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Sailing yachts like Mike Lynch's are 'unsinkable bodies', CEO of boat manufacturing firm says

Bayesian superyacht which sank off Italy is an "unsinkable" vessel, Giovanni Costantino, CEO of The Italian Sea Group, said.

By Ashna Hurynag, news correspondent and Eleonora Chiarella, producer

Sunday 25 August 2024 08:48, UK

Vessels like Mike Lynch's stricken superyacht are "unsinkable", according to the chief executive of the firm which makes and sells them.

Giovanni Costantino, CEO of The Italian Sea Group, told Sky News there are no flaws with the design and construction of the Bayesian superyacht which capsized in a storm off the coast of Porticello, Sicily, on Monday.

Five bodies were found by divers on Wednesday - taking the number of confirmed dead to six.

The Italian Sea Group also owns the firm that built British tech tycoon Mr Lynch's Bayesian, and Mr Costantino said the vessels "are the safest in the most absolute sense".

"Being the manufacturer of Perini [boats], I know very well how the boats have always been designed and built," he said.

"And as Perini is a sailing ship... sailing ships are renowned to be the safest ever."

He said their structure and keel made them "unsinkable bodies".

Read more on this story: Why search of superyacht wreck has been so difficult Hero mum 'slept with baby on deck when storm sank yacht'

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Mr Costantino said news of the sinking "put me in a state of sadness on one side and of disbelief on the other".

"This incident sounds like an unbelievable story, both technically and as a fact," he said.

It is understood Italian prosecutors investigating the incident are continuing to hold interviews with the survivors.

On Tuesday they questioned the captain for more than two hours to help reconstruct what happened and provide useful technical details.

Four British inspectors are also in Porticello and have begun a preliminary assessment of events.

It is understood they will look at all relevant aspects of the incident, including the design, stability, and operation of the vessel. They will also examine the effects of the weather conditions experienced.

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Twenty-two people were on board the vessel, 15 of whom were rescued - including Briton Charlotte Golunski and her one-year-old daughter Sofia.

Divers will resume efforts on Thursday morning to bring ashore a body they found earlier. One more person remains missing.

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American Magic endures 'brutal' elimination from America's Cup by Italy's Luna Rossa

BARCELONA, Spain — American Magic's comeback fell short and it bid farewell to the 37th America's Cup after Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli secured a decisive fifth win in their playoff series on Thursday.

The same Italian team had eliminated the representative of the New York Yacht Club in the same challengers' semifinal three years prior in Auckland by a 4-0 score. This time, after trailing 4-0, the boat skippered by Tom Slingsby had rallied with three straight wins before finally succumbing 5-3.

“It’s brutal. You know, losing just absolutely sucks,” Terry Hutchinson, head of American Magic sailing operations, told The Associated Press. “We had higher expectations for ourselves.”

American boats have won the America’s Cup a record 30 times, but their last title came in 2013.

The Americans faced adversity this time around when experienced helmsman Paul Goodison was unable to race against Luna Rossa after he fell on the boat and cracked some ribs. Lucas Calabrese took his place and performed admirably, according to Slingsby, despite his limited hours in the super foiling yacht.

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Hutchinson applauded the effort of his team but said that another exit against an admittedly “well-polished” Luna Rossa was not the plan. He also rued some what-could-have-beens in the series, which included one loss by just two seconds.

“The fact that Tommy and Lucas were able to get the boat to a spot where we were knocking on the door, basically in every race except for one. I mean, in the first day of the regatta, we led both those races ... you’re just kicking yourself," he said.

American Magic needed to win the two races scheduled on Thursday to advance, but Luna Rossa wrapped it up after a flawless and fast regatta that it finished a minute ahead.

“We are super happy. It has been a fantastic journey in this semifinal and we are ready for more,” Luna Rossa port helmsman Francesco Bruni said.

INEOS Britannia awaits the Italians in the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger’s final that will begin on Sept. 26. That will be a rematch of the 2021 challenger's final that Luna Rossa also won. The winner of the first-to-seven-wins series will face defending champion Team Emirates New Zealand in the America’s Cup final next month.

Luna Rossa had been cruising in the series until the Americans got back in it. Luna Rossa aided that American fightback when some rigging broke free on the Italian yacht on Wednesday and left it disabled. When the rigging suddenly came loose a loud pop was heard and the boat crashed off its foils into the waves.

But the Luna Rossa shore crew worked through the night to fix the mainsail and its boat performed perfectly.

