sir robert baden powell yacht

The 5 tragic minutes that sank a superyacht

PORTICELLO, Italy — Survivors of a storm that sank a superyacht off Sicily recounted their ordeal to one of the doctors who rushed to their aid, with some saying it took mere minutes for the 180-foot ship to go down.

Dr. Fabio Genco, head of the Palermo Emergency Medical Services, told NBC News on the phone Thursday that he arrived in the seaside village of Porticello before dawn Monday, about an hour after the $40 million Bayesian sank in the violent and sudden storm.

Of the 22 people onboard, 15 survived despite storm conditions and darkness, climbing onto a lifeboat before being rescued by a nearby sailboat. The crew members have made no public statements so far, though some have been interviewed by investigators.

“They told me that it was all dark, that the yacht hoisted itself up and then went down,” Genco said, recounting what the survivors told him. “All the objects were falling on them. That’s why I immediately made sure, by asking them questions, if they had any internal injuries,” he said.

It appears they had just minutes to abandon the sinking ship, Genco said.

Divers Retrieve Bodies From Tech Tycoon Mike Lynch Yacht Sunk Off Sicily

“They told me that suddenly they found themselves catapulted into the water without even understanding how they had got there,” he said, “And that the whole thing seems to have lasted from 3 to 5 minutes.”

Giovanni Costantino, CEO of The Italian Sea Group, which owns Perini Navi, the Bayesian's shipbuilder, told Sky News that there were no flaws with the design or construction of the yacht. He said their structure and keel made boats like that “unsinkable bodies.”

In an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, he disavowed responsibility, blaming instead the actions of the crew. “Mistakes were made,” he said.

Genco said one of his colleagues who arrived at the scene before him initially thought that only three people survived, but the coast guard reported there were other survivors and more emergency services were called in.

When Genco arrived, he found scenes of panic and despair.

“Unfortunately, we are used to such panic scenes because we are used to the shipwrecks that happen on Lampedusa ,” Genco said, referring to the island southwest of Sicily, where the wreckage of boats carrying migrants on the sea journey from North Africa to Italy are often found .

Six of the passengers were declared missing Monday, and by Thursday, the bodies of five had been recovered from the wreck , some 160 feet underwater.

Among those who survived is Angela Bacares, wife of the British tech mogul Mike Lynch , whose body was recovered Thursday.

Divers searching for six missing people following the sinking of a superyacht off Sicily in a storm have found fifth bodies.

Another survivor has been identified as Charlotte Emsley, 35. She told the Italian news agency ANSA that she had momentarily lost hold of her year-old daughter, Sofia, in the water but managed to retrieve her and hold her over the waves until a lifeboat inflated and they were pulled into safety.

Dr. Domenico Cipolla at the Di Cristina Children’s Hospital in Palermo is also part of a team of medical professionals treating the shipwreck survivors. He told the BBC on Wednesday that Emsley and her daughter, as well as the father of the child, who Cipolla said also survived, are continuing to receive psychological help.

“Psychological support was constant and is constant even today, because basically it is the wounds of the soul that are the most in need of healing in these cases,” Cipolla said.

Genco also told NBC News that he was especially concerned about the child. “She did not understand anything. She was soaking wet and cold,” he said.

Karsten Borner, the Dutch captain of the Sir Robert Baden Powell, a yacht that was anchored near the Bayesian, said by phone Wednesday that he saw a thunderstorm come in at around 4 a.m. local time (10 p.m. ET) Monday, followed by what looked like a waterspout, a type of tornado that forms over water.

The International Centre for Waterspout Research noted on X that there was a “waterspout outbreak” off Italy on Monday, the day the Bayesian sank.

All the men missing after a luxury yacht sank off Sicily -- who included UK tech tycoon Mike Lynch -- have been found, a coastguard official told.

“I turned on the engine and made maneuvers so that we wouldn’t collide with the Bayesian, which was anchored about 100 meters from us,” Borner said. “Then all of a sudden it disappeared. Then the wind calmed down, we looked around and saw a red flare.”

Borner said he got into his boat’s tender and saw a life raft with 15 people on it. Members of the crew were administering first aid.

“I don’t know why it sank so quickly, but it may have something to do with the mast which was incredibly long,” he said. Questions have been raised about whether the mast was to blame for the accident as tall masts, even with the sails down, have more surface area exposed to the wind, which can contribute to tipping a vessel in a storm.

The CCTV footage that emerged Tuesday showed the yacht’s 250-foot mast, believed to be one of the tallest aluminum sailing masts in the world, lashed by the storm as it appears to tilt to one side before disappearing.

