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LOUIS VUITTON 37TH AMERICA'S CUP BARCELONA

Welcome to the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup taking place between August and October 2024 in the beating heart of beautiful Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia and one of the most visited cities on planet Earth. Situated around Port Vell and along the beach to Port Olímpic, the sailing world has made Barcelona their home for what promises to be one of the most intense America’s Cups in the event’s 174-year history.

WHAT IS THE AMERICA'S CUP: THE RACE WITH NO SECOND PLACE

It is the oldest international sporting trophy – dating back to 1851 – and stands as one of the hardest sporting endeavours. The New York Yacht Club, one of the most prestigious clubs in the world, held the trophy for 132 years before losing it in 1983 to Australia. Since then, the Cup has only been won by teams from the United States, Switzerland, and New Zealand. The current Defender of the America's Cup is Emirates Team New Zealand, representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron.

WHERE: BARCELONA, CATALONIA, SPAIN

“Like a jewel in the sun” was how Montserrat Caballé and Freddy Mercury described Barcelona in their famous song about the city. The cosmopolitan capital of Spain’s Catalonia region–known worldwide for its art, architecture and vibrancy–is shining even brighter as preparations are well underway to welcome the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup and its teams. All the teams’ bases are located within the Port Vell area and surrounded by the America’s Cup Race Village where tens of thousands of spectators can be accommodated daily. The racecourse, just outside the port entrance breakwaters, is set in front of significant fan zones, beach viewing platforms and a hospitality area to provide the perfect vista.

WHEN: AUGUST – OCTOBER 2024

The Louis Vuitton Preliminary Regatta starts on the 22nd August and the Louis Vuitton Cup (Challenger Selection Series) will follow, leading up to the Louis Vuitton America's Cup Match starting on the 12th of October 2024. During 2023 and early 2024, three preliminary events will be held in Vilanova i La Geltrú, Jeddah, and Barcelona. In June 2023, all teams set up their bases and are training in Barcelona. Further details and race schedules will be published in due course.

WHO’S RACING: Emirates Team New Zealand, INEOS Britannia, Alinghi Red Bull Racing, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, NYYC American Magic and Orient Express Racing Team

The holders of the America’s Cup are Emirates Team New Zealand representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, but some strong competition is coming for them. INEOS Britannia, the ‘Challenger of Record’ from the United Kingdom, are in charge of the Louis Vuitton Cup (Challenger Selection Series) to decide who will race against Emirates Team New Zealand for the trophy. The unique format of the Cup sees the Defender of the trophy automatically entitled to race in the final Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup Match whereas the Challengers will undertake a series to find the top yacht to take on the New Zealand team. The additional confirmed entries are: Alinghi Red Bull Racing from Switzerland, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli from Italy, American Magic New York Yacht Club from the USA and Orient Express Racing Team from France.

WHAT BOATS: AC75 AND AC40

The AC75s are the pinnacle of foiling monohull yachts. Created for the 36th America’s Cup, they are a technological leap ahead of typical yachts as Formula 1 is to your daily driver. With foils that lift them out of the water and enable the yachts to generate so much momentum that they sail 4x faster than the wind.

For the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup, the second generation of the AC75s will be even faster with wider foils and refinements all over. Eight crew will be aboard and some of the finest sailing talent will be charged with racing them.

The AC40s, meanwhile, are the boats used for the UniCredit Youth and Puig Women's America’s Cup events and as training vessels for the main teams competing in the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup. Smaller but no less potent, with a four-person crew, these pocket-rockets were launched to much fanfare in September 2022, and their performance has been astonishing.

Event Format

The Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup Barcelona will comprise several events that will eventually culminate in the October 2024 Match. The Preliminary Regattas will serve as warm-up races ahead of the Louis Vuitton Cup (Challenger Selection Series), which decides who moves on and faces the Defender for the ultimate prize. The very best female and youth athletes from around the world will be thrust into America’s Cup level racing for the UniCredit Youth & Puig Women's America's Cup events, paving the pathway to the future of the America’s Cup itself.

LOUIS VUITTON CUP: SEPTEMBER 2024

The Louis Vuitton Cup (Challenger Selections Series) will determine which team will face the Defender Emirates Team New Zealand in the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup Match.

The Louis Vuitton Cup will comprise of a double Round Robin stage and a Semi-Final stage, followed by a two-boat Final. The top four teams will race in a first-to-five-points Semi-Final, with the two winners advancing to the Final Match Race. The winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup, the team to first score seven points, will face Emirates Team New Zealand, the Defender of the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup. 

LOUIS VUITTON 37TH AMERICA'S CUP MATCH: STARTS 12 OCTOBER 2024

The America’s Cup is the race with no second place. Either you win or you lose, and it has been like this for over 170 years.

In October 2024 the Defender Emirates Team New Zealand will face the winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup (Challenger Selection Series) in a 13-race Match. Each race will be a match race between the two teams. The winner of each race scores one point, the loser scores no points. The first team to score seven points will become the Defender of the 38th America’s Cup.

HOW TO WATCH

The America’s Cup Race Village is where you want to be in the middle of the action and experience the event's buzz off the water. The Race Village is completely FREE throughout all America's Cup events, and it will be located in Port Vell along Moll de la Fusta, connecting people to boats, team bases and events. The beaches between Port Vell and Port Olímpic will allow FREE race viewing for everyone.

There will be no ticketing arrangements and we encourage everyone to come and soak in the unique atmosphere of world-class America’s Cup racing that promises to be fast, furious and very close. Having witnessed the racing live, don’t forget to take a stroll through the Race Village to watch sailor presentations from the main stages as well as food, drink, sponsor and team activities daily.

