# Superyacht vs tornado: tornado wins **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 19, 2024, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superyacht-vs-tornado-tornado-wins/1005907 "2024-08-19T15:11:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superyacht-vs-tornado-tornado-wins/1005907/81 "2024-08-29T22:06:07Z")
So what would you call it, “safe shipping practices”? As for the cause, one eyewitness blamed the big-ass sail stick. > **[Ship captain who saw Mike Lynch's yacht sink blames 'extreme mast'](https://fortune.com/2024/08/24/mike-lynch-yacht-sinking-bayesian-cause-extreme-mast-storm-tornado/)** > > "The center of gravity is too high with this extreme mast," Dutch ship captain Karsten Börner told the Financial Times. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superyacht-vs-tornado-tornado-wins/1005907/82 "2024-08-29T22:12:10Z")
If a too-large mast was the issue, does that mean Jeff Bezos should be worried? I think he just took delivery of an even larger “yacht” with three enormous masts. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superyacht-vs-tornado-tornado-wins/1005907/83 "2024-08-29T22:23:20Z")
Apparently the exact height of that yacht’s masts isn’t publicly known–I’m just seeing “between 65 and 85 meters”. And the yacht is 127 meters long. The _Bayesian_ has a 72 meter mast and is 56 meters long. But the _Koru_ has three of them. So, basically, who the hell knows. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superyacht-vs-tornado-tornado-wins/1005907/84 "2024-08-29T22:28:20Z")
> [@ASL\_v2.0](#): > > My experience is not nearly enough to lead me to a firm conclusion. But it is enough to know that I don’t know what I don’t know I have less experience than you. But I’ve piloted lots of small craft, sometime in rocky waters. Sailboats, canoes, kayaks, rowboats. And I’ve discussed the operations of larger boats, including tall ships, with people who have sailed them. And i agree with you. We simply don’t have enough information. There’s a legal investigation because the authorities don’t have enough information. It could completely exonerate the captain. It could indict him on manslaughter charges. Well find out more in several weeks. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superyacht-vs-tornado-tornado-wins/1005907/85 "2024-08-29T22:51:03Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > have personaly experienced tornadoes. I ran to my grandparents shelter many times. Seen large trees uprooted and roofs blown off. I just experienced a thunderstorm with downbursts and straight line winds up to 92mph. I watched out my back window to flames in my backyard from shorted out power line which shortly turned into one complete tree uprooted and down and half of another tree pulling down said power line but not until the rain had put out the flames or all the insulation had burned off. I had to evacuate my house for over two weeks before repairs could be done because 30,000 in my town lost power that night. That’s 10 percent of our population. I was at the end of very long lines for electricians and arborists. More than two weeks later, the public power co told me I was in the last 3,000 still without power. Looking out the window it was scarier than Midwestern tornadoes I’ve witnessed. As violent, less predicted and definitely more sustained than a tornado. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superyacht-vs-tornado-tornado-wins/1005907/86 "2024-08-29T23:21:26Z")
I’m glad your ok. Any kind of storm makes me check my weather App frequently. I’m thankful my home hasn’t been hit when others in my neighborhood were. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superyacht-vs-tornado-tornado-wins/1005907/87 "2024-08-29T23:33:56Z")
> Ship captain who saw Mike Lynch’s yacht sink blames ‘extreme mast’ This sounds like sheer nonsense to me. Is this something that would never have occurred to the designers of this yacht? Has this particular “captain” ever actually owned a sailboat? Consider the following, in very round approximate numbers. A moderate-sized 32-foot sloop might have a 40-foot mast. When tacking upwind in a stiff breeze, that mast may have to sustain wind pressure of as much as a ton on the mainsail alone. This is enough to make the boat heel at a seemingly precarious angle – a boat having a total displacement of maybe 5 or 6 tons with a countervailing keel weighing nearly half that much . The mast itself? A hollow aluminum tube that on such a boat might weigh in at 500 to 600 pounds along its entire length. I would like this “captain” to explain how this disturbs the boat’s center of gravity. This particular superyacht was much bigger of course and its mast was one of the tallest of any large yacht in the world because it was a single-masted sloop, but the same ratios apply. