mr x yacht

British engineer and sailor on sunken Bayesian superyacht under investigation

Two British crew members who were on board the Bayesian superyacht which sank during a tornado off the coast of Sicily are under investigation, sources say.

Tech tycoon Mike Lynch , his teenage daughter and five others were killed when the British-flagged yacht capsized and sank within minutes in the early hours of August 19.

Italian prosecutors are investigating ship engineer Tim Parker Eaton and sailor Matthew Griffith for possible manslaughter and shipwreck charges, a source told Reuters on Wednesday.

The source said Mr Parker Eaton is suspected of having failed to protect the 56-metre-long yacht's engine room and operating systems.

Mr Griffith was on watch duty on the night of the incident, the source added.

The boat’s 51-year-old captain James Cutfield, a New Zealander, was put under investigation for the same offences on Monday , and declined to respond to prosecutors during questioning on Tuesday.

The investigation does not mean the crew members are guilty and does not mean formal charges will follow.

The crew were among 15 survivors of the sinking that killed seven people.

The crew was saved, except for the chef Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas, while six passengers were trapped in the hull.

Mr Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, alongside Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo were lost when the yacht sank.

Hannah had recently finished her A-levels and was due to study at Oxford University.

Their bodies were later recovered from the wreck following days of searching.

Mr Lynch founded software giant Autonomy in 1996, and was cleared in June of carrying out a massive fraud relating to its 11 billion dollar (£8.64billion) sale to US company Hewlett Packard, after a trial at a federal court in San Francisco, California.

The yacht sinking has puzzled experts, who said a vessel like the Bayesian, built by Italian high-end yacht manufacturer Perini , should have withstood the storm and should not have sunk as quickly as it did.

Prosecutors in the town of Termini Imerese, near Palermo, have said their investigation would take time, and would require the wreck to be salvaged from the sea.

The Bayesian is lying on its right side, at a depth of around 50 metres.

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Superyacht sinks latest: Investigators reveal where bodies were found as probe looks at 'crew's responsibility'

Italian officials revealed at a news conference there could be "a question of manslaughter" as they opened a shipwreck investigation and said the probe is also looking at the "crew's responsibility".

Saturday 24 August 2024 18:33, UK

• Superyacht sinking

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• Prosecutor: There 'could be a question of manslaughter'
• Probe 'concentrating' on crew's responsibility
• Seven bodies recovered after five-day search of superyacht wreckage off Sicily
• Saturday's papers pay tribute to youngest victim Hannah Lynch
• Hannah's sister pays tribute to 'my little angel'
• Explained: Inside the superyacht | What challenges have faced divers?
• Eyewitness: Sombre scenes greet rescue teams as final body is brought ashore
• Live reporting by Niamh Lynch

We're ending our live coverage for this evening but here is a recap of what we know:

• Prosecutors have opened a manslaughter investigation into the Bayesian sinking;
• Officials have revealed more details on their investigation and the difficult five-day rescue mission;
• The six bodies found during the search in recent days were all in cabins on the left-hand - and highest - side of the ship. Five were found in the first cabin and the sixth was found in the third;
• Prosecutors said the six passengers were most likely asleep when the boat sank;
• The probe is now focusing on the crew and their responsibilities, with the captain set to undergo more questioning.

Monday 19 August

The Bayesian yacht, flying a British flag, sinks at around 5am local time when the area was hit by a tornado.

Fifteen people are rescued from the 56 metre vessel - including a mother and baby - but another seven remain missing.

One body, later confirmed to be the yacht's chef Recaldo Thomas, is found near the wreck.

It emerges that British technology tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah are among six people that remain missing.

Tuesday 20 August

The search continues for the six tourists missing.

It is reported that among those missing are Morgan Stanley International chairman Jonathan Bloomer; his wife, Judy Bloomer; Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo; and his wife, Neda Morvillo.

Police divers try to reach the hull of the ship, resting at a depth of 50 metres.

Italy's fire brigade Vigili del Fuoco say early inspections of the wreck were "unsuccessful" because of limited access to the bridge and furniture obstructing passages.

The operation is later described as "complex", with divers limited to 12-minute underwater shifts.

Tributes pour in for Mr Thomas, with his friend Gareth Williams saying: "I can talk for everyone that knew him when I say he was a well-loved, kind human being with a calm spirit."

Wednesday 21 August

The search for the six people unaccounted for enters a third day, with crews carrying out inspections of the yacht's internal hull.

A team of four British inspectors from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) arrive in Porticello to look at the site of the sinking.

A helicopter is drafted in to help with the search effort and remotely controlled underwater vehicles are being used, with naval units and cave divers also taking part in the search.

Five bodies are found inside the yacht on Wednesday afternoon. Only four of them are brought to shore.

Body bags are seen being taken to Porticello in the afternoon where dozens of emergency services staff wait.

Searches finish for the day just before 7.30pm.

Thursday 22 August

The search resumes for the remaining missing person.

The body of the fifth missing person, found but not recovered the previous day, is brought to shore.