For those spectators wishing to watch the races from their own vessels, areas will be dedicated for yachts and small crafts around the perimeter. Be sure you register your boat HERE to stay up to date with all the latest information

For those unable to attend the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup races in person and see the action just off the waterfront, don’t worry! The America’s Cup races will be live-streamed across the official America’s Cup website as well as available to watch on YouTube in most territories. The America’s Cup Social Media channels on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and X (formerly known as Twitter) will also be fully activated and updated throughout the racing with a mix of multi-media, and daily race reports will be available on the America’s Cup website after racing.

Hospitality

Open for the duration of the competition, HOUSE OF AC37 is the exclusive and official land-based ticketed hospitality experience of the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup. Situated within Port Olímpic and set alongside the UniCredit Youth & Puig Women's America's Cup Team Bases, House of AC37 benefits from one of the best locations in Barcelona at the heart of the competition. Finding a perfect balance between thrilling race entertainment and first-class gastronomy, ‘The House’ has been designed to cater to your home comforts while delivering a refined and authentic America’s Cup experience. With giant screens, expert commentary and Michelin quality dining, this is the prime spot to set up your race base for the competition. Click the link below and secure you official hospitality packages.

HOW TO FOLLOW

High quality coverage (live, highlights, clips and news) of the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup Barcelona will be distributed on the broadest possible basis to maximise the audience for the event. This will include distribution on TV, online and on mobile through partnerships with broadcasters and via the America's Cup website and its official social media channels.

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Countdown to America’s Cup World Series San Diego

• By Yachting Staff
• Updated: August 30, 2011

SAN DIEGO – AUG. 25, 2011 – In under three months’ time, the America’s Cup World Series will land in San Diego for the U.S. debut of the new look America’s Cup. A new professional global circuit, the AC World Series features the sport’s best athletes competing on some of the most physically demanding boats in the world – the AC45 wing-sailed catamarans.

Adding a new and exciting chapter to its storied history with America’s Cup, San Diego is renown as one of the best sailing venues in the world. But come this November, San Diego will see a very different America’s Cup experience, with racing held just feet offshore, live inside San Diego Harbor in front of thousands of spectators. As one of the real birthplaces of extreme sports, San Diego is an ideal host for the next generation America’s Cup, with boats that really embrace the extreme.

“We spent 16 months in San Diego preparing for the last America’s Cup, so we know that the harbor is a perfect stadium for the new-look high-speed, high-energy America’s Cup,” said James Spithill, Skipper of ORACLE Racing. “We thought it was pretty cool just sailing our wing-sailed multihull back in 2009, but this time there will be a whole fleet sailed by teams from around the world. I can promise you this: people in San Diego will have a new appreciation for America’s Cup sailing.”

The AC World Series San Diego event will take place inside San Diego Bay, with numerous waterfront viewing locations that will allow spectators to see the on-the-water action up close. In addition to a full race schedule, the series stop will feature the all-ages AC Village at Harbor Drive which encompasses activities on Broadway Pier and the U.S.S. Midway with spectator grandstands, interactive displays, concession booths and a nightly entertainment schedule, while the stylish AC Experience at Harbor Island will provide a more lavish setting for discerning patrons.

“Our city’s long and storied history with the Cup makes San Diego Bay an ideal location to help transform America’s Cup racing in to a new era,“ said Chuck Nichols, chairman of Sailing Events Association San Diego. “With its natural stadium environment, we are able to host multiple venues along San Diego Bay for fans to view this new form of high-adrenaline racing and, most importantly, celebrate the America’s Cup sporting experience in an intimate way never before experienced in the U.S.”

Fans will be greeted by new boats, new formats and a whole new level of racing. Sailing the AC45, the athletes will tested through both fleet and match races that put a premium on physical and mental strength. The highlight of the event is winner-takes-all, fleet race on Sunday November 20, where the teams will compete for the title of AC World Series San Diego Champion, as well as the chance to put points on the board for an overall 2011-12 AC World Series win. Another fan showcase – the AC 500 Speed Trial, where teams push their boats to the limit to cover a 500-meter straight-line course in the shortest time.

“San Diego Bay has a proven track record as a perfect venue for this type of action-packed sailing,” said Lou Smith, Vice Chairman of the Board of Port Commissioners. “The port supports the America’s Cup World Series as part of its goal to ‘activate’ the waterfront around San Diego Bay, providing economic benefit to port tenant businesses and enjoyment to spectators.”

Broadcast to expose millions more fans to the sport of high-performance sailing, the AC World Series is a regular circuit of regattas that will bring America’s Cup-level racing and experience to top international venues. The AC World Series champion will be crowned during the final circuit stop in Newport, RI, in 2012. The AC World Series events provide the fans the only opportunity to see all of the America’s Cup competitors racing together.

“This exciting event will provide the city with a healthy economic jolt and also serve as a great advertisement for San Diego,” said San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders. “Media from all over the globe will broadcast images of San Diego’s spectacular scenery to viewers as far away as China and New Zealand.”

The AC World Series is sailed in the AC45, the forerunner to the next generation of America’s Cup boats. Focused on creating more on-the-water excitement for both the teams and the fans, the AC45 wing-sailed catamaran was designed for both speed and close racing. While capable of closing speeds of over 35 mph, the AC45 remains nimble enough to handle the tight, tactical race courses planned by America’s Cup Race Management. The new format of the America’s Cup also includes a strong commitment to restoring and preserving the world’s oceans through a partnership with Sailors for the Sea and other organizations at each series stop.

