Mystery as inquiry finds Mike Lynch's Bayesian superyacht was NOT sunk by storm

Italian investigators have concluded that Mike Lynch's Bayesian superyacht was not sunk by a storm.

Preliminary findings indicate crew mistakes played a role in the vessel capsizing off Sicily in August 2024 - which flies directly in the face of a British investigation.

Seven people were killed in the tragedy, among them tech entrepreneur Mr Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah.

According to La Repubblica, the expert team appointed by prosecutors determined the weather event amounted to "little more than a squall, a sudden increase in wind speed that precedes thunderstorms and downpours".

"It was not only the fault of the storm," investigators concluded.

Its sinking resulted from conditions that were neither extreme nor impossible to anticipate, they found.

But last year, a preliminary report by the UK's Marine Accident Investigation Branch blamed the storm.

The MAIB attributed the disaster to a freak storm approaching tornado intensity - as well as flaws in the yacht's construction.

The vessel's 237-foot mast, among the tallest in the world, was identified as a contributing factor.

The MAIB determined that once gale-force winds tilted the yacht beyond a critical point, its recovery became impossible.

"The investigation has established that… once Bayesian heeled over to an angle greater than 70.6 degrees, there was no chance of a return to an even keel," the British report said.

A Met Office study indicated hurricane-force winds exceeding 64 knots likely struck the vessel.

The yacht's captain, New Zealander James Cutfield, faces an investigation in Italy alongside British crew members Tim Parker Eaton and Matthew Griffiths.

All three are being examined for potential manslaughter and causing a shipwreck.

Under Italian law, this status does not imply guilt nor guarantee any charges will follow.

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The crew maintains that exceptional weather conditions, rather than their actions, caused the disaster.

They insist all the vessel's doors and hatches were sealed before the storm hit.

As well as the Lynches, five others died in the wreck: chef Recaldo Thomas, Morgan Stanley International chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo, and his wife Neda.

Fifteen survivors were pulled from the water, including Mr Lynch's wife Angela Bacares.

A nearby Dutch-flagged vessel, the Sir Robert Baden Powell, survived the same storm and rescued those who escaped the Bayesian.

The wreck was lifted from the seabed last June, around half a mile from the fishing village of Porticello.

It was then moved to the industrial port of Termini Imerese, roughly 15 miles along the coast.

Prosecutor Angelo Cavallo plans to personally examine the wreckage later this month.

Investigators aim to complete their report by August 19, the two-year anniversary of the disaster.

Mr Lynch had founded software firm Autonomy in 1996 and was cleared of fraud charges just weeks before his death.

The Mediterranean voyage was meant to celebrate his acquittal following the $11billion sale of Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard.