Mike Lynch, a British tech entrepreneur, is among those missing after the Bayesian superyacht sank during an unexpected storm off the northern coast of Sicily. Rescue efforts are currently focused on finding Lynch, 59, and his daughter Hannah, 18, as well as two other British citizens and two Americans. Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, was among the 15 survivors, which included a one-year-old girl. One individual has been confirmed dead.
Mike Lynch hails from modest beginnings, being the son of a firefighter from County Cork and a nurse from County Tipperary in Ireland. He earned his doctorate from Cambridge University and made a significant fortune in the tech industry. Once celebrated as the British equivalent of Bill Gates, Lynch sold his company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard for $11 billion in 2011, marking one of the largest tech transactions in the UK at the time.
However, he later faced accusations of inflating the company’s value and was charged with fraud in the United States. After enduring a prolonged legal battle, he was acquitted by a jury in San Francisco in June. His recent voyage on the Bayesian was reportedly intended to celebrate his legal victory, with members of his legal team also aboard. Tragically, his co-defendant in the fraud case, Steve Chamberlain, passed away after being struck by a car while running.
The Bayesian is a British-flagged luxury sailing yacht measuring 183 feet, owned by a company controlled by Lynch’s wife and registered in the Isle of Man. The vessel sank around 4 a.m. Monday after being caught in severe weather. Its 75-meter aluminum mast is noted as the tallest of its type globally, built in 2008 by the Italian shipbuilder Perini.
The yacht went down to a depth exceeding 160 feet, with concerns that some passengers may still be trapped inside. Initial attempts by divers to search the interior were hindered by obstructing furniture. The name Bayesian refers to a statistical theory that evaluates probabilities, widely used in Lynch’s software for data analysis.
Among the missing individuals are Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of Morgan Stanley International, and Chris Morvillo, a lawyer at Clifford Chance, as reported by Reuters, with both of their wives also on board the yacht.