Overview

• In a statement released for the anniversary, Angela Bacares recalls waking around 4 a.m., feeling the yacht sway, seeing objects slide, and then a sudden roll that left seven of 22 aboard dead, including Mike Lynch and their daughter.
• The 56-metre vessel sank in about 16 minutes after being hit by extreme winds linked to a mesocyclone, with gusts reported up to about 90 mph off Sicily.
• A May interim report by the UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch found that roughly 63 knots of beam wind could capsize the yacht and flagged undocumented vulnerabilities when operating in motoring mode.
• Builder The Italian Sea Group disputes the MAIB’s findings, describing the yacht as unsinkable and asserting crew left doors or hatches open, a claim not reflected in the UK interim report.
• Sicilian prosecutors are pursuing a suspected manslaughter case against captain James Cutfield and two crew members as June’s salvage delivered the hull and mast to Termini Imerese for forensic examination and UK inquests proceed.