Former skipper of the Bayesian sailboat for five years, Stephen Edwards spoke at length about the deadly shipwreck.
How did the Bayesian sailboat sink with the snap of a finger? More than a week after the shipwreck that cost the lives of seven people, the answer is still not clear. An investigation has been opened for voluntary manslaughter, particularly against Captain James Cutfield, who is one of the 15 survivors.
The characteristics of this immense luxury sailboat carried away by a waterspout in a lightning manner are today being scrutinized by investigators. And the testimony of the former captain is very instructive in this matter.
On Linkedin, Stephen Edwards, who says he skippered the ship for five years, has indeed shared his experience. While he does not want to speculate on the exact reasons for the accident, he can “to shed light on the characteristics of the ship and some of its limitations which were probably involved in this disaster”he explains.
Already, the former captain mentions the mast of the sailboat, one of the highest ever built in the world. If its construction was an immense “structural challenge”this “essential part” of the ship is “robust and well-controlled”, according to him. Precise instructions in terms of sail for each wind force are provided. The former captain also explains that the mast was particularly well ballasted, with 30 tons of additional lead ballast in its keel compared to its sister ships with smaller masts.
Angle of invasion
Questions were raised when divers discovered that the retractable keel was raised on the seabed. Was it raised by hitting the seabed? Or was it already raised at anchor? In any case, the former captain speaks of a movable keel that was much lighter than the main keel, and used more when sailing to better manage the drift of the boat, accentuated by the height of the mast. Moreover, according to Stephen Edwards, the instruction manual required that the keel be lowered during navigation and systematically more than 60 nautical miles from the coast.
The former skipper also explains that there are specific angles of inclination from which the sailboat is in great difficulty.“angle of stability” for example, is the angle from which the ship no longer seeks to right itself.“angle of invasion”, fixed at around 40 to 45°, is the angle from which the water enters “above the ship’s wall, through the engine room or ventilation ducts”.
Opening the hatches?
If the heating and air conditioning systems as well as the generators on board are running, the ventilation flaps are always open, the skipper also explains, specifying that this was probably the case since the boat was fully occupied. On the other hand, the Bayesian had not “only one bulkhead opening in the hull, on the port side aft”. “As it was very close to the waterline, particularly due to the additional lead ballast, it was rarely used.”he also details. The captain adds that unlike other ships of this size, the Bayesian did not have portholes near its waterline.
In conclusion, the former skipper gives his opinion: the missing sailboat was “solid, seaworthy and, as far as I know, well maintained”. But it capsized at more than 45° “resulting in loss of control due to flooding,” mainly due to extreme weather circumstances which sometimes occur without warning and in such a concentrated manner that it is difficult for the crew to react adequately.
It remains to be seen precisely which doors and hatches were open during the night of the tragedy, when the alarm was sounded and what was the reaction of the captain and his crew. According to the Italian news agency Ansa, this is in any case the meaning of the questions currently being asked of James Cutfield, described as “experienced skipper who has worked on board large boats for years and knows the Mediterranean well.”