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superyacht-vs-tornado-tornado-wins/1005907/88 "2024-08-30T02:49:10Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’m glad your ok Thank you. I had helpful neighbors, kind friends and family close by I could stay with, so luckier than many. We were warned about possible thunderstorms but nothing on the level it turned out to be. As destructive as a tornado over a wider swath and for a longer time but didn’t merit a tornado siren warning. NOAA needs to figure something out about these seemingly new kind of storms and how to warn us about them. My assumption is climate change is involved and politically no governmental agency wants to touch that with a bazillion foot pole. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superyacht-vs-tornado-tornado-wins/1005907/89 "2024-08-30T03:07:52Z")
The news report that I read said that the captain of the smaller boat saw the storm coming and turned on his engines, to give the boat more power, then headed directly into the wind to reduce the chance of getting a major sidewind that could risk capsizing. In one interview he said he was surprised that the Bayesian didn’t take similar measures. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superyacht-vs-tornado-tornado-wins/1005907/90 "2024-08-30T04:19:51Z")
During my last deployment we were in the eastern Med, and there were seven waterspouts visible at the same time. (Well, actually they were spread out enough that all seven couldn’t be seen at the same time – the most that could be seen without turning your head was five.) ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superyacht-vs-tornado-tornado-wins/1005907/91 "2024-08-30T12:01:33Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > The news report that I read said that the captain of the smaller boat saw the storm coming and turned on his engines, to give the boat more power, then headed directly into the wind to reduce the chance of getting a major sidewind that could risk capsizing I’ve heard the Captains on _Deadliest Catch_ say the same thing. Get the engines on and head into the wind. They get very focused on making small adjustments in steering to compensate for the wind and waves. They also have a PA system to immediately warn the crew to take cover. (everything had been secured before the storm hit). The fishermen in the Bering Sea are used to working in stormy weather. The Superyacht inquiry will be very interesting. Witness testimony is needed to fully understand what happened. What preparations were made before the storm hit and what emergency actions were taken. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2024, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superyacht-vs-tornado-tornado-wins/1005907/92 "2024-09-01T13:52:20Z")
First-hand crew accounts are starting to come out. The boat was at a 45 degree angle hampering rescue efforts. Link [https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/crew-member-mike-lynch-yacht-tells-being-thrown-into-water-2024-08-31/](https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/crew-member-mike-lynch-yacht-tells-being-thrown-into-water-2024-08-31/) > [@](#): > > “The ship tilted and we were thrown into the water. Then we managed to get back up and tried to rescue those we could,” he added, describing the events of the early hours of Aug. 19, when the Bayesian had been anchored off the Sicilian port of Porticello. > > “We were walking on the walls (of the boat). We saved who we could, Cutfield also saved the little girl and her mother,” he said, referring to passenger Charlotte Golunski and her one-year-old daughter. In all there were 15 survivors of the wreck. **This was at night? The water would short out the electricity pretty quick.** > [@](#): > > Cutfield said the boat tilted by 45 degrees and stayed in that position for some time, then it suddenly fell completely to the right, the newspaper reported. > > Parker Eaton had not previously commented on the investigation. On Sunday, Il Corriere quoted him as saying that all doors and hatches were closed when the storm hit the boat, except one giving access to the engine room. > > That door was located on the side opposite to the tilting and so could not be a factor causing the sinking, he said ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2024, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superyacht-vs-tornado-tornado-wins/1005907/93 "2024-09-01T16:46:00Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > That door was located on the side opposite to the tilting and so could not be a factor causing the sinking, he said if it leads to the same mono-volume engine room (assuming it is mono-vol.) … than that conclusion is not right ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2024, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superyacht-vs-tornado-tornado-wins/1005907/94 "2024-09-01T17:06:37Z")
