back to article Body of IT tycoon Mike Lynch recovered after superyacht sinks

The body of former Autonomy CEO Mike Lynch has been recovered from the wreck of his superyacht Bayesian. His daughter Hannah, 18, is still missing after the vessel sunk on Monday. Italian divers are said to have found the billionaire father inside one of the cabins, according to The Telegraph. The capsized ship presently …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "They can't conjure up a storm"

    But c'mon, the same day, both of them, and he's on a "trip was reportedly intended to celebrate Lynch's acquittal in the long-running US fraud case " ...

    It wasn't near the shore, the storm was a cover - plenty of other ways to sink a ship as if it looks like the storm did it.

    HP or the US government behind this, and doing both on the same day is sending a signal to anyone who dares to stand up to US interests.

    But ... they can't conjure up a storm, and the car-bike incident was not a hit and run but an accident.

    Sure.

    Where's Mulder?

    1. DS999 Silver badge
      Mushroom

      There's video from the shore of the ship going down in the storm

      You ridiculously gullible conspiracy theorist moron!

    2. Oczhlan

      the timing is impeccable

    3. Bloodbeastterror

      "same day, both of them"

      Oh for god's sake... Grow up. Now we have the CIA conjuring typhoons? FFS...

      1. captain veg Silver badge

        Typhoons

        From what I've seen reported it was a waterspout, not a typhoon.

        Is the one easier (or even possible) to fake or whip up than the other I have not the slightest. Does it look a bit fishy, well yes.

        -A.

        1. DS999 Silver badge

          Re: Typhoons

          It was a "medicane" or whatever you call a hurricane strength storm in the Mediterranean, that spawned multiple waterspouts.

          The idea that it is "fishy" is laughable. You really think there's a shadowy organization able to spawn deadly waterspouts at will and they're using that power to take out Mike Lynch? Why would spooks even care about him? Even if they did why wouldn't they just arrange for him to drown while swimming, or eat some bad seafood or slip on a wet deck and hit his head. Or hey, since he's 59 years old, a sudden massive heart attack or stroke wouldn't out of order.

          You'd think they'd be spawning crazy weather events for someone worth the bother. I mean, take out Putin when he's on a lake in Russia, or aim a cat 5 hurricane directly at Mar-A-Lago when Trump's there. Rather than some CEO that probably 98% of the public hadn't ever heard of a week ago.

          1. cyberdemon Silver badge
            Holmes

            Re: Typhoons

            Nobody is saying anyone magicked up a storm with a weather machine, that's as ridiculous as saying "anyone who questions the mainstream about covid thinks Bill Gates put 5G microchips in the vaccine"..

            But it's still somewhat fishy that both defendants died so suddenly and unexpectedly.

            There are plenty of experts on the BBC saying that the storm should *not* have been a problem for a boat that big. Even waterspouts, he has sailed through them in a boat a third of the size.

            So, an obvious line of inquiry is, did the boat captain, (perhaps a mafia man paid for by a vengeful HP exec) suggest "There's a big storm comin. Shall we sail right into it? Might even see some waterspouts! Come on it'll be fun"

            Before raising the keel, locking the bedrooms, and bailing out leaving the top hatch open.

            1. DS999 Silver badge

              Re: Typhoons

              If you aren't alleging the storm that sunk his yacht was not natural, then the only thing you can point to is the other guy dying in a car crash around the same time. If you think that timing is "fishy" then are you alleging there was something fishy about the circumstances of the other guy's death?

              Let's say there was someone who wanted both Lynch and the other guy dead. They get lucky and Lynch dies from a freak storm, so they didn't have to murder him. Why in the world would they decide "here's the perfect time to kill the other guy"? What difference would it make if they waited a month? Though I suppose if you're going to see patterns and conspiracy in coincidence, you'd still see if it the other died a month later so I guess they might as well kill him on the same weekend, right?

              1. CRConrad

                They couldn't wait a month...

                ...to kill the other guy, because he died a day or two *before* Lynch.

                1. DS999 Silver badge
                  Black Helicopters

                  Re: They couldn't wait a month...

                  So if they didn't cause the storm that toppled Lynch's yacht they predicted it!