A fire service boat with flashing blue lights returns with a blue body bag to the port of Porticello just after 8.45am local time on Thursday.

Tributes pour in for Mr Lynch and Mr and Mrs Bloomer after they are identified as having died.

The search is called off at around 8pm in Sicily, with divers expected to begin again at 6.30am on Friday.

Friday 23  August

The search continues for the final person missing from the wreck of the Bayesian, Hannah Lynch.

Vincenzo Zagarola, of the Italian Coastguard, says the search for Hannah has not been "easy or quick", comparing the sunken yacht to an "18-storey building full of water".

The coastguard confirms in the late morning that her body has been found.

A green body bag is brought to the port of Porticello from the site of the sinking.

A spokesperson announces on behalf of the Lynch family that they are "devastated" and "in shock" after the deaths of Mike and Hannah.

Hannah's sister Esme pays tribute to her "little angel".

Saturday 24 August

A press conference is held in the court of an Italian town, Termini Imerese.

Public prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio tells reporters that his office has opened an initial investigation against unknown persons into manslaughter and negligent shipwreck.

As the focus now turns to the manslaughter investigation, here's another reminder of the seven victims of the sinking and the 15 people who survived. 

A close friend of the Lynch family has added to the chorus of tributes for British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, who died in Monday's superyacht sinking.

Susannah Gurdun, who lives in Suffolk, recalled being "daunted" when she first met Mr Lynch at a dinner party, before discovering he was "so much more than the corporate cliche".

"He was riveting.  He was funny, and kind, and endlessly interesting; capable of talking about anything and everything," she said.

Ms Gardun said the businessman also had a "thrilling ability" to make complicated subjects "accessible to those of us less blessed with a science acumen".

"In particular, he was wonderful with children.  I will never forget hearing him explain to a group of them - including our ten year old son - the physics of why the sky went pink at sunset," she said.

She went on describe Mr Lynch as a "true genius" and "phenomenal creative".

Ms Gardun said his daughter Hannah was also showing "serious literary promise", and added that it was "beyond tragic that we will never know where her own particular brilliance might have led".

"I still feel blessed to have shared that time with them in Spain.  Not just because I witnessed Mike’s incredible storytelling; but because I was given a chance of understanding what that moment said about all four of them as a united vibrant loving family," she said.

"He was an extraordinary human being and it was - truly - a privilege to have known him."

A yacht crew member who survived the sinking has paid tribute to Hannah Lynch, calling her a "diamond in a sea of stars".

Sasha Murray, chief stewardess of the Bayesian, has released a statement after divers recovered the final missing body from the wreckage, which is believed to be 18-year-old Hannah.

"Those who knew her will know that Hannah was a diamond in a sea of stars," she said.

"Bright, beautiful and always shining. What most people may not have seen was the extraordinarily strong, deep and loving relationship she shared with her parents, whom she adored more than anything. 

"While swimming with them she often said, if anything ever happened she would save them. 

"I have no doubt that the Irish, Latina fire that burns in her soul kept that spirited determination alive."

Ms Murray's statement comes as a new image of Hannah Lynch and her father Mike Lynch is released:

Prosecutors announced in this morning's news conference that they have opened a manslaughter and negligent shipwreck investigation.

Officials were unable to answer several queries from the media, saying they needed time to establish the facts, but what are the key questions facing prosecutors? 

Why weren't passengers who remained on board the vessel warned about escaping from the yacht?

The prosecutor in charge of the case, Raffaele Cammarano, suggested that some passengers may have been asleep when others were awake.

Asked why they were not woken up or alerted, he said that is something investigators are trying to work out from the statements of the survivors.

He called it an "essential" part of the inquiry.

Why were several of the passengers in one cabin?

The press conference heard several bodies onboard the sunken yacht were found in a single cabin which was not theirs.

Mr Cammarano said investigators currently do not know the reason for them being discovered in the same cabin.

The chief of the Palermo fire service, Bentivoglio Fiandra, said the yacht pinned to the right and suggested people tried to go on the other side, taking refuge in cabins in the higher part of the wreck.

Why did the boat sink?

The vessel had been deemed "unsinkable" by its manufacturer - Italian shipyard Perini Navi.

The Bayesian was hit by a downburst, according to Mr Cammarano, which are powerful winds that descend from a thunderstorm and spread out quickly once they hit the ground.

Officials will look into the safety equipment on the sunken vessel.

Mr Cammarano was asked about whether there is a black box and if the hatches were left open.

He said investigators do not have exact information about the black box and that the first phase of the inquiry will look into it.

Why were nearby vessels not similarly affected?

Another yacht, the Sir Robert BP, was about 150 to 200 metres from the Bayesian when extreme weather hit.

Its crew helped to rescue 15 people from the stricken vessel.

Italian officials said they would be looking at how the downburst could affect one vehicle and not other nearby vessels.

What weather warnings was the Bayesian alerted to?

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.

He said there were forecasts of winds and a storm alert, but there was no warning of a tornado.