Charlotte’s story of saving her baby is a remarkable story. The family were on the yacht’s deck when it started to sink. Link [Sicily Yacht CEO Shares "Endless" Errors That Led to Fatal Sinking](https://www.eonline.com/news/1406420/sicily-yacht-company-ceo-shares-endless-errors-that-may-have-led-to-fatal-sinking-tragedy) > [@](#): > > One survivor, **Charlotte Golunski** , [recounted the harrowing experience](https://www.eonline.com/news/1406287/sicily-yacht-survivor-details-end-of-the-world-experience-while-saving-her-baby-girl-in-freak-storm), sharing how she, her 1-year-old **Sophie** and partner **James Emsley** survived. > > “For two seconds, I lost my daughter in the sea, then quickly hugged her amid the fury of the waves,” she told Italian newspaper [_La Repubblica_](https://palermo.repubblica.it/cronaca/2024/08/19/news/palermo_naufragio_porticello_testimonianza_mamma_bambina-423452773/) Aug. 20, per the [BBC](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyxqqp42d5o). “It was all dark. In the water I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I screamed for help but all I could hear around me was the screams of others.” > > According to Golunski, a lifeboat was soon inflated that 11 of the survivors—including her family—climbed in. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superyacht-vs-tornado-tornado-wins/1005907/95 "2024-11-06T00:39:55Z")
The New York Times has put together a report on the causes: > **[What Sank the Tech Tycoon’s ‘Unsinkable’ Yacht?](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/10/31/world/europe/bayesian-yacht-sinking-italy.html)** > > A Times investigation has found that an unusually tall mast, and the design changes it required, made a superyacht owned by a British tech mogul vulnerable to capsizing. Since this is paywalled you might want to look at the Daily Mail rewrite: > **[The five design flaws that sank Bayesian superyacht and killed seven](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14025205/Bayesian-ship-design-flaws-sunk.html)** > > A bombshell investigation has revealed how a series of flaws with the design of the ill-fated $40 million Bayesian superyacht may have caused it to capsize and sink, leaving seven dead off the coast of Sicily. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superyacht-vs-tornado-tornado-wins/1005907/96 "2024-11-06T04:31:34Z")
> What Sank the Tech Tycoon’s ‘Unsinkable’ Yacht? Didn’t we go through this before? ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superyacht-vs-tornado-tornado-wins/1005907/97 "2024-11-06T20:29:52Z")
It has more details than our previous discussion. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2024, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superyacht-vs-tornado-tornado-wins/1005907/98 "2024-11-07T00:34:52Z")
That was supposed to be a joke, like, there was another ship that was supposedly unsinkable, but it sank anyway? ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2025, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superyacht-vs-tornado-tornado-wins/1005907/99 "2025-05-04T23:45:40Z")
> **[Experts start complex recovery of a superyacht that sank off Sicily, killing 7](https://apnews.com/article/italy-sicily-superyacht-sinking-recovery-d61ae9be8acdc1bc456a5996c3765f57)** > > Marine salvage experts on Sunday have began operations to recover from the seabed off Italy’s Sicilian coasts the British-flagged superyacht “Bayesian,” which sank last summer killing UK tech magnate Mike Lynch, his daughter and five others. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2025, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superyacht-vs-tornado-tornado-wins/1005907/100 "2025-05-10T12:01:03Z")
Sad news: > Police said the precise cause of death was still unknown. A preliminary examination of the body revealed no visible injuries or burns. Investigators believe the diver may have suffered a medical problem while submerged. > > An alternative line of inquiry is that after divers used a blowtorch to cut the vessel’s boom the man was struck by dislodged debris – possibly a piece of metal. Footage captured by underwater cameras cut off shortly before the incident. > **[Diver dies during salvage operation to recover Mike Lynch’s superyacht](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/09/diver-dies-during-salvage-operation-to-recover-mike-lynchs-sunken-superyacht)** > > The Dutch man, 39, had been working underwater in Sicily during operations to raise British tech tycoon’s vessel [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superyacht-vs-tornado-tornado-wins/1005907.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superyacht-vs-tornado-tornado-wins/1005907.md?page=6)