Ill-Fated Superyacht Captain Faces Investigation After Tragic Sinking

James Cutfield, the 51-year-old New Zealand-born captain of the Bayesian, was one of 22 individuals on board. Despite his efforts to save the crew and passengers, seven lives were lost in the sinking. Among the deceased were British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah Lynch, and several prominent figures including Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of Morgan Stanley, his wife Judy, Clifford Chance lawyer Christopher Morvillo and his wife Neda, and the yacht’s chef, Recaldo Thomas.

The body of the chef was found floating in the water on the day the yacht went down.

The other bodies were found days later by specialist divers in two cabins inside the yacht.

The disaster has prompted an ongoing investigation into the causes of the sinking and the actions of those on board. Cutfield, along with ship engineer Tim Parker-Eaton and crewmember Matthew Griffiths, is under investigation for manslaughter and culpable shipwreck, though no formal charges have yet been filed.

Cutfield’s account of the events, as relayed through friends to the Italian outlet Corriere, asserts that he did everything within his power to prevent the vessel from sinking and to rescue those on board. “He is living through the darkest days of his life,” they said, amid speculation and scrutiny over his role in the tragedy.

The captain departed Palermo on August 29, ten days after the disaster, flying to his home in Mallorca. He had lost his passport in the incident but was issued a replacement by Italian authorities to facilitate his departure. Despite the intense pressure and investigation, Cutfield, Parker-Eaton, and Griffiths are not facing charges but are required to remain available to investigators through their legal representatives.

They therefore have no obligation to stay in Italy but have to nominate lawyers so that the authorities have a way of remaining in contact with them.

Cutfield’s lawyer Aldo Mordiglia said his client ‘exercised his right to remain silent’.

“There were two reasons. He is understandably very shaken up, and secondly, us lawyers were only appointed yesterday and we need to acquire information we do not have in order to defend him.”

The British-flagged Bayesian, a 56-metre-long (184-foot) yacht, capsized and went down within minutes of being hit by the shocking pre-dawn storm while anchored close to the northern Sicilian coast.

Griffiths is said to have been on the night watch when disaster struck at around 4am, and there was speculation that crewmembers could have left a hatch or door open that led to the flooding.

The sinking of the Bayesian has puzzled naval experts. The 56-meter yacht, built by the renowned Italian manufacturer Perini, was expected to endure severe weather conditions. The vessel’s rapid submersion has raised questions about its seaworthiness and the handling of the storm.

Stephen Edwards, a former captain of the Bayesian, emphasized that the yacht was well-maintained and designed to be seaworthy. He speculated that the extreme weather conditions may have pushed the vessel beyond its operational limits. Edwards explained that “heeling” – the angle at which the yacht tilts – could have led to flooding if it exceeded critical thresholds. The Bayesian’s design, which included only one shell door in the hull, would have been compromised under such conditions, as it could only be opened in calm weather.

“I’m one hundred per cent’ sure the hull would not have been left open at night, there are no opening windows or portholes on board. The vessel was sound and seaworthy by design, and to my knowledge well maintained as such. Heeling (the yacht) to more than around 45 degrees while in normal operational state could result in flooding and subsequent loss if the flooding could not be controlled,” the former skipper wrote in a post on the sailing news website Scuttlebutt.

Heeling is a technical term referring to how a vessel ‘leans’ or is tipped to one side, usually caused by the force of wind on the sails.

The downflooding angle for Bayesian was around 40-45 degrees… much less than the Angle of Vanishing Stability [whereby the vessel cannot return to the upright].

“So, unless the vent dampers are closed (which with HVAC systems and generator running they would not be as they need to be open for that), the vessel will start to flood rapidly if heeled more than the downflooding angle,” he wrote.

The legal representatives for the crew, including Mario Scopesi, have stated that their clients have cooperated fully with the investigation. Scopesi, representing Parker-Eaton and Griffiths, emphasized that the extreme weather played a significant role in the disaster. He dismissed claims that the crew’s departure from Sicily was an attempt to avoid questioning, asserting that their actions were transparent and cooperative.

Matthews added that poor weather conditions ‘could have created these extreme circumstances’ that can occur with ‘very little warning’ and ‘being so localised are difficult to prepare for, leaving a very short time for the crew to react’.

The Bayesian only had one shell door in the hull, he added, noting that it could only be opened in ‘flat calm conditions’, meaning it was certainly ‘not open at night’.

‘How the vessel came to be taken outside her operation limits is what the investigators will need to determine, which I’m sure they will,’ Edwards concluded.

‘The crew all left Sicily on Wednesday and have been allowed to return home with no restrictions from the prosecutors.

‘I had a brief meeting with Tim and Matthew in Sicily before they left and they were doing well but obviously tired from the situation which has left them very drained.

They are both very professional in their job and it would be wrong of me to pass any opinion on what happened, that is up to the investigation but what I will say is that they were in a situation where extreme weather played an important role.

‘Both will do their best to provide us and the prosecutors with all the elements they can remember from what happened that night but they are still confused.

‘I can categorically deny claims that they left so they wouldn’t have to speak to the investigating authorities It was all perfectly transparent and cooperative.’

Scopesi explained that he was appointed by Revtom, the company that owns the Bayesian superyacht and whose sole director is Mr Lynch’s wife Angela Bacares, who survived the disaster.

He added: ‘The weather will play a key part in any eventual trial and the role of both my clients will also be investigated but that is a job for the prosecutors and we will see what the consultants and technicians have to say.

‘All I will add is that both my clients were awake at time of the storm but we need to understand the impact the weather had on the situation and what should or shouldn’t have been done.

‘The boat was in perfect condition and the crew are all experts, I hope that both my clients will return to sailing as soon as possible but for the time being they have been allowed home.

‘They have cooperated fully with the prosecutors, and they will do so in the future but this investigation will take a long time. It will take major technical investigations to reconstruct this complex shipwreck.

‘Things will move very slowly, the autopsies will happen shortly and then the next step will be the raising of the yacht at some stage but that won’t happen for a few months.’

The investigation is expected to be a lengthy process, involving detailed technical analyses and autopsies. The focus will be on understanding how the yacht’s limitations were exceeded and how the vessel’s response to the storm may have contributed to the tragedy. The raising of the yacht and the eventual trial will follow as the complex investigation unfolds.

The sinking of the Bayesian is a somber reminder of the unpredictable nature of maritime travel and the delicate balance between human error and natural forces. As the investigation continues, the maritime community watches closely, hoping for answers and closure for the victims and their families.