"Given that the conditions were such, there wasn't anything to suggest there could be an extreme situation arising," he said.

"There are vessels that can monitor, after all, these events and one would have thought that the captain had taken precautions."

How long will it take to recover the sailing vessel?

Mr Macauda could not confirm how long it would take to retrieve the shipwreck of the sunken yacht.

"Everything depends on the availability of the owners and the timeframe of the retrieval of the wreck and of course all that has to be submitted to the port authorities and in parallel of course there will be the inquiry results and it's only really then that we will be able to authorise the operation," he said.

"I can't say, like some experts who have already spoken on the subject, [said] that it will be eight weeks."

He made clear that the owners will bear the full cost of retrieval, although he could not estimate the figure.

Italian authorities detailed the challenging and meticulous rescue operation to recover the six missing people from the Bayesian wreck (see 9.18am post).

But why was the five-day search so difficult? 

Read more below...

More on this morning's press conference. 

One of the main updates from prosecutors was that they have opened manslaughter and shipwreck investigations after the deaths of seven people in the Bayesian sinking. 

Watch the announcement below...

Prosecutors have given a lengthy news conference this morning on their investigation into the sinking of the Bayesian. 

Read the full report on the prosecutors' probe below...

Marine investigator James Wilkes has been speaking to Sky News after this morning's press conference.

"Naturally, there are more questions than there are substantive answers at the moment - that's the nature of investigative work.

"Something forced that yacht to roll beyond its nominal stability limits, such that it wasn't able to right itself with the ingress of a certain amount of seawater that was coming into the yacht. 

"So the investigators are going to ask themselves one initial question - what must the conditions have been for this to happen? 

"Then they are going to look at the contributing factors to the yacht, sinking, and, and the unfortunate loss of life." 

Prosecutors said this morning that the future of the investigation is reliant on recovering the wreck. 

Mr Wilkes said the yacht is a "major piece of physical evidence in and of itself." 

"It's lying at 50 metres, which is a recoverable depth. 

"If it was significantly deeper, then I'm not sure they'd be considering salvage at this stage or certainly, the salvage question would be a lot more complicated to answer. 

"But if there was the ability to raise that yacht in one piece safely, then it gives the investigators physically more to look at."

Mr Wilkes said he was unsure if the yacht would have a "black box" - called a voyage data recorder in shipping. 

"It would record things like GPS position, heading speed, engine telemetry, whether the radars were on, what they were recording, alarms, communications from the yacht itself, any audio on the bridge.

"But more often than not, these are on merchant ships. The yacht was a commercial yacht in the sense that it could be chartered out so it's quite possible it has a voyage data recorder on, but I'm not sure that it does. I don't know that as a matter of fact," he said.

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Youth Experience Hands-On Lake Erie Learning at Ohio Sea Camp | Ohio Sea Grant

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Youth Experience Hands-On Lake Erie Learning at Ohio Sea Camp

12:00 pm, Wed August 28, 2024 – At this year’s Ohio 4-H Sea Camp, youth ages 14-17 learned about aquatic science and took part in a variety of Lake Erie-based activities

Teenagers from around Ohio participated in hands-on learning about aquatic science on Lake Erie this summer, in part thanks to the extension efforts of Ohio Sea Grant.

At this year’s Ohio 4-H Sea Camp , which took place on Kelleys Island in July, youth ages 14-17 took part in a variety of Lake Erie-based activities, including fishing and water recreation. Tory Gabriel, Ohio Sea Grant extension program leader, served on the camp’s leadership team and helped teach kids about lake science.

Tory Gabriel, Ohio Sea Grant extension program leader, helped teens learn about aquatic scicence on Lake Erie at the 2024 Ohio 4-H Sea Camp.

“It’s really an introduction for a lot of these kids,” Gabriel said. “A lot of them have never even seen Lake Erie before. Seeing kids have their initial experiences on the lake, and just how rewarding that is for them, makes it super rewarding for us as a camp staff.”

The annual camp, directed by Ohio 4-H Youth Development , has a 40-year history of engaging youth: it was started in 1984 by Ohio Sea Grant and Ohio 4-H extension staff, including former Ohio Sea Grant extension specialist Dave Kelch. Today, teens who attend the camp gain an understanding of water recreation safety as well as lifelong skills fostered through water-based activities.

“Sea Camp is such a unique opportunity for youth across Ohio, many of whom have not had the opportunity to experience all that Lake Erie has to offer,” said Jenny Strickler, an Ohio 4-H extension educator who led this year’s camp. “Youth learn about career opportunities, safe boating practices, aquatic biology and more while participating in a variety of recreational watersport activities. They also have the chance to learn about and explore the history and unique aspects of Kelleys Island.”

At the camp, kids participated in a variety of activities, including fishing, boating, fossil hunting, and more.

This year, attendees spent five days on Kelleys Island with a full schedule of activities, starting with a waterfront orientation where they learned about different kinds of boats, basic knots, lure-making, and sun safety, Gabriel said. Over the next two days, they participated in different sessions focusing on personal watercraft, navigation skills, fishing techniques, geology, fossils, and more.

