Dutch Sailing Crew Rescues 15 From Sinking Bayesian
By Robert Wielaard
The captain of a 42m (180ft) Dutch-registered sailing cruise yacht says his crew rescued 15 people from the 56m superyacht Bayesian that sank east of Sicily shortly before dawn on August 19.
Fifteen passengers escaped on a raft. The body of the Bayesian’s cook was recovered on the day of the accident and six people remain missing, including the yacht’s owner British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and his daughter.
In its weekly newsletter, Zeepost, the Dutch Association of Professional Charter Shipping, says it spoke with Karsten Börner, captain of the Sir Robert Baden Powell. The tri-master lay close to the Bayesian. Both were at anchor. Sir Robert Baden Powell is a 42m sailing yacht. It was launched in 1957. Börner says they deliberately chose a good anchorage spot behind the cape for protection. The thunderstorm had been announced, but the accompanying wind had not been announced.
“I’ve done it before,” the newsletter quoted Börner as saying. “With a water temperature of 32 degrees, the showers here can suddenly become intense. We prepared ourselves. Everything was fixed in place. We always want to be able to leave quickly.”
The 56m aluminum Bayesian had a 73m mast and was moored about 100m behind the Sir Robert. “Fortunately, we could keep our ship in place with maximum chain and the engine full speed,” said Börner. “In the light of lightning, I saw a triangle sticking from the water where the yacht was moored, and two minutes later, there was nothing left,” Zeepost quoted Börner as saying.
When he saw a red flare a little later, he and his helmsman Gamal stepped into a RIB and began a search. “We found a small raft … with 15 people in it. They were injured and had ignited that flare.” Börner and Gamal took them from the raft into the dinghy and to the Sir Robert. Börner continued: “My crew and the passengers divided the tasks. The medicine chest had been opened. There were injuries, three of them seriously. There was also a baby with both parents.
Börner said the injured included someone with a broken leg and several had bruised ribs. An ambulance was sent to the port, but no one wanted or was allowed to take it. “First, we had to talk to the Coast Guard. In the end, the wounded came along; the rest remained on board the Sir Robert.”
Gamal, Sir Robert’s helmsman, a Bayesian crew member and one of the passengers on the Sir Robert, searched for two hours in a dinghy. News reports have suggested Bayesian was struck by a waterspout, but there has been no official confirmation of that.