Claudia Rizzo is an Italy based journalist.

Claudio Lavanga is Rome-based foreign correspondent for NBC News.

Yuliya Talmazan is a reporter for NBC News Digital, based in London.

What we know about the sinking of the superyacht off Sicily

Medium Text

VIOLENT STORM

The other boat, 'incomprehensible'.

Rescue operations continue after a luxury yacht sank off Sicily

RECORD MAST

Retractable keel.

Reporting by Giselda Vagnoni, additional reporting by Giulia Segreti, Alvise Armellini, Matteo Negri and Josephine Mason in London; Editing by Sharon Singleton

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab

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Sir Robert Baden Powell

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SIR ROBERT BADEN POWELL YACHT CHARTER

42m / 137'10 edgar andre 1957 / 2017.

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Cabin Configuration

The 42m/137'10" sail yacht 'Sir Robert Baden Powell' by shipyard Edgar Andre offers flexible accommodation for up to 17 guests in 6 cabins.

Offering an enticing combination of luxury and adventure, Sir Robert Baden Powell has all the bells and whistles and a wealth of convivial social spaces for the ultimate sun-kissed yacht charter getaway.

Guest Accommodation

Built in 1957, Sir Robert Baden Powell offers guest accommodation for up to 17 guests in 6 suites comprising one double cabin. She is also capable of carrying up to 6 crew onboard to ensure a relaxed luxury yacht charter experience.

Performance & Range

Sir Robert Baden Powell is built with a steel hull and steel superstructure. Powered by 1 x Mitsubishi engines, she comfortably cruises at 7 knots, reaches a maximum speed of 12 knots.

When not cruising Sir Robert Baden Powell has onboard an incredible selection of water toys and accessories for you and your guests to connect with the waters around you. If that isn't enough Sir Robert Baden Powell also features scuba diving equipment, paddleboards and snorkelling equipment.

Sir Robert Baden Powell and her crew are available for charter this summer for cruising within the Mediterranean. She is already accepting bookings this winter.

With its luxurious interiors, vast array of onboard facilities and a highly-trained and professional crew, a luxury yacht vacation onboard sail yacht Sir Robert Baden Powell promises to be nothing short of spectacular.

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Sir Robert Baden Powell Photos

Length	42m / 137'10
Beam	6.5m / 21'4
Draft	3m / 9'10
Gross Tonnage	111 GT
Cruising Speed	7 Knots
Built	\| (Refitted)
Builder	Edgar Andre
Model	Custom
Exterior Designer	Edgar André

Amenities & Entertainment

For your relaxation and entertainment Sir Robert Baden Powell has the following facilities, for more details please speak to your yacht charter broker.

Sir Robert Baden Powell is reported to be available to Charter with the following recreation facilities:

For a full list of all available amenities & entertainment facilities, or price to hire additional equipment please contact your broker.

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For a full list of all available amenities & entertainment facilities, or price to hire additional equipment please contact your broker.

'Sir Robert Baden Powell' Charter Rates & Destinations

Summer Season

May - September

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Mediterranean France

HOT SPOTS: Calvi, Corsica, Ibiza, Mallorca, Sardinia, The Balearics

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Search Resumes for British Mogul and 5 Others After Yacht Sinks Off Sicily

The body of the vessel’s cook was recovered while divers searched the hull of the Bayesian for passengers, including the tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch.

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By Elisabetta Povoledo

Deep-sea divers with Italy’s firefighter corps resumed their search on Tuesday for six missing passengers — including a British software mogul and his daughter — of a yacht that sank off the coast of Sicily the previous day.

Twenty-two people were on board the 180-foot British-flagged sailing yacht, the Bayesian, which was anchored near the port of Porticello, when it was hit by what witnesses described as a waterspout, a small tornado on water, during a sudden and violent storm.

Fifteen people who managed to get to a raft were rescued by the captain of a nearby sailing cruise ship. The body of the yacht’s cook, identified by news outlets as Recaldo Thomas, a Canadian Antiguan, was recovered on Monday. But several people are still unaccounted for, according to Salvatore Cocina, an official with Sicily’s civil protection agency.

Those still missing are Mike Lynch, a British technology entrepreneur; his daughter Hannah; Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of Morgan Stanley International; his wife, Judy Bloomer; Christopher J. Morvillo, a lawyer at Clifford Chance; and his wife, Neda Morvillo.

Mr. Lynch was acquitted of fraud in a U.S. trial in June, ending a high-profile, decadelong legal battle against accusations that he had defrauded Hewlett-Packard when he sold his company, Autonomy, to Hewlett for $11 billion.

