56M Perini S/Y Bayesian Sinks During Palermo Storm

Is it me or it has been a brutal summer for super yachts in the med?

Ethos sinking in Greece….Athina going up in smoke … and a few more smaller boats incl the mass beaching in Formentera last well. Speaking of which it looks like the Wally was refloated.

Given the number of big boats built over the past 15 years, we’re bound to have an increased number of incidents.

Ethos was saved, though she risked a lot.

Given the number of big boats built over the past 15 years, we’re bound to have an increased number of incidents.

I think also yachts have become over complicated in selling a moving villa/palace, beach clubs that open by sea-water level, big pools which go down to fill, always larger roof to floor windows.
Yes all these items are classed when new, and so on and forth, but things go really bad fast at sea.

Now to be fair this Perini Navi have nothing of what I mentioned above, but I think about this when I see these yachts but also smaller 24 meters yachts who will roll and rock the hell of you if stabilizers are broken. Something is not right with what yachting is trying to sell in the past decade or so....

According to witnesses anchored nearby the mast broke off, then the boat capsized and sank.
One can assume the doors, windows, hatches etc was closed so as to run air condition but the tender garage could have been left wide open.
(Yes, I am speculating but can see no other way to sink a huge anchored sailboat)

If the retractable keel was up overall stability would be compromised.

Question for the experienced Yacht Captains: Is it normal to have a 24/7 anchor watch on a boat this
Size?

Yes, definately

For the engineering types here: What's the wind-load on a 286'mast with tornado winds-say 130kts? And how far will those winds heel the vessel? And what's the GZ righting arm of the vessel?

Hopefully being a fairly high profile accident and owner/victim, investigation details will come to light.

I find it difficult to understand how a boat that size, obviously designed for long offshore passages, could take on enough water to sink in minutes after a knock down

You would assume most doors, windows and hatches would be reasonably water tight. Even large sliding doors on a sailing vessel would likely be pneumatic or hydraulic to prevent them from slamming when heeling. Could large hatches swing wide open in a knock down if not locked ?

Security cameras on land showed the boat was gone in 60 seconds.

Some have speculated she dragged up on a reef and got holed, but she is laying
at a depth of 164 feet and unlikely the Captain would have anchored really close to a rock or a reef.

There is a first person account that states windows were broken. It is unclear if the windows failed from wave action OR FOD. I have a shop in tornado alley and can tell you even small objects can hole brick walls in the right or wrong situation. Deck chairs, table tops?

The other thing we don't know, how much the mast knock down damaged the deckhouse. That was a huge mast, the rigging could well have torn gashes in the house/hull when sheard? This is like an inflight break up, something failed and it quicky took the ship down.

Massive lightning strike to the mast blowing a big hole in the bottom? A very big hole?

Picture from Sunday night:
Does it look like she has a canvas top above or behind the bridge?

I hope there will be a full report describing why and how the yacht sank so fast. It seems hard to believe that a big, well-made Perini Navi yacht like this could be capsized with no sails up by wind alone, and then sink in minutes. No other yachts in the vicinity are reported to have sunk.

I was on another Perini during their 2018 Cup races and saw her up close both at quayside and during the regatta. With the impressive and memorable size of her mast that was appreciably larger than anything else there (most other Perinis of that size have a ketch rig), I thought she was an engineering marvel. We had more than 25-kts of breeze on a couple days which was nothing for these ships. The rigging was massive, seemingly overbuilt. Apparently not. Simply remarkable that a 56M yacht can capsize at anchor and sink in a minute without being hulled by another ship. Sailboats are dismasted regularly on the open ocean (it happens usually once every ARC, for example) and they rarely, if ever, sink like that. Engineers/Naval architects will be discussing this for years.

Keel failure ?

The diving inspection reported that the mast is intact, and the hull also has no sign of damage.
It is like the tornado pulled the yacht below the seabed and sank it. A video published today shows the mast rolling to starboard into the water, and then its like she disappeared.
The video is played fast.

Well apparently the hull came to rest on its side so there could be hidden damage.

I wonder if during the knock down, some of the machinery broke loose and came thru the hull? A main or a gen? Can mounts really stay together if the boat is close to 90 degree on its side?

You are correct Sir, I just now saw the video of the boat lying over flat with the mast lit up and the hull dark, eyewitness thought it looked like the mast came down.
(Once I get a picture downsized to 1.3 mp I will post it right here)
The video is quite dramatic, link coming.

The description sort of leaves you imagining a direct water spout strike, slow moving...

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/com...ht-on-camera-with-6-presumed-dead/ar-AA1p8jym

right at 1 minute you can sort of make out the anchor light laying over...hard to interpret...but no lightning flash.