This was the select group of guests invited by Mike Lynch to sail on his yacht, which sank off the Italian coast

The sinking of the yacht Bayesian while it was docked off the Italian coast of Porticello has caused a great impact. The sailing boat of tycoon Mike Lynch, with a length of 56 metres, a weight of 474 tonnes and an aluminium mast of 75 metres, was submerged 50 metres during the early hours of Monday morning with 22 people on board (12 passengers and 10 crew), of whom 15 have managed to survive. We tell you below who were the guests of the technology entrepreneur, his wife Angela Bacares and his daughter Hannah on this trip through Europe that ended in tragedy.

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Charlotte Golunski y James Emsley

One of the businesses that Mike Lynch started was Invoke Capital, a venture capital firm in which he had James Emsley (36) as a partner, who was rescued shortly after the swashbuckler hit the sailboat. An Oxford graduate, he had been part of the business since 2012 and enjoyed a few days of sailing with his partner, Charlotte Golunski (35) and his little Sofia (1).

© FacebookCharlotte Golunski

Both are the protagonists of an incredible story, as Charlotte managed to save the life of her daughter, who was initially lost in the water. “I kept her afloat with all my strength, with my arms stretched upwards to prevent her from drowning,” she told the Italian newspaper. The Republic“It was pitch black. I couldn’t keep my eyes open in the water. I screamed for help but all I could hear around me were the screams of others,” he continued. “For two seconds I lost the baby in the sea, then I immediately hugged her again in the fury of the waves. I held her tight, tight against me, while the sea was raging. Many people were screaming. Fortunately, the lifeboat inflated and 11 of us managed to get on board,” he concluded.

Chris and Neda Morvillo

Chris Morvillo (59), one of the deceased, is a partner at the prestigious law firm Clifford Chance and an adjunct professor of law at Fordham University School of Law. This law firm has been defending Mike Lynch in his long legal battle arising from the sale of his company, Autonomy Corporation, to the giant Hewlett-Packard (HP) for 10 billion euros. The lawyer worked as an assistant United States attorney for the southern district of New York between 1999 and 2005, during which time he collaborated in the investigation of 9/11.

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His wife, Neda Morvillo (57), also died at the Bayesian. Neda Nassiri, who runs the jewelry store, creates timeless pieces of gold and silver with precious stones inspired by ancient Egypt, Greece, Persia and Rome. She trained with master goldsmith Cecelia Bauer and has her workshop in New York. The couple has two daughters: Sabrina (27), who is a voice actress, and Sophia (23), who studied the prestigious theater career at Northwestern University. The couple owns an apartment on the Upper East Side of New York as well as a four-bedroom, five-bathroom house valued at $2.3 million in South Kent, Connecticut.

Jonathan y Judy Bloomer

Jonathan Bloomer (70) is another victim. A close friend of the Lynches, he was one of the defence witnesses in the British businessman’s legal battle. He is the chairman of Morgan Stanley International Bank and the British insurance company Hiscox. His wife Judy, who also lost her life in the sailboat accident, has been collaborating and being a trustee of Eve Appeal for over two decades, a UK charity that funds research into the five types of gynaecological cancer.

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Ayla Ronald

After ten years of litigation, which included house arrest, Mike Lynch was acquitted last June. To celebrate, he wanted to play host on his exclusive yacht with his legal team, which includes Ayla Ronald. The lawyer, who was accompanied by Matthew Fletcher, is very shocked by what happened, but at the same time feels lucky to have survived.

Since 2018, she has worked in London as a senior associate at Clifford Chance, where she specialises in international corporate and commercial litigation. She is originally from Christchurch, New Zealand, where she gained experience at the country’s largest law firm after studying Law and Commerce at the University of Otago.