Sinking of Yacht off Sicilian Coast

[Cesarina]

This is of course an absolutely tragic event.
I'm feeling a bit mean by saying this.........but why is it the headline topic on BBC news?
I genuinely feel sorry for those involved, but don't understand why it's the dominant news story?

"Any" may be overstating it - the final report may well come with recommendations about what captains should do in similar circumstances, and this is not the crime-related work that the Italians are leading.

However, certain posters on this and other threads who implied the crew abandoned those who drowned are certainly wrong. It seems that all the survivors helped each other and certainly specific guests were boosted up staircases etc by crew members, putting themselves at risk. Fundamentally, there wasn't time to do more (the chef was up and about, but presumably not able to get out of the galley and away from the boat in time, given the speed of events)

"Any" may be overstating it

Agreed...dig deep enough, long enough and there's usually enough blame to go around..even if it is a tiny amount.

As an example I have to say if I was minded to be really picky I can see some questions might be asked, or at least recommendations made, about using personal devices and accessing Social Media when on watch...

True, we will have to wait and see. Maybe they will be blamed for not anchoring in the right place, etc. though it does seem the storm was worse than expected and had a very intense pocket which came out of nowhere.

https://www.yachtingworld.com/all-latest-posts/what-happened-to-the-bayesian-first-official-report-records-events-on-night-of-fatal-sinking-157943

Really harrowing reading.

From the article and report, it seems they moved from their initially planned mooring, so possibly they did move to what was expected to be a safer spot. The Baden Powell was in broadly the same place and also was blown off its anchor.

There will always be a combination of factors.

The sails were furled and the centre board/swing keel was up (which was speculated about on here) but it seems that the manual only gave guidance regarding when the keel was down.

For the non sailing types such a s me could you explain this a bit more? What is the swing keel/centre board?

Would it have been better it the sails were unfurled?

Sorry to ask but I am just struggling to visualise it!

From a none yachtie, but with a background in the physics of very basic stability and aerodynamics, this is how I understand it:

AFAIK a Keelboard sticks down below the bottom of the vessels hull, so having it down might, amongst other things, lower the vessel's centre of gravity and so might make it more stable..

From an aerodynamic POV and just IMO having the sales unfurled, potentially flapping/billowing in the airflow, might have made matters worse- more sail area at height to "catch" the airflow and so a greater tipping tendency if the wind was from the side....

Awaiting clarification/correction from a proper sailing type person.

Thanks notimagain, that makes sense.

IIRC, there were some comments up thread about a diver spotting doors open during the recovery of bodies. I note that the report says one of the crew was trapped in an air pocket after helping crew and guests to safety and was able to force open the saloon doors and escape - I wonder if these open doors were the ones seen.

The reports really are quite harrowing, how scared they must have been. From the reports, it seems like everyone tried their best and some even returned to the vessel to assist.

And those on the Sir Robert Baden Powell must be thinking how it might have been them.

The astonishing thing is how quick it all was - from the anchor starting to drag at 0357 to heeling over at 0406. It's amazing in many ways that the majority on board survived.

Yes, the fact it all blew up so quickly makes it a lot more understandable why the boat was in the state it was and why the guests were asleep in their cabins rather than being in the saloon with life jackets as you might expect a responsible captain to insist on in extreme conditions.
Whether technology could have given advance warning of the storm approaching is another matter.

YY. Seems like the skipper gave orders very shortly after 0400 to ensure crew were awake and securing items - most were anyway - and getting ready to fire the engines to move out of the storm... but there was no time for anything else :(

Would having the keel board down have made a significant difference?

The report doesn't mention the mast which seemed to receive a lot of attention early on due to the height of it, would that have exacerbated the sudden heeling over do you think particularly without the keel board down?

Nine minutes is such a short amount of time.

I think it's worth bearing in mind what has been published is only a short interim report and isn't much more than a narrative of what happened, not all the whys.

I'd speculate it is possible the mast height may have played a role in the initial upset (speed of the wind at height) ,.and along with the keelboard will have to have played a role in stability (because ...physics) but we might have to wait for the final report to see any detailed analysis.

Agree with @notimagain

The key point (IMO) in the MAIB report is that there was no data from the shipbuilder on what the yacht could stand by way of weather in the keel up, sails furled position . Hence MAIB commissioning modelling and simulations from Uni of Southampton. Such simulations showed that the tolerance of the boat to high wind in the configuration that it had that night was considerably less than under the configuration that the manufacturer had included.

Please also note the front page of the MAIB report which is extremely clear about not assigning blame unless that is necessary for learnings, and about the report not being admissible for criminal proceedings.

MAIB have had limited or no access to the wreckage so far - obviously if the state of the craft disagrees with the witness accounts then the report would be modified in the final version.

Bear in mind that - one example - for Charlotte G and her baby (G3 and G5 in the report, I believe) the initial press reports (quoting the doctor who treated her) were that she was sleeping on deck with the child. That is not reflected in the report so was presumably inaccurate, possibly a language barrier or initial confusion following a traumatic experience

^ agree.

Just had a quick look at the MAIB interim report again on Uk.gov and in the final para they emphasise that this is very much an ongoing investigation.

" if the state of the craft disagrees with the witness accounts then the report would be modified in the final version."

Yes indeed, the MAIB specifically mention that they are waiting for retrieval of the wreckage in order to actually physically confirm, amongst other things, the position of the centreboard (their terminology).

Two more possibly stupid questions if you don't mind - would it be usual practice to put the keel board down when at anchor, or would having it up be more sensible to allow the boat to 'rock' with the wind/waves and does the keel board have an effect on moving the boat?

@PlacidPenelope I’m afraid I don’t know - I’m not a sailor but an interested amateur with a relevant but long ago degree 😀.

My understanding is that many yachts don’t have a retractable keel - this was specific to the large size of the Bayesian and perhaps other super yachts.

ETA the keel was retractable because otherwise many harbours wouldn’t be deep enough - that doesn’t answer your question about being at anchor in deeper water though

Thanks, ShielaFentiman.

I do hope the reports, etc., come to sound conclusions and are not just a blame game exercise.

The keel was 10m deep, 4 when retracted, Possibly it was up as they planned to head towards the coast for 8am taxis or in case they had to manoeuvre inland to avoid the storm (my understanding is that if winds had been steady at 20-30 knots, rather than the gust/downspout at 70 knots, the yacht would have moved out of the storm without too much trouble other than strapping down items)

I have faith in MAIB from what I have read. I can’t comment on culpable shipwreck etc from a criminal perspective.

My understanding was the keel made an annoying "clunking" sound when down, so was most probably left raised for the comfort of the sleeping passengers.

IIRC, when the CEO of the Italian Sea Company was doing interviews about “crew error” and “unsinkable yachts” last year, I don’t think he mentioned about the keel. So I surmise (speculation!) that there’s not specific guidance to anchor with the keel down, or he would have pointed to it.

However, I’m sure that will be commented on in the full report and recommendations.

MAIB is an impartial, very reputable body. They don't have any commercial skin in the game.