“With the breakneck speed of the boats and the athleticism needed onboard, the new look America’s Cup will be attracting a whole new audience, one that is younger and loves action sports and extreme thrills,” said Tom Huston, Chief Operating Officer, America’s Cup Event Authority. “San Diego will provide a world-class experience for AC World Series competitors and fans alike. We look forward to celebrating this AC World Series event with thousands of spectators in San Diego, and help write a new exciting chapter in San Diego’s long history with the America’s Cup.”

For more information, visit the America’s Cup World Series San Diego event page , including exclusive corporate hospitality packages that are available for purchase.

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America's Cup: what is it and can Ben Ainslie's team win?

The America's Cup World Series sailing comes to Portsmouth this weekend, with a British team marked out as favourites

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Ben Ainslie's Land Rover BAR sailing team will makes its America's Cup debut this weekend as opening round of the America's Cup World Series takes place in Portsmouth.

Ainslie tasted glory in 2013 when he helped the American Oracle team to one of the greatest sporting comebacks in history, taking over as tactician with the team trailing 8-1 to New Zealand, and guiding them to an incredible 9-8 triumph.

The experience prompted the four-time Olympic gold medallist to set his sights on victory with a British crew and he believes his new Ben Ainslie Racing team, founded 18 months ago, has what it takes to lift the ultimate prize in Bermuda in 2017.

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There is a long way to go before then, but Ainslie has also been pivotal in bringing the Americas Cup World Series to Portsmouth, where up to 500,000 people are expected to watch the fleet of futuristic 45-foot catamarans in action on the Solent over the next four days.

But what can spectators expect to see and how does the America's Cup actually work?

What is the America's Cup?

The BBC asks the very same question and describes it as "the most famous sailing event in the world and the oldest competition in international sport".

It was first awarded in 1851 when the schooner America won a race around the Isle of Wight. The trophy, known as the Auld Mug, was donated to the New York Yacht Club in 1857, which held it until 1983, the longest winning streak in the history of sport. It was finally ended when the Royal Perth Yacht Club, and their yacht Australia II triumphed in Rhode Island.

The competition has often been dogged by controversy and the regulations have changed over the years, but the fundamental premise of a single challenger taking on the holder for custody of the Auld Mug has not changed.

But the America's Cup is now as much about cutting-edge boat design, fundraising and sponsorship as it is about basic seamanship.

What will be happening this weekend?

"This is the opening event in the America's Cup World Series, the first competitive toe in the water on the way to the 2017 America's Cup in Bermuda," says The Independent .

But it should be quite a spectacle with six teams all racing each other at the same time.

Points collected in the America's Cup World Series events in 2015 and 2016 will count towards the America's Cup Challenger Series to be held in 2017, which will determine who goes head to head with the Oracle team for the America's Cup in Bermuda later that year, say the organisers of this weekend's regatta.

The set-up is not dissimilar to a Formula 1 weekend. Thursday saw the six teams warming up, and there are practice races on Friday, and the real action takes place on Saturday and Sunday, when the teams race for America's Cup points. There are two races each day with more points at stake for the six teams on Sunday.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph , Ainslie says: "Although these World Series races are of limited import as far as the 35th America's Cup itself is concerned, they do count towards qualification. And there will be professional pride at stake as well."

The racing takes place between 3.30pm and 5pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The action will be shown on BT Sport.

What are the boats like?

The six competing teams will race in identical 45-foot foiling catamarans capable of speeds up to 50mph. Sporting sails like vertical aeroplane wings, the Daily Mail describes them as "lightweight boats that fly over the sea like rocket ships".

They are fitted with foils and daggerboards which can be lowered into the sea to lift the twin hulls clear out of the water. "They act like wings through the water, sending the 1.3 tonne boat soaring above the surface", explains the Mail. "But when the boats need to turn they come down and hit the water, decelerating from 50mph to a standstill in ten metres – just like hitting a brick wall."

Impressive though the catamarans on show this weekend are, they will be trumped by those used in the 2017 showdown, which are likely to be slightly bigger and capable of almost 60mph.

What are BAR Land Rover's chances?

"Winning the ACWS would give Ainslie's team a jump start in their challenge for sport's oldest trophy, but the ACWS is more a test of sailors than design and given that none of the crews have had more than ten days training in these boats, they are all still learning how to get the best out of them," says The Times . "The work towards developing a boat that could win the Cup in Bermuda in 2017 is already well under way behind closed doors, but the ACWS gives the first real test of how that team-building is going.

Ainslie has been "burdened with the favourite's tag for this opening event", adds the paper, which suggess that his rivals are "keen to add to the pressure" on the much-hyped new team. "But even if they can win the ACWS, victory in Bermuda in 2017 is still a long shot," it warns.

However, Ainslie is upbeat. "We've worked incredibly hard preparing for this event – with our sailing team manager Jono Macbeth and our fitness coach Ben Williams – so for all of us we want to translate that effort into results," he writes in the Telegraph. "We really want to perform well in front of our home crowd."

What happens next?

After the Portsmouth regatta the action moves to Gothenburg in Sweden where the next round of the ACWS takes place in late August. Then, in October, the teams will get the chance to test the waters in Bermuda, where the final showdown between the official challengers and Oracle will take place in 2017.

A further round of World Series events in 2016 will be followed by the challenger series to determine who will return to Bermuda.

And in the meantime Ainslie and his BAR Land Rover will continue their work on a boat capable of challenging Oracle.

