Bayesian yacht captain breaks his silence after Sicily waterspout disaster as he reveals 'we didn't see it coming' The captain was interviewed in a hospital room in the town close to Palermo By David Averre Published: 09:01, 20 August 2024 | Updated: 09:22, 20 August 2024 e-mail 27 shares 4 View comments The captain of the doomed Bayesian luxury yacht that capsized and sank after being caught in a lethal waterspout off the coast of Sicily early yesterday has broken his silence on the disaster. James Catfield was named by Italian media as one of fifteen crewmembers and passengers who were rescued from the raging seas by another ship after they bailed out of the superyacht. The ship's chef Ricardo Thomas was found dead in the sea by search teams yesterday.
Another five people, including British tech billionaire Mike Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah and the chairman of Morgan Stanley International Jonathan Bloomer, remain missing amid fears they were trapped inside the ship's cabins. Speaking from a hospital room in the town of Termini Imerese close to Palermo, the captain, in a state of grief and shock, could only utter one sentence. 'We didn't see it coming,' he told La Repubblica .
The luxury sailboat was anchored just a few hundred metres off the coast of Porticello on calm seas when it was suddenly struck by a violent waterspout just before 5am on Monday. It is believed the ship sank after its mast - one of tallest in the world at an enormous 246ft-high - snapped duri.