            2. charlieboywoof

              Re: Typhoons

              BBC , Experts lol

            3. MonkeyJuice Bronze badge

              Re: Typhoons

              Rather hard to sail right into anything when you're anchored.

          2. rg287 Silver badge
            Black Helicopters

            Re: Typhoons

            The idea that it is "fishy" is laughable. You really think there's a shadowy organization able to spawn deadly waterspouts at will and they're using that power to take out Mike Lynch?

            They played too much1 Red Alert 2.

            Warning: Weather Control Device detected!

            1 No, it's not actually possible to play too much Red Alert 2. It was great.

      2. Arthur the cat Silver badge
        Joke

        Now we have the CIA conjuring typhoons?

        Well, it's certainly not HP. No way are they that competent.

        1. breakfast Silver badge

          We should check whether Poseidon has recently purchased an HP printer; he might have been so angry trying to get it working that he unleashed some outlandish storms in his fury. I've certainly felt that way in the past.

          1. Jellied Eel Silver badge

            We should check whether Poseidon has recently purchased an HP printer;

            I think it's time to reveal what really happened. You think HP ink and consumables are really that expensive due to raw material and manufacturing costs? It should have been obvious that the MIC (Miltary Ink Complex) was being used to divert money into HP's black ink projects. It starts with something that's often considered a 'conspiracy theory', namely HAARP, and like all good conspiracy theories, contains nano-particles of truth*. Anyone who's ever seen GCHQ's building and compared it to a Dyson fan should begin to understand how this works, and why the 'doughnut' is shaped the way it is.

            What you think are ventilation vents ringing the inner courtyard are only half true. They're actually part of the world's largets vortex generator. So they're used to create the initial vortex conditions. Then, the 'ink' nano-particles are injected into the vortex, charged and accelerated. Once the vortex has sufficient energy, it can be lifted and guided using RFC6214 for precise control. Along the journey to target, it is further accelerated or regenerated by the array of on- and off-shore wind turbines. Few people bother to question why GCHQ Cheltenham and windmills cost so much, and this is intentional. Nor do they stop to wonder whether the wind turbines are set to suck, or blow. It's obvious really.

            Alternatively, coincidences happen, and it's human nature to try and find patterns in noise, meaning in chaos etc. Or just people have never sailed around the Med, the Bay of Biscay or even just the North Sea, where severe storms can roll in violently and unexpectedly, leading to tragedies like this. Its also sad that after years of being tied up in legal drama, we won't find out what Lynch's next projects would have been.

            *Along with alchohol.

            1. druck Silver badge

              Strangely enough I never experienced any turbulence flying directly over the doughnut on finals to runway 27 at Gloucester, maybe they were just being nice.

    4. cd

      Never attribute to conspiracy what can be readily explained by karma.

      1. Elongated Muskrat Silver badge

        Or, indeed, overconfidence. I don't think the deaths of others, such as his daughter, or crew members, were necessarily so karmic.

    5. bemusedHorseman
      Big Brother

      Find an exit quickly, 47!

      Oh come on, not even IOI would write a plot that cockamamie for a Hitman mission, and that series got away with some seriously lolrandom plots...

    6. CRConrad

      But c'mon...

      ... IT WASN'T the same day!

  2. goblinski Bronze badge

    My money is on the keel having been retracted, and on the captain having some serious explaining to do - soon - about why said keel would have been retracted in such conditions.

    As for the US government's involvement - my very reliable sources tell me they planned on unplugging the ice wall surrounding the flat Earth just enough to create a current that would suck the yacht in so it can fall off. They failed because the floating platform where the Moon landing was shot plugged it at the last minute. So they had to go to plan B.

    Either that, either the fact that an overwhelming percentage of the people who did not die during the last year had no access to neither yachts, nor jerry-rigged Logitech-controlled submarines.

    1. F. Frederick Skitty Silver badge

      If the water spout hit the yacht amidships then it could easily have tipped it over regardless of the keel. The power of those spouts can be incredible, causing enough damage and inrush of water to sink the yacht before it could right itself.

    2. Androgynous Cupboard Silver badge

      Sweet Jesus, here we go again. On 52 meter boat the displacement is going to be north of 200 tonnes, most of which is keel. See eg this one.