“I teach the aquatic science part of that, so I take them down to the lake to learn about Lake Erie’s food web and critical issues,” Gabriel said. “Then we use seines, dip nets, microscopes, and all kinds of fun stuff to get them really hands-on with sampling the aquatic environment.”

Students interacted with a number of experts from different Ohio agencies, including Ohio Sea Grant and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Sarah Orlando, Ohio Sea Grant extension educator who oversees the Ohio Clean Marinas Porgram, spoke with students about maritime career opportunities.

“The partnerships with so many experts from Ohio Sea Grant, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Spirit of America and more make it truly one of the most outstanding waterfront experiences for youth available,” Strickler said.

In the evenings, campers got to participate in additional activities such as kayaking.

On the fourth day of the camp, kids spend the whole day participating in an “adventure” activity, such as charter boat fishing or kayak fishing. Gabriel helped students learn how to catch and process walleye, and some students even helped in the kitchen to prepare for a fish bake.

“A lot of times, kids are catching their first fish, and that’s always super exciting,” Gabriel said. “It’s awesome to help teens, who are learning new hobbies, experience the different things that Lake Erie has to offer. It’s good timing to get them out on the water and let them see what’s going on and what’s possible.”

Near the end of their time in the island, students participated in different group competitions, such as a cardboard boat race and a contest to see who can build the most seaworthy boat based on the camp’s lessons.

For more information about the program, visit Ohio 4-H Sea Camp’s website or contact Strickler at [email protected]. Students interested in attending next year’s camp are encouraged to apply, and camper registration will start on March 1, 2025.

Ohio Sea Grant is supported by The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences ( CFAES ) School of Environment and Natural Resources , Ohio State University Extension , and NOAA Sea Grant , a network of 34 Sea Grant programs nation-wide dedicated to the protection and sustainable use of marine and Great Lakes resources. Stone Laboratory is Ohio State’s island campus on Lake Erie and is the research, education, and outreach facility of Ohio Sea Grant and part of CFAES School of Environment and Natural Resources.

PREVIOUSLY :: Youth Experience Hands-On Lake Erie Learning at Ohio Sea Camp

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I knew Mike Lynch and his next idea was to get us to believe the unbelievable

The entrepreneur who died in a freak yachting disaster has been dubbed the british bill gates, but jonathan margolis , who knew him well, says he was a fascinating man obsessed with the science of probability and his next project was to make us believe the unbelievable, article bookmarked.

Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile

J ust under 10 weeks ago, 59-year-old Mike Lynch was on trial in San Francisco on 17 charges of fraud . He was almost guaranteed to receive a 25-year sentence. 

He was terrified that he would die in a US prison, not because he was guilty – he had spent £30m on legal fees arguing his innocence – but because it’s almost unheard of in the US to win a case against the US Justice Department. His chances of winning were put at 0.5 per cent. However, after 13 years of putting together detailed evidence to support his plea, he was acquitted and it felt like a miracle. 

Once back in the UK, Lynch set about celebrating what he called his second life. Through tears, he told one interviewer how even the traffic in London seemed magical. “I’m just thinking this is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen,” he said.

This month, the tech tycoon took his family, friends and lawyers for further celebrations on a Mediterranean cruise aboard his luxury sailboat. It s ank in a freak violent squall in the small hours of Monday. His body was discovered on Wednesday, alongside five others recovered from the sunken Bayesian superyacht with his 18-year-old daughter Hannah still reported missing.

The chance of such a yacht being knocked flat by a weather event while anchored was minuscule because it had simply never happened before. Sailing expert Stewart Campbell, editor-in-chief of Boat International, said on Newsnight : “I’ve been speaking to a lot [of people in] the industry today and they are as shocked as me – and just in utter disbelief that this could happen.”

As if beating infinitesimal odds twice in a few weeks wasn’t freakish enough, it has since emerged that Lynch’s co-defendant in the US trial, his company’s former vice-president of finance Stephen Chamberlain, was killed by a car on Saturday while out running in Cambridgeshire.

The chance of both defendants dying within weeks of the trial, are beyond absurd. The combination of all three events is beyond crazy. Although it is all bound to be a cluster of coincidences, both lucky and tragic, there will doubtless be X-Files -like conspiracy theories about the affair for years to come.

The ultimate irony, however, is that the Essex-born academic, technology business innovator and tycoon, prime ministerial adviser and general member of the great and good was also one of the world’s leading authorities on probability theory.

Were Lynch’s story not true, anyone who went to Netflix with a dramatisation of it would probably be shown the door for being ludicrously improbable.

Specifically, Lynch was a proponent and teacher at his alma mater Cambridge University of Bayesian mathematics. Indeed, he named his boat after the theory of Thomas Bayes, an 18th-century statistician and Presbyterian minister in Tunbridge Wells. 