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Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series – Chicago

June 7-9, 2024  •  Hosted by the Chicago Yacht Club

Event Information

June 7-9, 2024

Final Results

Final Scratch Sheet

Chicago Social Pass

The Chicago Regatta Social Pass (Friday – Sunday) includes:

– SWRS 20oz Sustainable Tumbler

– Live Band Karaoke & Pickleball

–  Mount Gay Rum Cocktail Contest

Friday – Dinner & drinks (Chicago Grill, Rum and more)

Saturday – Dinner & drinks (Tacos, Margaritas, Rum and more)

Sunday – Awards cocktails

Social Pass is $75/person.  Crew Pack (5 passes for the price of 4). N o charge for sailors under 21.  

Mount Gay Rum Cocktail Contest

The BVI Championship’s Mount Gay Rum Cocktail Contest is coming to the Chicago Yacht Club on Friday, June 7th. If you have a practiced hand or favorite recipe, sign up to create what could be Chicago’s Regatta cocktail. Mount Gay provides the mixers and the Mount Gay Rum (Eclipse, XO, Navy Strength, and Black Barrel). Space is limited.

Quantum Sails Weather Briefing

Sign up in advance for the link to watch Shea Gibson and the Quantum Sails team provide the local weather forecast for the Regatta race area.

Register in advance to receive link viewable on all devices. 

Start time is 0730 Friday – Sunday.

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Alfonso cuarón, cate blanchett bring series ‘disclaimer’ to venice film festival.

Lindsey Bahr

Associated Press

Cate Blanchett poses for photographers upon arrival for the premiere of the film 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice' and the opening ceremony of the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)

VENICE – Alfonso Cuarón is the first to admit that he does not know how to make a television series. He might even be too old to learn how, he said.

The Oscar-winning filmmaker has technically now made a series, the seven-part AppleTV+ show “Disclaimer,” four episodes of which premiered Thursday at the Venice Film Festival . But he did it his way: Like a film.

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Based on Renée Knight’s 2015 book of the same name, “Disclaimer” is a psychological thriller about a documentarian and journalist, Catherine Ravenscroft (Cate Blanchett), who discovers she’s a character in a novel that reveals her darkest secret.

Cuarón, Blanchett and Kevin Kline all made the journey to the Italian film festival to debut and speak about the show before it begins streaming on Oct. 11.

“I read the book and immediately in my mind I saw a film, but I didn’t know how to make that film,” Cuarón, the director of films including “Gravity” and “Roma,” said in a news conference Thursday. “It was way too long. I could not shape it as such.”

It was only later, he said, that he thought it might work in longer form, inspired by predecessors like Rainer Werner Fassbinder, David Lynch and Krzysztof Kieślowski.

“I was intrigued and that was the point of departure,” Cuarón said.

He started writing with one name in mind for Catherine: Blanchett, terrified that she might say no. Not only did she not say no, she also was the one who suggested Kline for a British character. Sacha Baron Cohen plays her husband in the show and Kodi Smit-McPhee plays her son.

All soon realized that approaching it as a film, and shooting it as a film, would take much longer than a normal series. He even enlisted two cinematographers, Emmanuel Lubezki and Bruno Delbonnel, to add a distinct visual language to the different perspectives in the story. All told, it took about a year.

“It was a really long process,” Cuarón said. “And I really feel for the actors because they were stuck with the characters for way too long.”

Blanchett laughed that they were “still recovering.”

The final three episodes will screen Friday at the festival. Though the festival is most known for its feature film premieres , it does play host to select series as well. This year those also include Joe Wright’s Mussolini biopic “M: Son of the Century,” Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “The New Years” and Thomas Vinterberg’s “Families Like Ours.”

For more coverage of the 2024 Venice Film Festival, visit https://apnews.com/hub/venice-film-festival .

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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A Waterspout Was Seen When a Luxury Yacht Sank. What Is It?

Witnesses reported seeing the tornado-like phenomenon hit the Bayesian, a sailing yacht that sank off the coast of Sicily on Monday.

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By Eve Sampson

What caused the sinking on Monday of a sailing yacht carrying the British billionaire Mike Lynch and 21 other people off the coast of Sicily is still unknown. But some attention has focused on observations by witnesses, who described seeing a small tornado-like column known as a waterspout forming over the water during an abrupt and violent storm as the vessel sank.

Fifteen passengers on the 180-foot yacht, the Bayesian, escaped on a raft before being rescued by a neighboring cruise ship. The body of the ship’s cook was recovered on Monday and six people remain unaccounted for , including Mr. Lynch and his daughter Hannah, according to officials with Sicily’s civil protection agency.

Prosecutors in the nearby city of Termini Imerese have opened an inquiry into the cause of the sinking.

Here is what to know about waterspouts, a surprisingly common weather phenomenon that may have helped sink the luxury yacht.

What are waterspouts?

Waterspouts are columns of spinning air and moisture — similar to tornadoes over water, according to the National Weather Service .

While some form in fair weather, and are aptly called fair weather waterspouts, another more dangerous variety called tornadic waterspouts develops downward from a thunderstorm. These tornadic waterspouts can either form as regular tornadoes over land and move out to sea, or form in a storm already over a large body of water, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association .

Fair weather waterspouts are weak, often dissipate quickly and do not cause major damage, according to the agencies, but tornadic waterspouts are more often associated with high winds, dangerous and frequent lightning, and hail. The Italian authorities recorded strong winds and intense lightning activity at the time the yacht went down.

How common are waterspouts?

Experts say waterspouts may be more common than tornadoes, but because oceans are so vast, they are more difficult to track — and as difficult to predict.