      By now it's probably obvious where I'm going with this, but I'll spell it out anyway because of the sudden influx of space cadets around here. Monohuill yachts typically do not carry equipment to hoist tens (hundreds?) of thousands of kilograms of lead inward, not least because it would result in an unstable configuration that would immediately lead to capsize. This is not a dinghy or a 20' bilge keeler.

      1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

        Next you'll be telling me that economy airline seats don't have a "wings fall off" button

      2. Androgynous Cupboard Silver badge

        Turns out I'm wrong, it did have a lifting keel of a hydraulic design, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovcOgJweuOc&t=429s

        1. I am the liquor

          Seems like there wouldn't be any need to retract it if they were in 50 metres of water though.

          1. herman Silver badge
            Devil

            So, the great ink maker hacked the keel and made it lift up to make the yacht unstable when there was an approaching storm…

            1. CRConrad

              Well, hasn't...

              ...hasn't malware -- can't recall, was it Stuxnet or something else? -- been propagated via HP printers before?

              1. MonkeyJuice Bronze badge

                Re: Well, hasn't...

                Have you seen the size of the HP driver downloads?

      3. Jellied Eel Silver badge

        By now it's probably obvious where I'm going with this, but I'll spell it out anyway because of the sudden influx of space cadets around here. Monohuill yachts typically do not carry equipment to hoist tens (hundreds?) of thousands of kilograms of lead inward, not least because it would result in an unstable configuration that would immediately lead to capsize

        This one apparently did. But comments on some of the sailing channels I follow on YT were from people who've worked on yachts of the same design. Apparently when the keel is raised, wave action/swell can cause it to rattle & clank and disturb the people on board. With it lowered, it'd be more stable and have a better righting moment, but probably also roll more. The investigation will show what happened. There's also speculation that the keel locking mechanism may have failed because the weather was that bad. I've also seen comments about whether the yacht had stabilisers fitted. No idea, but there are limits to the sea & weather conditions those can cope with. I guess that's one of those delicate balancing acts naval architects have to make between passenger comfort and safety.

    3. Elongated Muskrat Silver badge
      Facepalm

      Since the wreck has been found and divers have recovered bodes, i think something like that might have been noticed and reported on, don't you? Or are all the divers, rescue and salvage teams, press, coastguard, etc. etc. in on it too?

      1. herman Silver badge

        Yup, the divers reported a partially raised keel.

        1. Jellied Eel Silver badge

          Yup, the divers reported a partially raised keel.

          There's some more discussion here-

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovcOgJweuOc

          regarding design elements that may have contributed to the accident, including some from an experienced yacht designer. Some of the crew survived, so should be able to tell the investigators what state the yacht was in when the weather event happened. It's a sad story, but there's the old adage that safety rules are written in blood, so whether this will translate to new regulations. I've been on charter yachts and there are safety briefings. Crew obviously have to go through more training to get their tickets, including things like simulated capsizing. Obvious danger is when incidents like this happen at night, guests are sleeping. So perhaps when there's severe weather, they should be woken and assembled somewhere easier to escape from, but this event seemed to have escalated very quickly.

          I'm also curious if it'll lead to things like better emergency lighting. Power and lights appear to have failed, and if the yacht was knocked down or capsized, cabin doors are now on the wall or ceiling and would be challenging to find in the dark & confusion.

  3. Tessier-Ashpool

    What was the bayesian probability of that happening?

    God, if he exists, did plenty of messing about in the latter years of the life of Lynch.

    1. weirdbeardmt

      Re: What was the bayesian probability of that happening?

      The black fly is, quite certainly, in the Chardonnay.

      1. Paul Crawford Silver badge

        Re: What was the bayesian probability of that happening?

        No sir, I do believe that is a Wirrn in your drink and you can expect to be pupating later today...

        1. The Oncoming Scorn Silver badge
          Coat

          Re: What was the bayesian probability of that happening?

          Noah Way Man!

          OK I'm Dune here!

  4. redpola

    Oh my god, the ship is going down! Let’s get inside and close the door behind us!