Bayesian maths embraces the idea that predictions of unusual outcomes – freak weather events for one – can’t be made accurately using a conventional fixed framework of information. Instead, they have to be constantly updated with fresh data on how a situation develops. Bayesian maths is also the basis of the current boom in artificial intelligence, in which Mike Lynch was a pioneer.

Dubbed the British Bill Gates , Lynch sounds to many like a major-league nerd (possibly lucky not to be serving some serious prison time). However, I can vouch for a very different Lynch. I’d been in touch with him since 2016 and found him not just almost alarmingly straightforward and honest, but very amusing, extraordinarily erudite in everything from technology to classical cultures, and unexpectedly unorthodox in his views on science.

This is how I came to be in his Pall Mall office eight years ago for a sparkling one-to-one meeting-cum-tutorial on the subject of not technology, not his already mounting legal problems but… dogs.

Mike Lynch had contacted me about a column I wrote for many years in the Financial Times . He knew that I was interested in fringe science – I once wrote a book on Uri Geller – and that we’d been at the same Essex school but hadn’t known each other at the time. Lynch therefore decided that I was the person to talk to about helping him set up a research project into the sixth sense of dogs.

It was a subject that fascinated him. Lynch explained that he was convinced dogs have a hitherto unexplained sixth sense – that they really do know things without conventional sensual input.

For example, they seem to know if you’re on your way home, even if you’re miles away. “I’ve done this informal experiment many times,” he told me. “I’ll get on a train in London for our house in Suffolk and at that exact second, they will get excited. My wife and I have ruled out as many possible clues as we can. She’ll note the moment they start barking and it will match up with me stepping onto the train.”

The problem was, he went on to explain, that the experimental work that had been done in this area was flawed. For his next big project, he wanted to fund some proper, rigorous, incontestable research.

“I’m not a parapsychologist or a paranormalist,” he told me. “I don’t believe in auras or energies or anything weird. I’m firmly entrenched in science, and I know this is controversial, but there’s an effect out there that needs explaining.”

As a first step, he wanted me to write a column inviting people to describe their experiences with dogs’ sixth sense, and then help him launch a dedicated website for them to post their accounts. “That way we build a database of supposedly psychic dogs to work with.” 

We discussed possible names for the website, and how we’d get together to discuss the next step. He was about to go off with David Cameron on a trade mission, I was living in New York at the time, so diaries needed coordinating.

He wasn’t what I had expected, but I found him fascinating, especially as he rattled through his theories further for nearly 90 minutes. He was an inspiring teacher with a big brain and was patient when I lagged behind, or got the wrong end of the stick.

“Dogs are incredibly good at reading people’s emotions,” he said. “The key thing is that dogs are unusual among creatures in that they have mirror neurons, which are very important. These are the neurons in the brain that put you in someone else’s shoes. If I hit my hand with a hammer, you’ll wince. It’s the basis of empathy.

Were Lynch’s story not true, anyone who went to Netflix with a dramatisation of it would probably be shown the door for being ludicrously improbable

“This makes it possible for children around two and a half to learn to lie. Deceit is fascinating because to be deceitful, you have to realise that not everyone has the same information you have. So it’s a major step and a highly intelligent function. Dogs run a model in their mind of what it’s like to be you, or another dog. This is how they become pack animals.”

This, he admitted, was all traditional science. The big question, he wanted to know the answer to, was whether there was something beyond that and, a sort of realm that you can’t explain. “You have to have a good understanding above all of probability – the probability that this or that effect is explicable using known science.  

“This is why it’s about time that the experiment was redone properly, so we can find out whether there are dogs that can actually produce a statistically meaningful outcome.”

Being a world authority in mathematical theory, Lynch was reassuring that he was “totally a believer in the scientific method”, but he wanted me to bear in mind that the mammalian brain is the most complex item in the known universe too. 

“So the idea that we would understand everything about it sounds arrogant,” he insisted. “I want sceptics to be all over the study even though they might not want to believe it.”

He said this way he could show – or not – that dogs are “Bayesian calculators”. Bayesian logic is kind of magical thinking in a way because it’s so much more subtle and complex than classical logic. “What dogs do in their Bayesian way is use intuition – see data in a different way. But this is not magic, it’s science and it’s going to lead a few years from now to astonishing developments in AI.”

This leap to AI eight years ago from the dry theories of a long-dead clergyman wasn’t surprising. Lynch had the type of brain that was always ahead of its time.

Regarded by many in both academia and business as a tech genius, it’s why in 2011 his technology company, Autonomy, sold for $11.7bn to the fading computer giant HP. It was HP who seem to have suffered buyer’s regret later and started blaming Lynch and his team – incorrectly – for fiddling the books.

For a hard-headed academic his view of intuition made sense in terms of data processing and how we predict things happening. He was adamant that “hunches, gut feeling, intuition” were all sophisticated measures by which decisions are taken, “not boring spreadsheets. This is why big companies make such bad decisions. The danger of analysis drives me nuts but I’ve had to learn this.”

