THE BAYESIAN superyacht's own gigantic mast doomed the £14m boat when it was caught in a storm, an expert claims. The luxury vessel had the tallest aluminium mast in the world which went a whopping 75m high. Six people are still missing after the Bayesian sank early yesterday morning in a tornado off the coast of Sicily.
The single massive mast snapped in two and glass smashed with passengers fleeing for their lives as it capsized. Celebrated British entrepreneur Mike Lynch , his daughter, and Morgan Stanley boss Jonathan Bloomer are among the missing. Nautical architect expert Gino Ciriaci has now said the tall mast made it a danger to the boat, he told Libero.
Read more on world news He said the tallest mast in the world "is also the most dangerous mast in the world because it catches the wind at a great height. "If it had been a very low boat, perhaps things would have gone differently. "But the Bayesian, precisely because of its mast.
.. offered tremendous resistance to the wind.
Ciriaci also said that the rigging, the steel cables that move the sails, would also offer "enormous resistance". Most read in The Sun He said that a strong wind hitting it from the side could cause it to capsize. "It is not strange that a tornado managed to knock down the mast of the Bayesian.
"Let's be honest, when there is a wind of that strength it also knocks down trees in the city. I see no blame or possibility of avoiding it". The ship's captain James Calfield , 51, spoke from hospital yes.