    1. Paul Crawford Silver badge

      More realistically "Its a hot calm night, lets leave the doors and portals open while we all go to bed"

      1. collinsl Silver badge

        This happened to HMHS Britannic when she hit a mine in WW1 in the med - the ship (a sister to the Titanic and Olympic) hit a mine and started listing, the open portholes (this was during the day however) caused the lower decks to quickly flood, dooming the ship which otherwise may have stayed afloat for several hours at least.

        1. Ian Johnston Silver badge

          See also: Vasa, Mary Rose.

    2. rg287 Silver badge

      Oh my god, the ship is going down! Let’s get inside and close the door behind us!

      It went down at 4am. They were in bed, not on deck.

      So more like "Get topside, I'll get Hannah". Wife made it, Mike and Hannah didn't.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        So more like "Get topside, I'll get Hannah". Wife made it, Mike and Hannah didn't.

        To all the people making light of these deaths: does it make you happy, hard, or vindicated that two people, one of whom is there only by accident of birth, lost their lives? As much as I despise the Mango Mussolini, I would not crow about his death, much less that of Baron.

        1. Elongated Muskrat Silver badge

          Exactly this. Any death such as this is tragic, none more or less so than any other, a human life is a human life. I do feel that the press coverage of this has entirely been of the "rich man dies" variety, rather than "tragic deaths at sea". My sympathy towards him is only slightly lessened by the fact that he died in an ostentatious display of wealth (because, frankly, this is what a luxury yacht is), this in no way makes his death deserved.

          1. Ian Johnston Silver badge

            Exactly this. Any death such as this is tragic, none more or less so than any other, a human life is a human life.

            No man is an island,

            Entire of itself;

            Every man is a piece of the continent,

            A part of the main.

            If a clod be washed away by the sea,

            Europe is the less,

            As well as if a promontory were:

            As well as if a manor of thy friend's

            Or of thine own were.

            Any man's death diminishes me,

            Because I am involved in mankind.

            And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;

            It tolls for thee

            John Donne (1572 - 1631)

        2. CRConrad

          Quite a sensible comment, but...

          ...but why the heck was it attached to the comment it was?

          That certainly wasn't making light or or gloating about anything; just a plausible explanation for why it went down as it did. So why here?

        3. rg287 Silver badge

          To all the people making light of these deaths: does it make you happy, hard, or vindicated that two people, one of whom is there only by accident of birth, lost their lives?

          Responded to the wrong post, or are you suggesting I was making light of their deaths by rebutting the snarky and unpleasant "Quick, go below" comment?

          It's very unclear.

  5. Jim Whitaker

    Sad loss of a man who was both important and successful. Poignant that this was a celebration and his daughter died with him leaving wife/mother behind.

    1. Elongated Muskrat Silver badge

      Whilst their death is undoubtedly tragic, being "important" and "successful" make those lives no more valuable than any others. Last month, four people drowned attempting to cross the English Channel, but the same outpouring of grief and media attention wasn't splashed on them. Indeed, there are probably plenty of deeply unpleasant people who would be glad of their deaths.

      The difference here, is that dying whilst larking about on a pleasure yacht is an avoidable death, whereas finding yourself in the situation where you are desperate enough to attempt a dangerous crossing in a small vessel that is almost certainly unseaworthy and overloaded is probably less so.

      There seems to be a certain human tendency to elevate the super-rich to god-like personas, and then for those who are fortunate enough to find themselves in that group, by either luck of birth, luck of being in the right place at the right time, ruthlessness, skill, or a combination of the above, to start believing that they possess preternatural prowess themselves. Sadly, believing in your own indestructibility doesn't make it manifest, and being incredibly wealthy doesn't make the sea any less deadly or capricious.

      My sympathies go out to the friends and relatives of all those who have died at sea, and I am led to wonder, if it is indeed true that the wealth of some individuals is due entirely to hard graft, whether inheritance tax on estates that are worth well over the amount that any dependants might need to live a reasonably comfortable life for the rest of their time on Earth, should be taxed at 100%. After all, if that money has been earned by merit, then logically, those standing to inherit it have not earned it by merit themselves. Either that, or we need to look again at why billionaires exist in the first place, and why the tax system doesn't prevent people trying to emulate the dragon Smaug. Having enough wealth to live comfortably, and to never have to work again is one thing, having so much money that it is noticeably otherwise missing from economic circulation is quite another.

