Antiguan citizen the one body found so far in Sicilian yacht tragedy

by Mick the Ram

The body of the only person to be recovered from the tragic sinking of the super-yacht the Bayesian has been identified to be that of Recaldo Thomas, an Antiguan citizen, who was working as the vessel’s on-board chef.

The British-flagged boat had been anchored just outside of Porticelo harbour in northern Sicily shortly before dawn on 19 August, when a freak storm which whipped up a waterspout, snapped the yacht’s 72m high mast, causing it to become unbalanced and within 2 minutes it had sank 50m beneath the surface.

There were 22 people on-board of which 15 were rescued, including a one-year-old child, but sadly Mr Thomas was discovered lifeless in the water, as a frantic search began to look for the missing seven passengers.

The other six are thought to have drowned, but are believed to have become trapped on the vessel and their bodies are still to be recovered.

Amongst them are a billionaire British businessman and the chairman of Morgan Stanley International.

Canadian-born Mr Thomas had been in Antigua many years and has been described as an inspiration to young black children with a desire to get involved in yachting.

Tribute from long-standing friend

A friend of Recaldo Thomas paid tribute to a man he grew up with and had known for 30 years. Gareth Williams, who lives in Antigua, said: “I can talk for everyone that knew him when I say he was a well-loved, kind human being with a calm spirit.”

He explained how the two of them would spend time together on Antigua during Recaldo’s off-season. “He would come over to mine over the weekend and he would sing with his deepest, most sultry voice in the world, and a smile that lit up the room.”

Heartbreakingly, Mr Williams spoke of how his friend had told him “only the other day” that he would only need to work for two more seasons so he could “fix up his late parents’ house,” adding that although he loved yachting, he was “really tired”. 

Everybody’s friend

Another friend, Eli Fuller, met Recaldo around 25 years ago at a social gathering in Antigua. He said they became firm friends, but made the point that he “knew everybody and was friends with everybody.” Mr Fuller recalled how Recaldo would always ask after people’s families and was “always positive”.

Inspiration

He explained how his friend was very popular with the rich folk who frequented the yacht’s that he was chef on-board, because of his infectious personality; but more importantly, he had became an inspiration to young black children who wanted to get into yachting.

“The kids would see all these white people working on the yachts, but then for them to see an Antiguan man travelling all over the world, it was really important for our community.”

Any hope of any other survivors all but vanished

It would seem highly unlikely that any of the six people still missing could still be alive, as it over 36 hours since the yacht sank.

There had been hope that maybe there could be an air pocket somehow, but that now appears highly unlikely and it now all about recovery.

Really difficult operation

Divers are continuing to encounter difficulties in what is described as a “complex operation”. The wreckage is currently sitting 50m (165ft) on the sea bed. Furniture and a “world of objects” are blocking access to the cabins of the yacht.

A further complication is that the divers can only spend 12 minutes below the surface of the water at any one dive.

High profile individuals missing

Those still to be found include British tycoon Mike Lynch, who had only recently managed to successfully fight fraud charges, arising from the sale of his firm Autonomy to US tech giant Hewlett Packard.

Indeed the trip to Sicily was seen as something of a celebration of that court victory and the lawyer who represented him – Chris Morvillo from Clifford Chance – was on the trip and is also missing, along with his wife, Neda Morvillo, who has been a New York fine-jewellery designer for over 20 years.

The other three still to be accounted for are Mr Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter, Hannah (his wife Angela Bacares was rescued); plus the Morgan Stanley International chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy. He had appeared as a defence witness at Mr Lynch’s trial.