“The Mediterranean is possibly one of the places where waterspouts are most likely around the world due to the warm ocean surface and a climate that is very susceptible to thunderstorms throughout the summer and autumn,” according to a statement by Peter Inness, a meteorologist at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Inness pointed to a 2022 study by scientists from University of Barcelona , which found that waterspouts occurred more frequently over warmer sea surfaces. The North Atlantic ocean has been unusually hot for over a year, repeatedly reaching record highs for the time of year , according to data from the oceanic association.

The International Centre for Waterspout Research on Monday said on X , the platform formerly known as Twitter, that it had confirmed 18 waterspouts near Italy in recent days, and several fishermen in the area of the accident told Italian media that they had witnessed a waterspout near the yacht.

What may have happened?

Karsten Börner, the captain of the nearby boat that rescued the 15 passengers, said in an interview that he saw the Bayesian about 490 feet away before the wind and lightning picked up.

While it was difficult to see what happened amid the storm, “my theory was that she was capsized first and then went down over the stern,” he said.

Towering over 237 feet tall, the Bayesian mast was one of the tallest aluminum masts in the world and it also had a special keel that could be raised or lowered, according to its manufacturer, Perini Navi. A keel is the downward-extending centerline underneath a boat that can help stabilize the vessel.

“In this case, having a tall aluminum mast would not make it the safest port to be in case of a storm,” said Andrea Ratti, associate professor of nautical design and architecture technology the Politecnico di Milano.

He added that “a lot of questions will remain until we have other elements at our disposal.”

Elisabetta Povoledo contributed reporting.

Eve Sampson is a reporter covering international news and a member of the 2024-25 Times Fellowship class, a program for journalists early in their careers. More about Eve Sampson

Experts puzzle over why Bayesian yacht sank. Was it a 'black swan event'?

The Bayesian set off on a leisurely cruise around Italy's southern coast on a sunny day in late July.

The luxurious super yacht − which boasted one of the largest masts in the world and carried a crew of business moguls, including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his family and a chair of Morgan Stanley − set sail from the Amalfi Coast, bound for Sicily.

Less than a month later, the ship had sunk 160 feet under the water , leaving its cook dead and six of its passengers, including at least two Americans, missing and prompting a massive search that has drawn international attention.

Now, experts are trying to piece together why in the early hours Monday the Bayesian was quickly pulled under the waves amid a storm that saw at least one tornado spin up over the water.

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A perfect storm led to Bayesian sinking, experts say

The combination of unlikely factors that could have contributed to the ship's fate constituted a "black swan event," Matthew Schanck, chairman of the Maritime Search and Rescue Council, told USA TODAY.

The Bayesian was well-built: A 2008 product of Italian ship maker Perini, it was constructed in accordance with international maritime standards and commercially certified by the U.K.'s Maritime and Coastguard Agency, according to Schanck.

The bout of bad weather that swept the area when the ship went down was also out of the ordinary in the northern Mediterranean, "which isn't renowned for prolonged, significant stormy weather," he said.

"The fact that those two elements have then resulted in the foundering of a super yacht is pretty extraordinary," Schanck said. "These things don't happen every day."

After the ship sank just before 5 a.m. local time, 15 people, including a 1-year-old, were pulled from the water. Some were rescued from a life raft by the crew of a ship docked nearby.

Ricardo Thomas, the ship's cook and a native of Antigua, was found dead, according to authorities.

As of Tuesday, six people were missing, including Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter. Several missing passengers were involved in Lynch's trial on fraud charges, including Jonathan Bloomer, a Morgan Stanley chair who served as his character witness, and one of Lynch's attorneys. Lynch, accused of fraud after he sold his company to electronics giant Hewlett-Packard, was acquitted of all charges weeks ago.

Who is Mike Lynch? UK entrepreneur among those missing after superyacht sinks off Sicily

Tornado formed over unusually hot water

Storms in the area that night may have whipped up a water spout, a tornado over the water , according to local meteorologists.

It was likely triggered by the water's unusual warmth, said Rick Shema, a certified consulting meteorologist who served in the Navy.

"The water spout was an uncommon occurrence," he said. "But again, these things happen, especially in warmer water."

At 83.7 degrees, water in the area was more than 3 degrees hotter than average on the day the Bayesian sank, likely the result of climate change, Shema said.

"Hurricanes can form at 80 degrees. This was almost four degrees higher than that," he said.

The water spout may have spun up when cooler air dropped from mountainous places nearby onto the hot water, he said. "A water spout is a vortex, basically like a tornado, spinning real fast, sucking up water and moisture as the column rises," he said.

Although water spouts only reach around 120 mph, as compared with tornadoes on land, which can reach up to 300 mph, "you don't need 200 mph to sink a ship," he said.

"Even an average tornado, 120 miles an hour, that's a lot of wind," he said, "which would heel the boat over for sure."

Water spouts spring up suddenly, Shema said. Before they strike, winds can be slow, but "once the water spout comes over, bam, it's on," he said.

Before sunrise, the ship's crew may not have seen the water spout coming. "The visibility was probably a big factor," he said.

With the windows of the yacht opened, as they likely were in the hot weather, the water spout could have triggered water that flooded through the portholes, Shema said, causing the ship to sink.

Tragedy strikes: Scramble to find survivors after Bayesian yacht sinks off Sicily coast

Search continues, but shift to recovery phase approaches

Italian authorities said the Bayesian was probably at anchor when the storm struck, meaning it couldn't maneuver and ride the waves, according to Mitchell Stoller, a captain and maritime expert witness. Other ships in the area that turned on their engines rode out the storm, he said.

"When you're at anchor and you see weather, you start your engine and you put the wind on the bow. You don't let it get on the side," he said.

