being tossed around and getting injured.

imo

Maybe if it’s just one level below deck not two?
In this case however, a fatal situation.

 

[SouthAussie]

Maybe if it’s just one level below deck not two?
In this case however, a fatal situation.

Maybe. But I don't think anyone thought the boat was going to sink or that there would need to be an emergency evacuation. It all happened REALLY quickly. No wonder they think it was in a downdraft.

It sounds as if water engulfed the boat, the electronics and generator went out quickly, there was time to do very little other than normal storm precautions (as compared with extreme ones) before the boat was engulfed and rolled.

Maybe even when Angela Bacares went up to the deck to see what was going on, she may (or may not) have left the hatch open. She had to get onto the deck via a hatch/door. Maybe couldn't get it closed due to wind/water.

imo

 

[Rikissa]

Below deck perhaps, but 2 levels below deck in their cabins?
As you point out, up as high in the cabin as possible - I believe this would be the living/dining area "main level" and not the lower level where the cabins are.

The living/dining area walls appears to have been made entirely of windows. Even if the shutters had been made of metal, I doubt it would have been considered safe, especially with lots of things that could be tossed around in a storm.

 

[Rikissa]

Maybe even when Angela Bacares went up to the deck to see what was going on, she may (or may not) have left the hatch open. She had to get onto the deck via a hatch/door. Maybe couldn't get it closed due to wind/water.

imo

I wondered if the stairs from the state rooms wouldn't have ended up somewhere in the living/dining area, would there have been a hatch or a door? If coming up there, wouldn't it be dry, unless the windows had already had been broken?

 

[SouthAussie]

I wondered if the stairs from the state rooms wouldn't have ended up somewhere in the living/dining area, would there have been a hatch or a door? If coming up there, wouldn't it be dry, unless the windows had already had been broken?

I am thinking that there must be a way out of the main salon, onto the deck. The yachts that I have been on have had a glass door that slides out (upwards), so it usually stays out until it is required to be put back in at night or whenever. It has a watertight rubber seal around it, that the glass door slides in and out of. (Hard to explain)

Not an open and close type door. And they call it a hatch, even though it serves the purpose of a door.

I am presuming that is the way that Angela Bacares went onto the deck.

imo

 

[Rikissa]

I am thinking that there must be a way out of the main salon, onto the deck. The yachts that I have been on have had a glass door that slides out (upwards), so it usually stays out until it is required to be put back in at night or whenever. It has a watertight rubber seal around it, that the glass door slides in and out of. (Hard to explain)

Not an open and close type door. And they call it a hatch, even though it serves the purpose of a door.

I am presuming that is the way that Angela Bacares went onto the deck.

imo

Did you look at the photos in post #283?

 

[Dotta]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1828710861201866824

 

[SouthAussie]

Did you look at the photos in post #283?

Thanks for that. Looks like there are maybe two hatches/doors from the salon onto the deck. Can't get close enough to see what they look like, but I can see where they are.




(Circled in red, from the link provided by @ItalyReader )

 

[ItalyReader]

Did you look at the photos in post #283?

Reposting here the link to the photos where there is also a video. Around minute 2:20 they show the common lounge/dining areas BAYESIAN Yacht Photos (ex. Salute) - Perini Navi Yachts

It's a little hard to tell sometimes if there is a door or not, in one clip a wall opens as a sliding door.

In any case, I'm sure all of these details will come out in a synthesised summary one day.

 

[ItalyReader]

Maybe. But I don't think anyone thought the boat was going to sink or that there would need to be an emergency evacuation. It all happened REALLY quickly. No wonder they think it was in a downdraft.

It sounds as if water engulfed the boat, the electronics and generator went out quickly, there was time to do very little other than normal storm precautions (as compared with extreme ones) before the boat was engulfed and rolled.

Maybe even when Angela Bacares went up to the deck to see what was going on, she may (or may not) have left the hatch open. She had to get onto the deck via a hatch/door. Maybe couldn't get it closed due to wind/water.

imo

Yes. It may have been that if time had permitted, the crew would have alerted the passengers below to evacuate, but they were thrown off before they could, because it happened so fast. MOO

 

[Dotta]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1828705830436274676

 

[SouthAussie]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1828705830436274676

Sounds very lawyerly.


“The captain exercised his right to remain silent for two fundamental reasons,” lawyer Giovanni Rizzuti told reporters. “First, he’s very worn out. Second, we were appointed only on Monday and for a thorough and correct defence case we need to acquire a set of data that at the moment we don’t have.”

Mike Lynch: Captain of Bayesian yacht ‘declines to answer questions’ in probe

Italian prosecutors are investigating captain James Cutfield over deaths of British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and six others

www.independent.co.uk