      1. Paul Hovnanian Silver badge

        "whereas finding yourself in the situation where you are desperate enough to attempt a dangerous crossing in a small vessel that is almost certainly unseaworthy and overloaded is probably less so."

        There is practically no extent that people will go to to get out of France.

        1. CRConrad

          Upvote for the humour, but...

          > There is practically no extent that people will go to to get out of France.

          ...but you probably meant to write "won't".

          1. Elongated Muskrat Silver badge

            Re: Upvote for the humour, but...

            I don't know, they do have a fantastic selection of chesses and cured meats at reasonable prices dans les supermarchés. That could prevent me from leaving, if my passport still allowed me to remain there.

    2. CRConrad

      Wife, yeah, mother... ?

      > and his daughter died with him leaving wife/mother behind.

      At a guess, with her surname different from his and the daughter's, I'm thinking perhaps wife/stepmother. You know, once they make their billions, these guys often upgrade to new cars, domiciles, boats... and wives.

      (Except I think I saw somewhere the boat is actually hers. Dunno whether she's independently wealthy, or it was a "write it on the wife so they can't take it from me" hedge against taxes and court cases.)

      1. CRConrad

        Seems I thought wrong there.

        Seen her referred to as the mother of the daughter who died (plus another one) once or twice in media reports.

        So apparently Lynch at least wasn't the type to, like so many tycoons, dump Dumpy Old Mom for a newer-model Bimbo Trophy Wife. Speaks for his integrity, raises my impression of him a notch.

  6. Zippy´s Sausage Factory

    "Coincidentally, Lynch's co-defendant, Stephen Chamberlain, who was also acquitted, died the day of the storm after being hit by a car on Saturday morning in Stretham, England."

    I don't like coincidences. They make me itch.

    1. Elongated Muskrat Silver badge

      It could be that those coincidences can be explained adequately by two individuals who have just been acquitted of falsely obtaining their extreme wealth had allowed it to go to their heads, and their feelings of invulnerability thus imbued, had led them to individually go running in a busy road, and take a yacht out in a storm.

      I'd add further that if there has been some foul play at work, why would anyone act so suspiciously as to top both individuals on the same day? Even Putin doesn't do people in, in a wholly predictable manner, yet is able to send a message that he did it, whilst maintaining plausible deniability. What would even be the purpose of doing so with these individuals? Whoever might be behind it wouldn't be getting their hands on the cash, unless you're suggesting that Mike Lynch's wife has something to do with it? Murdering your whole family (and also some family friends) including your offspring to get your hands on cash that you no doubt already had access to seems like a bit of an unlikely scenario, compared to simple carelessness.

      Also, wow, can I have one of those weather machines?

    2. Ian Johnston Silver badge

      Lou Gehrig died of Lou Gehrig's disease! What were the chances of that?

    3. Elongated Muskrat Silver badge

      Thinking about it, do you know what makes me itch? When there aren't coincidences.

      Mathematically, there are a vast number of random events that could happen, and that could coincide in a way that aligns to look meaningful, but is not.

      If none of those things do in fact coincide, that deviation would be statistically meaningful, and would indicate some sort of guiding hand in the fate of man.

      Oh shit, I just disproved God again, didn't I (well, at least an interventionist one)? I'd better change my name to Oolon Colluphid.

  7. Paul Hovnanian Silver badge

    Death was inevitable

    Particularly for billionaires. Now, if he had been the ship's cook, he would have survived.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Death was inevitable

      Ships cooks are pretty tough

      1. Ian Johnston Silver badge

        Re: Death was inevitable

        You forgot this one!

    2. CRConrad

      Haha, very droll. Except...

      ...the cook was the first dead body they found, before the six still on the vessel.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Boeing

    Title

  9. thexfile
    Mushroom

    All equal in fish eyes.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Maybe Hp are going the Boeing route, funny that his co-defendant died close in time. Sending a message? It's probably cheaper and less trouble than doing due diligence

  11. cd

    The ship builder is claiming crew incompetence, pretty damning...

    https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/lost-superyacht-s-builder-blames-crew-for-sinking

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