Mr. Lynch and the others went missing days after Mr. Lynch’s co-defendant at the fraud trial, Stephen Chamberlain, a former vice president of finance at Autonomy, was fatally struck by a car on Saturday while out for a run, his lawyer, Gary S. Lincenberg, said in a statement.

Prosecutors in the Italian city of Termini Imerese, east of where the yacht sank, are opening a formal investigation into the yacht’s sinking. Reached by telephone, the chief prosecutor declined to comment.

The search for the missing passengers began on Monday but was suspended late that night as crews found themselves limited to the bridge deck and items like furnishings “obstructing passage,” the firefighters’ corps wrote on social media .

When divers resumed the search on Tuesday, ships trawled the waters near the site, the corps said in a statement. The Italian Coast Guard also said in a statement that search operations were “continuing unabated,” with the deployment of helicopters. There was no evidence that gasoline was leaking from the yacht, the Coast Guard said.

The yacht was lying on its right side in about 165 feet of water, meaning that divers, working in pairs, could stay underwater for only about 12 minutes at a time, said Luca Cari, a spokesman for the firefighters’ corps.

Divers were seeking a safe point of access to the vessel’s cabins. “Obviously, everything fell and the space is very tight,” Mr. Cari said, adding that the divers were having to remove obstacles, like furnishings and electrical wiring, that were “completely blocking passages.”

The firefighters’ corps said in a statement that it was impossible to verify whether people were inside the hull.

Mr. Cari said that several divers had been part of the search-and-rescue operations when the Costa Concordia, a cruise liner, capsized off the Tuscan island of Giglio in 2012, killing 32 people. It is considered one of the worst maritime disasters in modern Italian history.

“It’s like the Costa Concordia, but much smaller,” Mr. Cari said in a telephone interview, comparing the search operations. “In the Costa Concordia, we came across many obstacles but we somehow were able to overcome them. Here, the obstacles block the passages and have to be removed.” He added, “This makes it more difficult.”

Crews were also trying to raise the yacht, which experts will examine to try to determine why it sank. Until then, experts can only hypothesize what happened.

Karsten Borner, the captain of a ship, the Sir Robert Baden Powell, which picked up the Bayesian’s 15 survivors, said in an interview that when the wind picked up around 4 a.m. Monday, the Bayesian was about 490 feet behind his vessel. Once the wind wound down, he said, he could not see the yacht anymore.

“My theory was that she was capsized first and then went down over the stern,” Mr. Borner said.

Dario Boote, a ship structures and naval architecture professor at the University of Genoa, said: “Now I imagine that a whole series of lawsuits will be triggered, obviously to ascertain whether there is any responsibility, as always happens very unpleasantly in these situations.” He said, however, that in this case, responsibility might be hard to determine. “Clearly, only once the wreck is raised will we know more,” he added.

Several fishermen told Italian news outlets that they had witnessed a waterspout. Peter Inness, a meteorologist at the University of Reading, said they were relatively common in the Mediterranean, though their occurrence and intensity are unpredictable.

“Until one actually forms, you can’t start telling people where it is,” Mr. Inness said, or “how to get out of the way.”

The inclement weather — with lightning intermittently streaking through the sky — made it hard to know exactly why the yacht sank. Col. Attilio Di Diodato, director of the Italian Air Force’s Center for Aerospace Meteorology and Climatology, said the agency had registered intense lightning activity and strong gusts of wind in the area at the time the boat sank.

The Bayesian had one of the tallest aluminum masts in the world, according to its builder, Perini Navi. “Having a tall aluminum mast would not make it the safest port to be in case of a storm,” said Andrea Ratti, associate professor of nautical design and architecture technology the Politecnico di Milano. The type of intensity unleashed by a violent lightning storm “could have created a significant shock wave,” he added.

He, too, cautioned that “a lot of questions will remain until we have other elements at our disposal.”

Modern yachts are built to withstand meteorological events of reasonable intensity, and all international naval registers suggest that new ships be designed for higher waves and more frequent and extreme weather events.

But “this seems a case of an unreasonable extreme event,” said Emilio Fortunato Campana, an expert in Naval Hydrodynamics at Italy’s National Research Council. “In that case, no ship is 100 percent safe,” he added. “I think the Titanic showed that nothing is unsinkable.”

