Wife’s heartbreak after superyacht tragedy

Friends say Kiwi skipper James Cutfield did everything he could to avoid the tragedy, after a freak storm devastated the vessel and claimed the lives of seven people unable to evacuate.

Kiwi skipper James Cutfield is living through his “darkest days” after surviving the superyacht shipwreck that claimed seven lives off the coast of Sicily.

The 51-year-old was one of 14 people who managed to evacuate after a freak storm damaged the vessel, causing it to capsize and sink with seven people still on board.

The captain is facing investigation and has so far declined to answer questions, but friends told Italian news outlet Corriere he did everything he could to prevent the disaster.

Cutfield, who flew out of Palermo on Thursday, is said to be devastated about the deaths as well as the speculation that he could have been in any way responsible.

Kiwi skipper James Cutfield is facing investigation over the tragedy.

He is not facing any criminal charges and has no obligation to stay in Italy.

It comes amid reports the wife of billionaire British tech mogul Mike Lynch didn’t want to leave the scene of his sunken superyacht without her husband and their daughter before they were both later confirmed dead, according to a captain who helped rescue survivors.

Angela Bacares was so frantic to find her family she even hesitated getting medical help after getting out of the Bayesian during a ferocious storm that sank it off the coast of Siciliy, Karsten Borner told People Magazine.

UK tech tycoon Mike Lynch (R) and his daughter Hannah Lynch died on the Bayesian superyacht. Picture: AFP

“[Bacares] didn’t want to leave because her husband and her daughter were still down,” said Borner, who helped rescue the survivors after witnessing the tragedy from his own boat.

“She was picked up a little bit later because I asked the coast guard to take her as I thought she needed medical help. Then, over the course of the next two, three hours — [I] don’t know exactly how much later — the coast guards came and the rest of the Bayesian people went away with them.”

Angela Bacares would not leave the site where her husband, Mike, and daughter, Hannah, went missing. Picture: Supplied

Lynch’s wife was among 15 people who escaped the 55-metre luxury superyacht on August 19 after a sudden squall of tornado-like waterspouts pummelled the vessel, causing it to sink. Others saved included a one-year-old baby whose mother had kept her afloat in the water.

It would take days to recover the bodies of the seven who died, including 59-year-old Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah.

Borner said he noticed the weather rapidly deteriorating around 3am when his ship and the Bayesian were the only two out anchored off the coast of Porticello in Sicily.

Captain Karsten Borner, whose boat was nearby, helped rescue survivors. Picture: Supplied

“When things calmed down and the storm abated somewhat and the wind dropped a bit, we were looking around and couldn’t see the Bayesian anymore,” Borner told the magazine.

“We checked the AIS [automatic identification system], and we couldn’t see the Bayesian anymore. Two passengers and two crew members saw what looked like a whale in the water and realised afterwards it was the capsized boat,” he said.

Hannah Lynch, with her dad Mike, had just been accepted into the prestigious Oxford University. Picture: Supplied

“A moment later, I saw a triangle in the sea in a split second that the sky was lit up by lightning, and that must have been the bow of the ship while sinking over the stern.”

After witnessing the Bayesian sink, Borner and his first mate got onto a smaller boat, called a tender, and headed to where the Bayesian had been.

Recaldo Thomas, whose body was found shortly after the sinking. Picture: Sky News

Neda Morvillo lost her life in the tragedy. Picture: Supplied

New York lawyer Christopher Morvillo died in the tragedy alongside his wife. Picture: Supplied

“We first found things floating in the water like cushions and chairs and stuff,” Borner said. “And then we saw a flickering light. This was a life raft with a light on the top. And they also waved at us with a torch.”

“So we went there, and then we found the crew and part of the passengers — 15 people in a 12-person raft, including a little baby,” he added.

Borner and his crew took in the survivors, providing first aid, dry clothes and blankets to those in the raft.

Divers of the Vigili del Fuoco return to the shore with Hannah Lynch’s body. Picture: AFP

The survivors also told Borner there were other passengers still missing, which led the tender to be sent out again.

“They looked around at sea and obviously didn’t find anything,” Borner said.

The other victims included the ship’s chef, Ricardo Thomas, New York lawyer Christopher Morvillo and his wife, Neda; and Morgan Stanley executive Jonathan Bloomer and his wife, Judy.

The exact cause of the yacht’s sinking remains unknown, however, Italian prosecutors are probing whether the actions of Captain James Cutfield, 51, may have led to tragedy.

Under maritime law, a ship’s captain assumes full responsibility for safety of the vessel, its crew, and all passengers.

FORMER CAPTAIN ON SUPERYACHT’S ‘LIMITATIONS’

A former captain of the ill-fated Bayesian yacht said the vessel was “sound and seaworthy by design” as he shared his theory on “limitations” which could have led to it sinking in a storm.

Stephen Edwards, who captained the ship between 2015 to 2020, broke his silence on the tragedy that left seven dead off the coast of Sicily last week including British tech billionaire Mike Lynch and his teenage daughter Hannah.

Former captain of the Bayesian Stephen Edwards. Picture: LinkedIn

The Bayesian was 56 metres long. Picture: Supplied

Writing on the Scuttlebutt Sailing News website, Mr Edwards said the vessel was “sound and seaworthy by design, and to my knowledge well maintained as such”.

Heeling (a term used to described how a vessel leans or is tipped to one side) could have resulted in flooding ”and subsequent loss if [it] could not be controlled”.

“Heeling her 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,” he wrote on the website

“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).

Divers have spoken of the “complexities” of the search. Picture: AFP

“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 noted that poor weather “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” and therefore he was “100% it was NOT open at night”.

In concluding, Mr Edwards said the mast and rig were “presented structural challenges in construction and ongoing life, but that it was “a robust and well controlled rig … that performed well, within the limits of the design”.

‘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,” he said.

BAYESIAN CAPTAIN REFUSING TO ANSWER QUESTIONS

The captain of the Bayesian is refusing to answer questions after being investigated for manslaughter.

James Cutfield, a citizen of New Zealand, is being investigated over his role in the deaths of seven people on board.

The 51-year-old captain was interviewed by Italian prosecutors for a second time in a week, with questions lasting more than two hours.

One of his lawyers said he opted not to answer questions from Italian prosecutors.

Mr Cutfield’s lawyer Giovanni Rizzuti told the media he is “very worn out” and chose to remain silent, 9News reports.

An official investigation by Italian prosecutors has been launched into the captain of The Bayesian, New Zealand citizen James Cutfield, who survived the wreck that killed seven. Picture: Supplied.

Mr Cutfield’s other lawyer, Aldo Mordiglia, said he was too “shaken up” to give a proper statement.

He told The Times: “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.”

He did say Mr Cutfield intends on co-operating with the investigation, but said he has a right under Italian law to remain silent until ready to speak.

The superyacht’s engineer British man Tim Parker Eaton is also under investigation by prosecutors, a judicial source told Reuters.

It is unclear what specific charges he faces.

Loved ones hug each other on the pier of Porticello near Palermo, during the search. Picture: AFP

A crew member who was also on duty may be investigated as well.

The probe will hone in on how a vessel deemed “unsinkable” by the manufacturer, Italian Sea Group, went under while a nearby sailboat was mostly unscathed during the freak weather event, which has been described as a waterspout caused by the high temperature of the ocean.

The reports of the manslaughter investigation come after the sister of Hannah Lynch broke her silence for the first time since the tragedy, remembering her sister as her “little angel”.

“Sometimes beaming with a smile, sometimes cheeky, sometimes for advice,” Esme said in a statement about her 18-year-old sister, whose body was recovered from the sunken ship late last week.

“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.”