A luxury yacht capsized off the coast of Sicily this month, leaving British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and six others dead. The ill-fated vessel, the Bayesian, met its watery grave amid a storm, with a surviving crew member shedding light on the chaotic final moments. Matthew Griffiths, who was on watch duty when disaster struck, claims that he and his fellow crew members did everything humanly possible to save the passengers.
Griffiths painted a dramatic picture to investigators, describing how he alerted the captain, James Cutfield, when the wind speed reached 20 knots. Cutfield then ordered everyone to wake up and brace for the worst. What followed was a nightmare straight, the ship tilted, everyone was thrown into the water, and a desperate struggle to save lives began. Despite their efforts, the yacht sank, and seven people, including Lynch, lost their lives.
Now, Griffiths, Cutfield, and the ship’s engineer, Tim Parker Eaton, find themselves under investigation by Italian authorities for potential manslaughter and causing a shipwreck.me serious questions. Why would a yacht, built by the renowned Italian yacht manufacturer Perini, go down so quickly?
The authorities aren’t ready to lay blame just yet. Cutfield has exercised his right to remain silent, claiming exhaustion and the need for more time to prepare a defense. Parker Eaton, on the other hand, has kept mum. Meanwhile, Prosecutor Raffaele Cammarano suggests a “downburst” a powerful downward wind, might be to blame. Really? A yacht designed to endure the toughest of seas brought down by a gust of wind?
Naval marine experts are saying that a yacht like the Bayesian should have withstood the storm. The vessel’s sudden sinking is puzzling everyone, and until the wreck is salvaged from the sea, the full story remains unclear.
So, what’s really going on here? Did the crew do all they could, or was this a case of negligence?