He recounted a story from the past when a “posh dreamer” came to him with a great idea to download music over the internet. Lynch said he spent a long time explaining to him why his vision wouldn’t work. That it would take four days to download a single over the internet and the disc to store it on would cost the same as the average house. 

Reflecting on his response, he said: “Of course, what I should have done is said all of that and then gone away and plotted the cost of disc drives and realised he could be on to something. But the over-analysis stopped it happening and I missed out.”

Mike Lynch’s dog project never happened. My interview with him never ran thanks to the question mark over him with the, as then, unsettled court case.

“That’s really sad,” he emailed me after I told him. “But thanks for trying.” He seemed truly upset. We stayed in touch throughout the trial, and were still discussing the Ultimate Dogs Experiment while he was in San Francisco in the run-up to the trial and the court case itself. As the judge proved, I wasn’t the only person to find Lynch convincing and exuding both character and integrity.

I discussed the whole, heart-rending story yesterday with a medical consultant friend from school who had been following his travails. We agreed that this latest tragic twist in his incredible story, feels as improbable as it does just desperately sad. 

Bayesian maths is used extensively in forecasting probable weather, so what are the odds against a boat called Bayesian being capsized by a tornado/waterspout in the Mediterranean?

“Smart arse question, sorry,” my friend wrote back, “But with all the money in the world, why does an expert on predicting natural events sleep with friends and family on a boat when the weather is so awful?”

Unfortunately, we will probably never know.

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Lynch family ‘devastated and in shock’ after bodies recovered from sunken yacht

T he family of Mike and Hannah Lynch, who died after a luxury yacht sank off the coast of Sicily , have said they are “devastated” and “in shock”.

On Friday, 18-year-old Hannah became the final missing passenger to be recovered from the wreckage of the Bayesian superyacht.

The discovery comes as unconfirmed reports in the Italian media have said that prosecutors are set to announce a manslaughter investigation into the incident.

The pair, alongside Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo were lost when the yacht sank at around 5am local time on Monday.

In a statement, the family of Mr Lynch and Hannah said: “The Lynch family is devastated, in shock and is being comforted and supported by family and friends.

“Their thoughts are with everyone affected by the tragedy. They would like to sincerely thank the Italian coastguard, emergency services and all those who helped in the rescue.

“Their one request now is that their privacy be respected at this time of unspeakable grief.”

The Lynch family also issued a photograph of Mr Lynch and Hannah alongside their tribute.

Hannah’s sister Esme paid her own tribute, saying: “Hannah often burst into my bedroom and lay down with me. Sometimes beaming with a smile, sometimes cheeky, sometimes for advice. No matter what, she brought boundless love to me.

“She was endlessly caring, passionately mad, unintentionally hilarious and the most amazing, supportive and joyful sister and best friend to me. And on top of all this, she had even more love to give endlessly to all her friends and passion to give to her incredible studies and goals. She is my little angel, my star.”

Vincenzo Zagarola, of the Italian Coastguard, said the search for Hannah was not “easy or quick”, comparing the sunken yacht to an “18-storey building full of water”.

The bodies of all six missing passengers have now been brought to shore in the small fishing village of Porticello, around 11 miles from the Sicilian capital of Palermo.

Of the 22 passengers and crew on board, 15 – including Mr Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares – were rescued after escaping on to a lifeboat.

The body of Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas, who was working as a chef on the superyacht, was recovered at the scene of the sinking on Monday.

The boat trip was a celebration of Mr Lynch’s acquittal in a fraud case in the US.

The businessman, who founded software giant Autonomy in 1996, was cleared in June of carrying out a massive fraud relating to its 11 billion dollar (£8.64 billion) sale to US company Hewlett Packard.

One of Hannah’s former teachers paid tribute to her after her body was recovered from the wreckage, saying: “I will remember her for what she taught me: kindness, compassion and commitment.”

Jon Mitropoulos-Monk, head of English at Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith , said: “I’ve never taught someone who combined sky-high intellectual ability with warmth and enthusiasm in the way Hannah did.”

Her friend Katya Lewis also paid tribute, saying: “Being with Hannah made me feel whole and happy.

“She is the most special friend anyone could ask for and I will always love Hannah.”

In a statement confirming their parents’ deaths, the Bloomer family described the couple as “incredible people and an inspiration to many”.

Mr Zagarola previously said a decision on whether to raise the sunken yacht from the seabed is “not on the agenda”, but will be in the future.

The luxury yacht’s captain, James Cutfield, has reportedly been questioned by authorities in connection with the sunken vessel.

A helicopter, remotely controlled underwater vehicles, naval units and cave divers were used during the search operation.

Bayesian was moored around half a mile off the coast of Porticello when it sank as the area was hit by a storm.

The wreckage of the superyacht is resting on the seabed off the coast at a depth of 50 metres (164ft).

Prosecutors in the nearby town Termini Imerese are scheduled to hold a press conference on Saturday morning.