Schanck said another key question concerns the position of the keel, a heavy weight underneath the boat that acts as a counterbalance to keep it upright, when the ship sank. When lifted, "that's going to affect the stability of the vessel, because, obviously, you've now raised the center of gravity of that vessel," he said.

The Bayesian was floating over 160 feet of water at the time, deep enough that the keel would likely be deployed. But the fact that "the vessel heeled over so heavily makes me question that," Schanck said.

The cause of the disaster may not be known until the ship can be examined in more detail, experts say. Prosecutors in a nearby town have already opened an investigation.

Schanck said investigators will have plenty to work with once the operation moves into a recovery phase.

"The vessel is intact and in good condition on the seabed," he said. "There's a lot of eyewitness accounts from other vessels in the area and the shore."

As the search entered its second day on Tuesday, the rescue effort may shift in that direction soon. "I suspect, later on, today or tomorrow, we'll probably see some mention of a recovery operation being stated," Schanck said.

The decision to would depend on whether rescuers find signs of life in the ship and air pockets or survivable spaces, Schanck said. At this point, survivors on the water's surface looks unlikely. "My professional opinion is that the casualties will be located within the vessel," he said.

"There is a risk versus benefit in all maritime search and rescue incidents," he said. "Where we start transitioning to a recovery phase, that line shifts."

Contributing: Reuters

Cybele Mayes-Osterman is a breaking news reporter for USA Today. Reach her on email at [email protected]. Follow her on X @CybeleMO.

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Bayesian Yacht Sinking: Climate Change Created Perfect Storm for Waterspouts

The waterspout blamed for the deadly sinking of a luxury superyacht carrying the British tech billionaire Mike Lynch in Italy has been called a freak “black swan” event. But scientists believe this kind of marine tornado is becoming more common with global warming.

While the cause of the sinking of the Bayesian hasn’t officially been determined, weather conditions and witness reports from Sicily, where the yacht was anchored off the coast, have led experts to suspect a waterspout, a whirling column of air and water mist. The key factor for waterspout formation is warm water—and the past year has seen the ocean surface heat up to record-breaking temperatures , in part due to climate change.

“If this rate of warming is going to be continuing in the future, it’s very possible these phenomena will be common and not rare,” says Michalis Sioutas, a meteorology PhD who studies waterspouts in Greece and is a board member of the Hellenic Meteorological Society. “It’s very possible to talk about waterspouts or even tornadoes and extreme storms becoming common.”

The 180-foot Bayesian sank in a matter of minutes after being caught in a sudden storm with strong winds and intense lightning at around 4 am on Monday. Fifteen people who had been aboard were rescued, and one person was found dead. Six people are missing, including British tech billionaire Mike Lynch, who was recently cleared of fraud charges over the sale of his company to Hewlett-Packard. On Wednesday, the bodies of five people were recovered from the sunken ship but have yet to be identified.

Fishermen saw a waterspout near the yacht shortly before it sank, and a nearby schooner was tossed about by what its captain, Karsten Borner, called a “hurricane gust,” which he believes capsized the Bayesian . Experts have said the conditions were ripe for a waterspout.

This extreme weather phenomenon occurs when warm, moist air rises rapidly over water, spinning as winds change direction at different heights. The result is a long, bending funnel of spray between the water and the clouds, tapering off as it rises as much as 10,000 feet into the heavens.

It comes in two flavors. The more vanilla kind is a fair weather waterspout , which forms in relatively calm and even sunny conditions, often under a billowy cumulus cloud. It happens more often in places like the Great Lakes and the Florida Keys, reaches wind speeds of 50 miles per hour, and usually breaks up before it can cause significant damage.

Then there are severe waterspouts, essentially tornadoes over water, which “are another beast” entirely, according to Wade Szilagyi, a retired forecaster at the Meteorological Service of Canada who now directs the International Center for Waterspout Research. These tornadic waterspouts can move from land to water, or vice versa, and twist at 125 miles per hour or more. They’ve been known to throw debris, rip apart buildings, and overturn boats.

A waterspout documented by Sioutas in Methoni, Greece, in 2004 picked up a boat and sent it sailing through the air, striking and killing a 10-year-old boy. Last year, a sudden storm and waterspout with winds of over 40 miles per hour overturned a tourist boat carrying off-duty intelligence agents on Italy’s Lake Maggiore, killing four. Sioutas says waterspouts can even generate “massive water displacements similar to tsunamis,” citing the gigantic waves that struck the coast of the Greek island of Samos during a 2004 cyclone, tossing boulders like toys.

Tornadic waterspouts spring up only in stormy weather with strong winds, lightning, and sometimes hail, and are the product of two main ingredients: wind shear and rising, unstable air. The process begins when masses of cold and warm air collide. This brings together winds from different directions that start to spin around each other, creating vortices. If a thunderstorm also converges in the area, it can provide the instability, sucking warm air up into itself at dizzying speeds. Over water, it starts carrying moisture up as well. Szilagyi compares the waterspout’s development to a twirling figure skater.

“You can think of the skater, if she just spins around normally, that’s like the little vortex that’s already started,” he says. “But if she brings her arms in, then that’s like the column of that unstable warm air, pulling, stretching that vortex upward. She starts to spin faster.”

Waterspouts have been known and feared since ancient times. In the 1550s in Malta, a waterspout plowed through the harbor of Valletta, reportedly destroying an armada of warships and killing hundreds of people. It’s even thought that old stories of fish or frogs raining down on land may be the product of waterspouts sweeping the creatures up into the clouds.