Luna Rossa took the lead in the decider when it cut behind American Magic on the first of six legs, picked up speed, and never looked back. The Americans were 700 meters behind when the winner crossed the finish line.

“I would just like to mention American Magic for putting up a hell of a fight. They are a champion team and showed it,” Luna Rossa’s starboard helmsman Jimmy Spithill said. “This victory has to go to the shore team. They worked all night and this morning looked like a bunch of zombies.”

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I Loved Tudor’s Sailing Watch Even More While Aboard an Actual Racing Yacht

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The weather report in Barcelona wasn’t looking particularly promising last month as I boarded a vessel on the Mediterranean. Leaving the Spanish coast behind me, storm clouds gathered overhead as the Swiss and French teams geared up to face off in the 37th edition of the America’s Cup. Then again, I was reminded, a bit of wind was a welcome sensation—without it, this regatta couldn’t get underway.

If you’ve never been buzzed by an AC75, the class of racing yacht used during the current America’s Cup , it can be difficult to imagine the sensation. I no longer had to imagine as the Alinghi Red Bull team’s AC75 reached its top speed of 50 knots (58 mph) and seemed to be nearly levitating as it lifted out of the water. And if it’s flying in anything resembling your general direction, this can be quite unnerving.

Even if you’re not a sailor, you’re likely familiar with America’s Cup anyway because of how frequently it intersects with the watch world. Tudor , Omega , and Panerai have all gotten in on the action, the logos of their storied brands featured prominently on mainsheets attached to each vessel’s 26.5-meter mast. For each edition of the Cup in which one of these maisons is sponsoring a team, said company will often debut a special watch, sometimes with a dedicated sailing complication such as a regatta timer. Two of the most compelling of these watches were introduced just last year: Tudor’s Pelagos FXD and FXD Chrono Alinghi Red Bull Racing Edition . As I discovered earlier this month, they become even more compelling aboard the actual yacht they’re inspired by.

The racing yacht wasn't the only thing that made me feel like a member of team Alinghi that day. I also got a chance to wear the FXD from Tudor's Pelagos line. The Pelagos collection comprises the brand's most professional diving watch, complete with heavy-duty specs, some military influence, and perhaps a bit more character than the brand’s flagship Black Bay collection. Introduced in 2012, the Pelagos line has seen continuous improvement, culminating in the recent “ FXD .” (The “FXD” is for “fixed,” a design with military provenance that secures a strap to the wrist without possibility of spring bar failure.) The black-dialed FXD immediately stole my heart upon its release late in 2023, when I dove with it in Florida.

I wasn’t the only one wearing this purpose-made FXD. The entire Alinghi Red Bull racing team—from team owner to engineer—was kitted out with them. For me, it’s a cool watch; for the sailing team, it’s essential gear. Timing is everything out on the open water. “We use a watch [the Pelagos FXD] that’s in complete sync with what we do here,” says Jaume Triay, a young engineer on the Alinghi Red Bull team who’s spent the past two years living in Barcelona to prepare for the competition. “It’s a low-weight, high-performance watch, and it’s made out of the same materials [as the AC75]; I think there’s a nice synergy.”

Everything about the Alinghi FXD is made with yacht racing in mind. The watch is made from carbon fiber to mirror the carbon-hulled AC75 yachts, with matte blue-purple dials to match the Alinghi Red Bull livery. The numbers on the bezel are arranged in the reverse orientation from those on a dive watch. Why? On a yacht, one needs to quickly calculate countdowns, which is why the numbers go from 60-0 in a counterclockwise direction, rather than the more common 0-60. I had never spent much time with either of the new FXD watches before, but had the opportunity to wear the time-only version during my time in Barcelona for the 37th edition of the America’s Cup. I’m officially a fan.

The dial is a classic Tudor affair: Done up in matte Alinghi Red Bull blue, it features a snowflake handset and matching white indices, all of which are nicely lumed with plenty of Super-LumiNova. (The indices, hands, and all bezel hashmarks glow ice blue in low light.) A red second hand matches up with red “Pelagos” text—no doubt in a reference to vintage Rolex models and in keeping with other Pelagos watches—and the rehaut, which contains the outer minute track, features the words “ALINGHI RED BULL RACING” in the upper quadrant.

