Fair enough I still would think a night watch would be prudent. I’m sure that rig had tons of electronics to alert to severe weather etc. Also unlikely such a severe storm with 85kt gusts just came out on no where.
You're spot on about someone being on duty. However, the weather did come along incredibly suddenly. It was a water spout / a tornado over water. At night. The crew had little to no time to rouse the passengers and get them into pfds even if they had the gumption to do so. I think this is a tragic, one-off , freak incident that will teach a lot of lessons in the realm of naval architecture for small D billionaires needing big masts.
Don't see it reported anywhere that the keel was up. Sank in 160' of water so not shallow anchorage. Crew belongs under the bus. This was a massive failure on their part with everyone knowing the weather was coming
Water and storms are a mess. I remember one time in a 27’ cc we had just come up from a dive and a thunderstorm came barreling at us. Barely had time to get our BCs off and the wind came up so fast it spun the boat 180. We barely got the anchor up and got underway when the nasty stuff hit. Blowing 35-45, rain so hard we kept our masks on. Went from slick calm to 6-8 in about 10 minutes. Just had to head into the waves and keep it straight until it blew through. 30” of hell. Then it went back to sunny and slick calm.
Sorry to spoil the conspiracy, but it wasn't a hit and run. A woman stayed at the scene to cooperate with police immediately - had it been a hit and run, I would have made the same immediate connection.
It seems that every summer we have a major catastrophe at sea. Last year it was the Titan submersible. Don't remember what it was the year before, but I also remember a summer where some kids were lost trying to get their runabout over to the Bahamas in a storm.
everyone knew the storms were coming, several other vessels had pulled anchor and were motoring into the storm just like you should, I will be shocked if the italian courts don't charge the captain and first officer
This is accurate from what I’ve read. There was another yacht about 300 yards away which easily weathered the storm and was key in rescuing the survivors. They were prepared and were running the engine turned into the storm. My guess is someone figured he could take the night off and it caused the sinking.
Sorry, I'm out of touch w this story. I heard there were 20+ people on board. Do you know how many survived?
the statement by the maritime director of western Sicily doesn't seem to match the reports I have read elsewhere that the weather was expected, maybe not waterspouts, but storms expected. Captain of Bayesian superyacht investigated for 'manslaughter and shipwreck' after Sicily tragedy (msn.com) Captain James Cutfield, a 51-year-old New Zealand national, is being investigated for manslaughter and shipwreck, Italian newspapers La Repubblica and Corriere della Sera said. Being placed under investigation in Italy does not imply guilt and does not mean formal charges will necessarily follow.The head of the public prosecutor’s office of Termini Imerese, Ambrogio Cartosio, said on Saturday that it was plausible that crimes of multiple manslaughter and causing a shipwreck through negligence had been committed The newspaper claimed that prosecutors may also investigate a crew member who was on duty when the storm hit and survived the incident. Under maritime law, a captain has full responsibility for the ship and the crew, as well as the safety of all aboard. Last week, Mr Cutfield told Italian media that he “did not see” the storm coming. On Saturday, maritime director of western Sicily Rear Admiral Raffaele Macauda said the weather at the time of the yacht’s sinking was abnormal and there was nothing to suggest such an extreme situation would arise.
https://www.reuters.com/world/europ...r-investigation-legal-source-says-2024-08-28/ ALERMO, Italy, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Italian prosecutors are investigating two more crew members from British tech tycoon Mike Lynch's yacht, along with its captain, in connection with the vessel's sinking over a week ago, a judicial source said on Wednesday. Being investigated does not imply guilt and does not mean formal charges will follow.
