Inside The Grim Text Sent From Bayesian Superyacht Accident Survivor

On Monday, August 19, the superyacht Bayesian sank in a freak weather incident off the coast of Sicily. Caught in what's called a tornadic waterspout — a tornado that moves from land into water — the Bayesian's nearly 250-foot mast essentially tilted toward the waterline as though the yacht fell over. Out of the 22 people on board, six have been confirmed dead as of this writing: the "British Bill Gates" and owner of the Bayesian, Mike Lynch; chairman of Morgan Stanley international Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judith Bloomer; attorney Christopher Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo; and chef Recaldo Thomas. Lynch's daughter Hannah is still missing, while the remaining fifteen passengers were rescued.

The timing of the disaster couldn't be worse, as the outing was intended to celebrate the victory of Mike Lynch in a court case involved the sale of his company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard (HP). As the Independent explains, HP stated way back in 2012 that Lynch inflated the value of his company leading up to the sale. The prolonged trial — which ended in Lynch being acquitted of all charges — only finished in June 2024. And so Lynch set out on what he described to a Sunday Times journalist as "a very long holiday."

Lynch worked with lawyers from Clifford Chance on the case, one of whom was present on the Bayesian and survived: senior associate Ayla Ronald. Ronald hasn't said a lot about the incident, but her father told The Telegraph she texted him and said, "There are deaths, and she and her partner are alive."

Based on the Clifford Chance website, it doesn't seem like Ayla Ronald was directly involved in billionaire Mike Lynch's recently resolved HP court case. Nonetheless, she was onboard the Bayesian when it sank. As Italian newspaper La Repubblica (per the Telegraph) reported, she and her partner Matthew Fletcher woke up at 4 a.m. when the Bayesian's mast started tilting toward the water. While we don't have details from Ronald about that moment, we can infer what the chaos and terror of the moment was like based on a vivid account from another survivor, Charlotte. "For two seconds I lost my baby in the sea, then I immediately hugged her again amid the fury of the waves," she told La Repubblica (per the Independent). "I held her afloat with all my strength, my arms stretched upwards to keep her from drowning."

Information about Ayla Ronald's experience on the Bayesian comes to us via her father, Lin. We don't know Ronald's exact words — only how her father chose to paraphrase them. "She hasn't given me any updates about missing personnel or saved personnel," he told The Telegraph. As mentioned, he also said Ronald reported that "there are deaths, and she and her partner are alive." While we don't know when Ronald messaged her father, we know per The New Zealand Herald that her phone somehow survived the disaster and was used by first responders to coordinate initial medical efforts.

Looking at the Bayesian's layout and its course off the coast of Sicily helps to explain what happened, though many questions remain. According to the BBC, winds were apparently so strong that the captain of another nearby yacht, Karsten Borner, reported seeing the Bayesian's 246-foot aluminum mast bend and snap — an all but impossible occurrence. Chair of the Maritime Search and Rescue Council, Matthew Schanck, said that superyachts are recreational vessels not designed to withstand extreme or punishing weather, no matter how expensive and high-quality their engineering. 

As far as we can tell at the moment, dramatic winds dragged the anchored Bayesian across Sicily waters in the early hours of the morning on Monday, August 19. The sailing-savvy might assume those onboard the vessel didn't furl the yacht's sails before going to sleep, which would have proved a fatal oversight, but outlets like the Daily Mail reported the sails were indeed furled. Plus, windows would have been closed and air conditioning on, which might have prevented the vessel from taking on water. Regardless, when the Bayesian was found it was laying on its side, not quite capsized but no longer upright.

As mentioned, fifteen individuals — including Anya Ronald — were successfully rescued. The BBC reports that survivors and their loved ones are recovering slowly and basically still in shock. No doubt Ronald feels the same, but may have more to say about the disaster as time goes on.

If you're interested in further reading, here's the tragic story of the biggest maritime disaster in history.