From news to politics, travel to sport, culture to climate – The Independent has a host of free newsletters to suit your interests. To find the stories you want to read, and more, in your inbox, click here .

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Where Kamala Harris Stands on the Issues: Abortion, Immigration and More

She wants to protect the right to abortion nationally. Here’s what else to know about her positions.

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By Maggie Astor

• Published July 21, 2024 Updated Aug. 24, 2024

With Vice President Kamala Harris having replaced President Biden on the Democratic ticket, her stances on key issues will be scrutinized by both parties and the nation’s voters.

She has a long record in politics: as district attorney of San Francisco, as attorney general of California, as a senator, as a presidential candidate and as vice president.

Here is an overview of where she stands.

Ms. Harris supports legislation that would protect the right to abortion nationally, as Roe v. Wade did before it was overturned in 2022, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

After the Dobbs ruling, she became central to the Biden campaign’s efforts to keep the spotlight on abortion, given that Mr. Biden — with his personal discomfort with abortion and his support for restrictions earlier in his career — was a flawed messenger. In March, she made what was believed to be the first official visit to an abortion clinic by a president or vice president.

She consistently supported abortion rights during her time in the Senate, including cosponsoring legislation that would have banned common state-level restrictions, like requiring doctors to perform specific tests or have hospital admitting privileges in order to provide abortions.

As a presidential candidate in 2019, she argued that states with a history of restricting abortion rights in violation of Roe should be subject to what is known as pre-clearance for new abortion laws — those laws would have to be federally approved before they could take effect. That proposal is not viable now that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe.

Climate change

Ms. Harris has supported the Biden administration’s climate efforts , including legislation that provided hundreds of billions of dollars in tax credits and rebates for renewable energy and electric vehicles.

“It is clear the clock is not just ticking, it is banging,” she said in a speech last year , referring to increasingly severe and frequent disasters spurred by climate change. “And that is why, one year ago, President Biden and I made the largest climate investment in America’s history.”

During her 2020 presidential campaign, she emphasized the need for environmental justice , a framework that calls for policies to address the adverse effects that climate change has on poor communities and people of color. She has emphasized that as vice president as well.

In 2019, Ms. Harris, then a senator, and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democrat of New York, introduced legislation that would have evaluated environmental rules and laws by how they affected low-income communities. It would have also established an independent Office of Climate and Environmental Justice Accountability and created a “senior adviser on climate justice” within several federal agencies. In 2020, Ms. Harris introduced a more sweeping version of the bill. None of the legislation was passed.

Ms. Harris was tasked with leading the Biden administration’s efforts to secure voting rights legislation, a job she asked for . The legislation — which went through several iterations but was ultimately blocked in the Senate — would have countered voting restrictions in Republican-led states, limited gerrymandering and regulated campaign finance more strictly.

This year, she met with voting rights advocates and described a strategy that included creating a task force on threats to election workers and challenging state voting restrictions in court.

She has condemned former President Donald J. Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. In a speech in 2022 marking the anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, she said that day had showed “what our nation would look like if the forces who seek to dismantle our democracy are successful.” She added, “What was at stake then, and now, is the right to have our future decided the way the Constitution prescribes it: by we the people, all the people.”

Economic policy

In campaign events this year, Ms. Harris has promoted the Biden administration’s economic policies, including the infrastructure bill that Mr. Biden signed, funding for small businesses, a provision in the Inflation Reduction Act that capped the cost of insulin for people on Medicare and student debt forgiveness.

She indicated at an event in May that the administration’s policies to combat climate change would also bring economic benefits by creating jobs in the renewable energy industry. At another event , she promoted more than $100 million in Energy Department grants for auto parts manufacturers to pivot to electric vehicles, which she said would “help to keep our auto supply chains here in America.”

As a senator, she introduced legislation that would have provided a tax credit of up to $6,000 for middle- and low-income families, a proposal she emphasized during her presidential campaign as a way to address income inequality.

Immigration

One of Ms. Harris’s mandates as vice president has been to address the root causes of migration from Latin America, like poverty and violence in migrants’ home countries. Last year, she announced $950 million in pledges from private companies to support Central American communities. Similar commitments made previously totaled about $3 billion.

In 2021, she visited the U.S.-Mexico border and said : “This issue cannot be reduced to a political issue. We’re talking about children, we’re talking about families, we are talking about suffering.”

More recently, she backed a bipartisan border security deal that Mr. Biden endorsed but Mr. Trump, by urging Republican lawmakers to kill it , effectively torpedoed. The legislation would have closed the border if crossings reached a set threshold, and it would have funded thousands of new border security agents and asylum officers. “We are very clear, and I think most Americans are clear, that we have a broken immigration system and we need to fix it,” Ms. Harris said in March .

Israel and Gaza

Ms. Harris called in March for an “immediate cease-fire” in Gaza and described the situation there as a “humanitarian catastrophe.” She said that “the threat Hamas poses to the people of Israel must be eliminated” but also that “too many innocent Palestinians have been killed.”

