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. READ MORE: Pictured: Irish woman who miraculously survived the Italian superyacht disaster READ MORE: Mike Lynch missing - What we know about Irish-born tycoon amid Sicily yacht sinking tragedy 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 C.