Elisabetta Povoledo is a reporter based in Rome, covering Italy, the Vatican and the culture of the region. She has been a journalist for 35 years. More about Elisabetta Povoledo

General information

The length of the trips we offer usually varies between 7 and 11 days. We are basically flexible with regard to the duration of the trip and we take into account the available flight connections. In particular, however, we try to meet the expectations and wishes of our guests.

If you visit us for the first time or would like to combine your stay on board with a shore holiday, we can recommend our traditional, very popular sailing trips around the shores of the Balearic Islands in May and October.

The somewhat longer trips in July and August with a focus on Corsica’s west coast and two sailing trips on the Cote d´Azur offer sailing, sun, summer at its finest. Both cruising areas are certainly known to some people from the shore side, but from the sea side on board it is a completely new experience, a pleasure in close-up. Experience shows that it is also very good for family charters – 2 to 3-4 generations! –

Who for example wants to combine the focus of his holiday on board the “Sir Robert” with Sardinia and Corsica, ideally books in September the sailing trips along the `Gallura`, the northeast coast of Sardinia and with the south coast of Corsica to Bonifacio or Porto Vecchio.

We let the summer end in the southern, warmer areas of the Balearic Islands with cruises along the fascinating west coast of Mallorca and Ibiza as well as Formentera until the beginning of November, gladly with some additional day trips.

As the Tabaluga ship we like to visit the organic farm of Peter Maffay and are present on its open-door day with our own stand. Choose between the impressive journeys along the magnificent coastal beaches in the western Mediterranean.

We will be happy to provide you with information on availability and all other questions at the telephone number or e-mail address below. Or simply let us know your ideas online with the help of the inquiry form!

Sailing trip per person from 1.570 €

– 7 days/6 nights – in the half comfort cabin with shower/WC – with full board & table drinks – incl. 3-course dinner, own organic bread, coffee/tea/pastries, fruit basket daily and much more – excl. 1 dinner on land/self-payer

Boarding is generally on the day of arrival at 6 p.m. Check-out on the last day at 4 p.m.

In spring (May – mid June) and autumn (October) there is the possibility of discounts/single bookings.

Full charter and group discounts apply for the entire summer season – from mini groups with 4 persons as well as family travel discounts and early booking discounts / previous year.

When designing our cruises, we always focus on the flight situation and the relatively cheapest fares. Of course we want you to reach your sunny holiday destination in the most comfortable way. The corresponding links to the airlines can be found under travel dates and in our link tips under service here on the website. Please select your departure date and look for current flight offers, we will be happy to assist you. They change every day! It is still true that: The earlier you book, the cheaper the prices.

In the case of our Balearic Islands cruises we recommend online bookings with all major airlines to Palma de Mallorca and for the Menorca cruises. There you will also find flights and ferry connections to Olbia/Sardinia as well as overnight accommodation in the surrounding area. We can arrange transfers to the ship and to the airport on site as required.

If the airfares should increase, you are welcome to contact us. We can then see together how you can reach your desired destination in the cheapest way. The prices include the service ship, all insurances, agent fees and dinghy trips.

Children between the ages of 7 and 13 pay half the price (subject to availability).

The cabins are spacious and comfortable with hatches and portholes and additional fresh air supply.

Breakfast and lunch are served in the salon, dinner with a 3-course menu is served at the table on the aft deck. In order to experience the typical cuisine of the country, a dinner per cruise takes place in a restaurant on land.

Ask us for the prices: We offer individual pricing, last-minute offers and attractive discounts for exclusive full charter and group bookings!

Day trips and short trips (e.g. weekends) for groups are also possible. We design your program on board and offer suggestions, tips and information for your stay on land.

Best regards,

Your Sir Robert team

boat accident

Divers find 5 bodies during search of superyacht wreckage after it sank off Sicily, 1 still missing

ROME -- Divers searching the wreck of a superyacht that sank off Sicily found the bodies of five passengers Wednesday and searched for one more as questions intensified about why the vessel sank so quickly when a nearby sailboat remained largely unscathed.

Rescue crews unloaded three body bags from rescue vessels that pulled into port at Porticello. Salvatore Cocina, head of the Sicily civil protection agency, said two other bodies had also been found in the wreckage for a total of five.

The discovery made clear the operation to search the hull on the seabed 50 meters (164 feet) underwater had quickly turned into a recovery one, not a rescue, given the amount of time that had passed and that no signs of life had emerged over three days of searching, maritime experts said.

The Bayesian, a 56-meter (184-foot) British-flagged yacht, went down in a storm early Monday as it was moored about a kilometer (a half-mile) offshore. Civil protection officials said they believed the ship was struck by a tornado over the water, known as a waterspout, and sank quickly.