In an interview later that month , she emphasized her opposition to an Israeli invasion of Rafah, the city in southern Gaza to which more than a million people had fled. “I have studied the maps,” she said. “There’s nowhere for those folks to go, and we’re looking at about 1.5 million people in Rafah who are there because they were told to go there, most of them.”

She has said on multiple occasions that she supports a two-state solution.

Racial justice

Racial justice was a theme of Ms. Harris’s presidential campaign. In a memorable debate exchange in 2019 , she denounced Mr. Biden’s past work with segregationist senators and opposition to school busing mandates.

She has called for ending mandatory minimum sentences, cash bail and the death penalty, which disproportionately affect people of color.

Amid the protests that followed the police killing of George Floyd in 2020, she was one of the senators who introduced the Justice in Policing Act, which would have made it easier to prosecute police officers, created a national registry of police misconduct and required officers to complete training on racial profiling. It was not passed.

Her record as a prosecutor also came into play during her presidential campaign. Critics noted that as attorney general of California, she had generally avoided stepping in to investigate police killings.

Maggie Astor covers politics for The New York Times, focusing on breaking news, policies, campaigns and how underrepresented or marginalized groups are affected by political systems. More about Maggie Astor

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MR T YACHT CHARTER

46.3m  /  151'11   baglietto   2014.

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Cabin Configuration

Special Features:

• Huge beach platform with waterside gym
• Clean and contemporary interior styling
• High-quality finishes and materials
• Custom Italian furniture
• Sundeck primed for alfresco dining, sunbathing and relaxation

The flagship of Baglietto’s 46 line, motor yacht Mr T is the epitome of understated luxury, ensuring guests a truly tranquil charter experience

The 46.3m/151'11" 'Mr T' motor yacht built by the Italian shipyard Baglietto is available for charter for up to 10 guests in 5 cabins. This yacht features interior styling by Italian designer Francesco Paszkowski Design.

Built in 2014, Mr T offers beautifully proportioned decks for exquisite indoor/outdoor living during a luxury yacht charter .

Guest Accommodation

Mr T is great for families thanks to her child-friendly setup. She offers guest accommodation for up to 10 guests with a layout comprising a master suite, two double cabins and two twin cabins. There are 9 beds in total, including 1 king, 2 doubles, 4 singles and 2 pullmans.

Onboard Comfort & Entertainment

You and your guests can enjoy a variety of experiences on Mr T, particularly a beach club for you to relax on the edge of the water.

Performance & Range

Built with a steel hull and aluminium superstructure, she offers greater on-board space and is more stable when at anchor thanks to her full-displacement hull. Powered by twin Caterpillar engines, she comfortably cruises at 12 knots, reaches a maximum speed of 17 knots with a range of up to 4,500 nautical miles from her 80,000 litre fuel tanks at cruising speed.

Mr T has a good selection of water toys and accessories to entertain you and your guests whilst on charter. Take to the sea on the Jet Skis offering you power and control on the water. In addition there are waterskis that are hugely entertaining whether you are a beginner or a seasoned pro. If you enjoy diving you'll appreciate the diving equipment and the PADI certified professionals on board. If that isn't enough Mr T also features a seabob, wakeboards, inflatable water toys, paddleboards and scooters. Mr T has a 4.5m/14'9" Zar Tender to transfer you from ship to shore.

Mr T and her crew are available for charter this summer for cruising within the Mediterranean. She is also accepting bookings this winter on request.

With its luxurious interiors, vast array of onboard facilities and a highly-trained and professional crew, a luxury yacht vacation onboard motor yacht Mr T promises to be nothing short of spectacular.

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Amenities & Entertainment

For your relaxation and entertainment Mr T has the following facilities, for more details please speak to your yacht charter broker.

Mr T is reported to be available to Charter with the following recreation facilities:

• 1 x 4.5m  /  14'9 Zar 5 Tender with 1 x Suzuki 90 HP engine

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

Mr T Awards & Nominations

• The ShowBoats Design Awards 2015 Exterior Design & Styling Award – Motor Yacht below 500GT Finalist
• The ShowBoats Design Awards 2015 Interior Design Award – Motor Yacht below 500GT Finalist
• The ShowBoats Design Awards 2015 Naval Architecture Award – Displacement Motor Yacht Finalist
• The World Superyacht Awards 2015 Displacement Motor Yachts of below 500GT – 43m and above Finalist
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For a full list of all available amenities & entertainment facilities, or price to hire additional equipment please contact your broker.

PADI CERTIFIED TRAINING CENTRE

Your family and friends could learn to scuba dive on your charter vacation onboard this luxury charter yacht. Motor Yacht Mr T is a certified PADI Dive Centre yacht so you could obtain your PADI diving card .

'Mr T' Charter Rates & Destinations

Summer Season

May - September

€225,000 p/week + expenses Approx $250,000

High Season

Cruising Regions

Mediterranean France, Italy, Monaco

HOT SPOTS:   Amalfi Coast, Corsica, French Riviera, Sardinia

Winter Season

October - April

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