Now global warming may be supercharging the phenomenon. The International Panel on Climate Change has not found a definite link—there hasn’t been much research into how climate change may be affecting waterspouts—but experts say that the conditions for waterspouts to form are happening more often. A 2022 study of 234 waterspouts in the Spanish Mediterranean over the past three decades found that they were more likely to break out when the sea surface was warmer, especially above 23 degrees Celsius (73 degrees Fahrenheit). And water temperatures are now at unprecedented levels.

Last year was the warmest on record for the ocean. The heat content of the upper 6,500 feet of the seas was the highest ever seen. The seas broke temperature records every single day between May 2023 and May 2024. Marine heat waves struck areas from Antarctica to the Mediterranean.

“Warmer oceans have more energy and more humidity to transfer to the atmosphere, the most important fuels for storms,” says Luca Mercalli, president of the Italian Meteorological Society. “The contrast of warm sea and colder air that flows over energizes vertical winds that could result in downbursts or waterspouts.” (A downburst is a powerful cascade of wind and rain from a thundercloud.)

That perfect storm of waterspout conditions hit Italy around the time the Bayesian sank. In recent days, a mass of high-level cold air has swept down from the Alps and over the country’s western coast, meeting the exceptionally warm air just above the sea surface. Four days before the Bayesian went down, sea surface temperatures were the hottest ever recorded across the Mediterranean Sea, with a daily median of 28.71 degrees Celsius. The ocean near where the Bayesian was anchored has reached almost 30 degrees Celsius this week, four degrees higher than the 20-year summer average, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.

Cold and warm air clashed. Winds started spinning, and overheated water provided the ingredient of instability needed for a waterspout outbreak. As a result, a total of 28 waterspouts were documented off the western coast of Italy from August 17 to August 20, according to the International Center for Waterspout Research.

The total number of waterspouts reported has been increasing in recent years, although a major factor has been that more people are able to capture them with phone cameras and post them on social media, Szilagyi says. But he says that warming waters and a longer waterspout season due to climate change are also contributing. In particular, he believes the number of severe waterspouts are on the rise.

“With the increased water temperatures, that’s probably resulting in more frequent tornadic waterspouts,” Szilagyi says. “There’s no scientific evidence yet that they’re getting even stronger. It’s just that they’re becoming more frequent.”

Warming sea waters are also expected to boost other extreme weather events like Mediterranean hurricanes, or “medicanes,” one of which contributed to the flash flood that killed thousands of people in Libya last year .

In this brave new world, countries need to improve early-warning systems and invest more in research to forecast and observe trends in waterspouts, scientists say. “We have to prepared for more dangerous waterspouts possibly in the future,” Sioutas says. “Significantly warmer waters contribute very significantly to the creation of waterspouts, especially the violent ones.”

Updated 8-22-2024 1:15 pm BST: A previous version of the story stated that the ship’s mast had snapped; this detail has been removed as damage to the mast has not been confirmed.

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What is known about the sinking of a luxury yacht off the coast of Sicily and those aboard

PORTICELLO, Sicily — Specialist cave divers working in 12-minute underwater shifts were searching Tuesday for six missing passengers and crew, including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, believed to be in the submerged wreck of a luxury yacht that was slammed by a powerful storm and swiftly sank off Sicily.

The sleek yacht, named the Bayesian, was carrying a crew of 10 people and 12 passengers when it suddenly sank near the Mediterranean island that is part of Italy at about 4 a.m. on Monday. One body has been recovered and 15 people survived.

Fire rescue officials have said the six believed to remain in the sailboat's hull will be considered missing until they are located in the wreckage.

Here's what we know so far about the sinking and those who were on board.

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What happened?

Italian civil protection officials believe a sudden and fierce storm that battered the coast of Sicily in the early hours of Monday whipped up a waterspout in the exact spot where the 56-meter (184-foot) British-flagged Bayesian was moored.

Karsten Borner, the captain of another yacht moored nearby, said he saw the Bayesian during the storm but when the wild weather passed it was gone and he saw only a red flare lighting the night sky, the Italian news agency ANSA and the Giornale di Sicilia newspaper reported.

Borner and one of his crew boarded their tender and found a lifeboat carrying 15 people, some of them injured. They took them aboard their yacht and alerted the coast guard.

Rescue authorities said the wreck was resting at a depth of 50 meters (163 feet) about a half mile offshore of the picturesque fishing village of Porticello.

Who was on board?

Among the missing is 59-year-old tech tycoon Mike Lynch, sometimes described as the British Bill Gates. Lynch was acquitted in June of all charges in a US fraud trial linked to the $11 billion sale of his software company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard in 2011.

Lynch still faced a potentially huge bill stemming from a civil case in London that HP mostly won during 2022. Damages haven’t been determined in that case, but HP is seeking $4 billion. Lynch made more than $800 million from the Autonomy sale.

A Cambridge-educated mathematician, Lynch made his name running Autonomy, which made a search engine that could pore through emails and other internal business documents to help companies find vital information more quickly.

Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter Hannah was reportedly among the missing. His wife, Angela Bacares, and 14 other people survived.

Among others still missing Tuesday, according to the civil protection agency, were one of Lynch’s US lawyers, Christopher Morvillo of Clifford Chance, and Morvillo’s wife, Neda. Morvillo was regarded as an elite defense lawyer and was also a federal prosecutor in New York after 9/11.

Also missing was Jonathan Bloomer, the non-executive chairman of Morgan Stanley International, and his wife, Judy. He is the former head of the Autonomy audit committee and testified for the defense at Lynch’s trial.

Bloomer was also chair of the Hiscox Group, an insurer that does business on the Lloyd’s of London market.

