Tragic yacht disaster off Porticello: missing and survivors identified

The yacht Bayesian, which sank due to severe weather off Porticello, carried 12 passengers and 10 crew members. Among them were the owner of the yacht, English businessman Michael Lynch, who had invited some colleagues for a vacation, his wife Angela Bacares, and their 18-year-old daughter Hannah. Also missing is Jonathan Bloomer, President of Morgan Stanley International. Among the survivors is a 35-year-old woman who ended up in the sea with her one-year-old daughter.

The sailing vessel Bayesian went down between 4 and 5 a.m. this morning during a violent storm in the Gulf of Palermo. The boat was carrying 22 people in total, including 10 crew members and 12 passengers from various countries: the U.S., England, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, and some with dual French and British passports. Fifteen people have been rescued, while six remain missing. The body of Ricardo Tomas, the yacht’s Canadian chef with an Antigua passport, has been recovered. The missing individuals include Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Anne Elizabeth Judith Bloomer, British entrepreneur Mike Lynch and his daughter Hanna, as well as Lynch’s lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Nada.

Among the survivors are Charlotte Golunski, 35, her husband James Emsilie, and their one-year-old daughter Sofia, all of whom are English and currently at the Children’s Hospital. Golunski recounted that the yacht capsized during a waterspout while they were sleeping, and she briefly lost sight of her daughter before pulling her back from the tumultuous sea. The family was rescued along with others by a lifeboat. Michael Lynch, the yacht’s owner and head of a technology investment group, remains missing.