“Timing is important in many aspects [of what the team does],” Triay says. “It’s important in planning, such as how much time we need to train before competing, and how much time we have to design the boat. But then also, you can think about maneuvers: Are we going to do a slow, nicely controlled maneuver, or a sharp turn executed as quickly as possible? What is best, and how do you find replicable timing in order to analyze different strategies?”

Indeed, timing was everything as we sailed out into the open ocean outside Barcelona aboard the yacht in order to watch Alinghi compete against the French team. The Swiss needed to win this particular race, lest it be forced to win three in a row in the double-round robin of the Louis Vuitton Challenger Section Series—or face elimination. I was eager to try aligning my bezel to properly time the race countdown as announced aboard the ship’s television, where the race was being broadcast live.

Stepping out onto the deck in the rain (we picked a poor day for sailing) Alinghi’s AC75 was visible in the distance, tacking hard in the driving wind and water. Its complement of ultra-skilled sailors, however, proved their competence and seamanship, crossing the starting line just as the countdown ended and gaining a significant start on the French team. Roughly 20 minutes of hard sailing later, up and down a course established by remote-controlled buoys to align with the direction of the wind, the Swiss team captured its much-needed victory.

After the win, high-fives were swapped, congratulations were offered, audible sighs of relief were exhaled. As we sailed back into harbor, we passed the AC75 furling its sails, yelling our collective “mazel tov” at the team and chase boat crews. I glanced down at the FXD and thought back to my childhood summer camp experience and the activity I most enjoyed: Sailing small Sunfish dinghies on Plunkett Reservoir. I haven’t sailed in over 20 years, but the thought suddenly crossed my mind: Maybe it’s time to sail again—Pelagos fixed firmly on wrist.

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The University Sailing Sustainability Challenge has begun!

Calling all university student sailors! The Green Blue, the environmental programme of the RYA has officially begun the 2024-25 University Sailing Sustainability Challenge (USSC) , running until February 2025. 

Since it started back in 2015, the USSC has encouraged University Sailing Clubs (USCs) across the UK to adopt more sustainable practices, and this year marks an exciting change as there is a new official sponsor, the Royal Thames Yacht Club .

The 2024-25 Challenge, backed by the British Universities Sailing Association (BUSA) , introduces a new judging criterion, offering University Sailing Clubs (USCs) in the UK greater creativity and flexibility in their sustainability efforts. Clubs appoint a Sustainability Officer who commits to The Green Blue Boating Pledge and focuses on four of eight categories, such as reducing waste and combating climate change. Throughout the challenge, clubs complete tasks and submit evidence to the judging panel, earning a USSC certificate of achievement.

An exciting opportunity for clubs and students to really show what they can do; the panel awards all clubs who participate and complete their tasks with an official USSC certificate of achievement. The judging panel also score all submissions with the top four participants being selected to receive a prize at the USSC Awards Ceremony, held during the prestigious RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show  in February 2025.

“We, the university community, benefit hugely from being a part of then The Green Blue challenge. Through the challenge we push ourselves, our clubs, and the clubs we sail at, to be more sustainable and to look at the ways in which the sailing community can support the protection of our waterways and our planet” said Amelie Sadler, Vice Chair at BUSA - British Universities Sailing Association.

"The younger generation of sailors are the future of the sport and it's amazing how many of them are passionate about sustainability. By getting involved in the USSC, it's a great way for individuals and university clubs to not only earn recognition but also set an example for the wider boating community. The work they do can make a real difference in protecting the environment, both in the present and for years to come.” said Kate Fortnam, Campaign Manager at The Green Blue.

Last year an impressive 14 universities successfully completed the Challenge, showcasing their dedication to fostering sustainable values within their clubs. This year, with the support of the Royal Thames Yacht Club, The Green Blue anticipate even greater participation and impact.

“At the Royal Thames Yacht Club, we are committed to the adoption of sustainable practices both within the Club and on the water, and as such are delighted to be supporting the excellent University Sailing Sustainability Challenge. Our young people are the future, and it is critical that future is sustainable. May we thank all participants in this most worthy of causes.” said Richard Powell, Vice Commodore at the Royal Thames Yacht Club.

If your club would like to be part of the challenge, visit The Green Blue’s website to find out more, sign up or contact us at [email protected].

Alternatively, you can follow the journey of the Challenge on social media:

• Facebook: @TheGreenBlue
• Instagram: @the_green_blue
• X (formerly Twitter): @TheGreenBlue
• LinkedIn: @The Green Blue

Read further information about the Royal Thames Yacht Club.