Fifteen people escaped in a lifeboat and were rescued by a nearby sailboat. One body was recovered Monday - that of the ship's chef, Recaldo Thomas, of Antigua.

Thomas was born in Canada, according to his cousin David Isaac, but would visit his parents' homeland of Antigua as a child, moving permanently to the tiny eastern Caribbean island in his early 20s. Italian officials previously listed Antigua as the nationality of someone on board.

The fate of six missing passengers had driven the search effort, including British tech magnate Mike Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter and associates who had successfully defended him in a recent U.S. federal fraud trial.

Lynch's spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

RELATED: 2 Americans among 6 passengers still missing after superyacht sinks off coast of Sicily

Meanwhile, investigators from the Termini Imerese Public Prosecutor's Office were acquiring evidence for their criminal investigation, which they opened immediately after the tragedy even though no formal suspects have been publicly identified.

Questions abound about what caused the superyacht, built in 2008 by Italian shipyard Perini Navi, to sink so quickly, when the nearby Sir Robert Baden Powell sailboat was largely spared and managed to rescue the survivors.

Was it merely the case of a freak waterspout that knocked the ship to its side and allowed water to pour in through open hatches? What was the position of the keel, which on a large sailboat such as the Bayesian might have been retractable, to allow it to enter shallower ports?

"There's a lot of uncertainty as to whether it had a lifting keel and whether it might have been up," said Jean-Baptiste Souppez, a fellow of the Royal Institute of Naval Architects and the editor of the Journal of Sailing Technology. "But if it had, then that would reduce the amount of stability that the vessel had, and therefore made it easier for it to roll over on its side," he said in an interview.

The captain of the Sir Robert Baden Powell sailboat, which came to the Bayesian's rescue, said his craft had sustained minimal damage - the frame of a sun awning broke - even with winds that he estimated reached 12 on the Beaufort wind scale, which is the highest, hurricane-strength force on the scale.

He said he had remained anchored with his engines running to try to maintain the ship's position as the storm, which was forecast, rolled in.

"Another possibility is to heave anchor before the storm and to run downwind at open sea," Karsten Bornersaid in a text message. But he said that might not have been a viable option for the Bayesian, given its trademark 75-meter (246-foot) tall mast.

"If there was a stability problem, caused by the extremely tall mast, it would not have been better at open sea," he said.

Yachts like the Bayesian are required to have watertight, sub-compartments that are specifically designed to prevent a rapid, catastrophic sinking even when some parts fill with water.

"So for the vessel to sink, especially this fast, you are really looking at taking water on board very quickly, but also in a number of locations along the length of the vessel, which again indicates that it might have been rolled over on its side," Souppez said.

Italian coast guard and fire rescue divers continued the underwater search in dangerous and time-consuming conditions. Because of the wreck's depth, which requires special precautions, divers working in tag teams could only spend about 12 minutes at a time searching.

The limited dive time is designed in part to avoid decompression sickness, also known as the "bends," which can occur when divers stay underwater for long periods and ascend too quickly, allowing nitrogen gas dissolved in the blood to form bubbles.

"The longer you stay, the slower your ascent has to be," said Simon Rogerson, the editor of SCUBA magazine. He said the tight turnaround time suggests the operation's managers are trying to limit the risks and recovery time after each dive.

"It sounds like they're operating essentially on no decompression or very tight decompression, or they're being extremely conservative," he said.

Additionally, the divers were working in extremely tight spaces, with debris floating around them, limited visibility and oxygen tanks on their backs.

"We are trying to advance in tight spaces, but any single thing slows us down," said Luca Cari, spokesman for the fire rescue service. "An electric panel could set us back for five hours. These aren't normal conditions. We're at the limit of possibility."

"It's not a question of entering the cabin to inspect it," he added. "They've arrived at the level of the cabins, but it's not like you can open the door," he said.

The Italian coast guard said they had reinforced their dive teams and were using underwater remote-controlled robots, which can stay out for six or seven hours at a time and record the surroundings.

The lack of any signs of life and the recovery of bodies led outside experts to conclude that the search was now a recovery effort and investigation to determine how the tragedy had unfolded.

"I think the fact that there's been quite a lot of diving presence around the vessel and that they haven't been able to pick up any signs of life inside the vessel, is, is unfortunately, not a particularly good sign," said Souppez.

Winfield reported from Rome and Kirka from London. Associated Press visual journalists Trisha Thomas in Rome and Silvia Stellacci in Porticello and reporter Anika Kentish in St. John's, Antigua contributed.