Captain of Mike Lynch's sunken Bayesian yacht James Cutfield is pictured and is 'very good sailor'

James Cutfield, captain of a super yacht that sunk off the coast of Sicily with Mike Lynch on board, is a "well-respected" seafarer who has worked on boats since he was a teenager, said his brother

By: irishmirror.ie

Aug 21 2024
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Captain of Mike Lynch's sunken

The captain of a super yacht that sunk off the coast of Sicily with Mike Lynch on board is a "well-respected" seafarer who has worked most of his life on boats, said his brother.

James Cutfield, a 51-year-old New Zealander, was in charge of the Bayesian, with 22 people on board, when it sank off the coast of Sicily during a storm. Search crews have carried out further inspections of the wreckage of the luxury yacht as the hunt for six people feared trapped in the vessel continues with one body found so far.

After the tragedy in the early hours of Monday morning, Mr Cutfield told Italian media: “We didn’t see it coming.” He was described as "limp" with shock as he waited outside an emergency room in the Sicilian town of Termini Imerese.

It is understood the £30million yacht was little more than 700 metres from the harbour when its mast snapped in the storm, throwing it off balance. One body has been recovered belonging to the ship's chef, Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas.

The captain's brother Mark told the New Zealand Herald his brother was a “very good sailor” and was “very well respected” in the Mediterranean. He said he is currently in hospital but was not suffering from injuries “too dramatic”. He said that they had been called by Mr Cutfield’s wife Cristina before the news broke so they would know he was not among the dead.

She had flown from their home in Palma, Majorca, to be with him in Italy and has been updating the New Zealand family. Mr Cutfield had been involved in building ships for 30 years in the Mediterranean, as well as racing 470s in his youth, before becoming the captain of luxury yachts eight years ago. He had reportedly been with a Turkish billionaire before working for Mr Lynch.

The Italian Coastguard has not ruled out the possibility that those missing, including technology tycoon Mr Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, may still be alive, with experts speculating air pockets could have formed as the yacht sank. Among those also missing are Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer; his wife, Judy Bloomer; Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo; and his wife, Neda Morvillo.

Inspections of the yacht’s internal hull took place on Wednesday morning. A team of four British inspectors from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) have arrived in Porticello, where they are expected to look at the site of the sinking.

The MAIB is looking into what happened because the yacht Bayesian was flying a British flag, it is understood. The Italian Coastguard said the MAIB is not involved in the search for the missing people and that it has not been requested to assist.

The wreckage of Bayesian is resting on the seabed off the coast at a depth of 50m (164ft). Fire crews described the operation as “complex”, with divers limited to 12-minute underwater shifts. Dr Jean-Baptiste Souppez, a senior lecturer in mechanical, biomedical and design engineering at Aston University, said the next 24 hours are “crucial” to find survivors trapped inside the wreck.

He said: “The speed at which the vessel sank (a few minutes, according to survivor and witness accounts) and the fact that it remains intact and on its side could favour the formation of small air pockets inside. But whether air pockets formed on the Bayesian is simply impossible to predict.”

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