“We are deeply shocked and saddened by this tragic event,” Hiscox CEO Aki Hussain said in a statement.

Among the survivors was Charlotte Golunski, who said she momentarily lost hold of her 1-year-old daughter Sofia in the water, but then managed to grab her and hold her up over the waves until a lifeboat inflated and they were both pulled to safety, ANSA reported. The father, identified by ANSA as James Emslie, also survived.

The Dutch foreign ministry said a Dutch man survived. The ministry, citing privacy, did not release his identity.

One body was recovered on Monday, identified as the on-board chef.

What is the Bayesian?

The Bayesian was a luxury yacht built in 2008 by the Italian firm Perini Nav. It was known for its single 75-meter (246-feet) aluminum mast — one of the world’s tallest. Online charter sites listed it for rent for up to 195,000 euros (about $215,000) a week.

Its registered owner is listed as Revtom Ltd., based on the Isle of Man, according to online maritime database Equasis. Lynch’s wife is listed as Revtom’s sole owner, according to corporate registration documents from the Isle of Man.

The yacht's name is an apparent reference to “Bayesian inference,” one of the two main approaches to statistical machine learning and the one that was used by Autonomy.

What is a waterspout?

Waterspouts are tornadoes that form over water and can happen when a storm moves across warm water.

According to the US National Ocean Service, there are two types of waterspouts — fair-weather and tornadic.

Tornadic waterspouts “have the same characteristics as a land tornado. They are associated with severe thunderstorms, and are often accompanied by high winds and seas, large hail, and frequent dangerous lightning,” the service says on its website.

While scientists haven't attributed the specific event to climate change, average monthly surface temperatures have been at record highs for months. Hotter air can hold more moisture, making heavier storms more likely.

Sicily has been baking under intense heat this summer, and the United Nations’ panel of climate change experts notes the Mediterranean Sea is particularly vulnerable to climate change, with warming rates roughly 20 percent higher than the global average.

How rare is it for a huge sailboat like this to capsize?

Experts say it is extraordinarily rare for a luxury sailboat of this size to capsize due to weather events.

“This just doesn’t happen. You know, boats sink because things like keels fall off, or they run aground and breach the hull ... whereas just from a weather angle, a boat that big being pushed over on its side is absolutely extraordinary,” said Skip Novak, a lifelong sailor who has taken part in multiple round the world yacht races and written books about sailing.

Novak said he believed that strong gusts likely pushed the yacht over 90 degrees to its side, and the vessel did not recover because of the weight of the huge mast and because it was anchored. He suggested that internal doors were likely not closed, and water quickly poured in to sink the vessel.

“When you’re at anchor, even if it’s blowing with a storm in the Mediterranean, you rarely shut the whole boat down because nobody expects something like this to happen," Novak told The Associated Press. “So if the boat wasn’t completely watertight at the deck, you’d have flooding going in. It would take a couple minutes and that would be it."

What happens next?

As the search for the missing continues, authorities already have begun trying to piece together exactly what happened.

Prosecutors from the Sicilian town of Termini Imerese have opened an investigation, as is normal in such events even when no suspects are identified. To date, they have not commented publicly.

The British Marine Accident Investigation Branch said four of its inspectors were being deployed to Palermo.

Corder reported from The Hague, Netherlands. Associated Press writer Sylvia Hui in London contributed to this report.

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Wild day at Big Boat Series

• September 18, 2004

The second day of the Rolex Big Boat Series in San Francisco produced wild conditions and exciting racing

Despite a quiet start to the second day of the Big Boat Series presented by Rolex, racing was anything but ordinary. Somewhat typical September weather of gentle breezes and fog greeted the 101 boats on San Francisco Bay at the late morning start of the first race, but by afternoon’s second race, conditions had built to 20-plus knots, giving many of the competitors in the 101-boat fleet the ride of their lives.

“Today was by far the most exciting inshore racing we’ve ever done,” said Ken Read (Newport, R.I.), the four-time Rolex Yachtsman of the Year who is sailing as tactician aboard Makoto Uematsu’s Esmeralda. “The wind speed was 27 knots and the boat was sailing 23 knots downwind. We were totally in control, but it takes a team this good to push the boat and it’s a real credit to them that we were going as fast as we were.”

As the owner, and driver, of this brand-new, Farr-designed boat, Uematsu-san (as he is called using the preferred formal style of address in Japan) summed up the feeling of surfing a 50ft boat downwind. “The fastest I have ever gone on a boat is 20 knots,” he said with huge grin. “And that was driving my powerboat.” Esmeralda won both of today’s races and leads the nine-boat class, four points ahead of Karl Kwok’s Beau Geste (Hong Kong, China).

In the nine-boat J/120 class, Mr Magoo, owned by Stephen Madeira (Menlo Park, Calif.) saw its lead slip away in the first race when the main halyard ‘stretched’ and, in effect, decreased the boat’s speed. By the second race, Madeira, who draws inspiration by the cartoon figure of an unkempt man who succeeds despite all the hurdles in life, remained positive in the challenging conditions of the second race. “Actually, the first leg was nice, not outrageous,” he said. “We weren’t fast downwind, but we managed to pound back upwind every time.” Mark Varnes’ (San Rafael, Calif.) Valkyrie is tied with Mark Bowman’s (Portola Valley, Calif.) Jolly Mon for second place.

Standings in IRC A class remained the same in the seven-boat class. Nicholas Lykiardopulo’s (Athens, Greece) Kerr 55 AERA won both races. Robert Youngjohns’s (Woodside, Calif.) DK46 Zephyra is in second, with John MacLaurin’s (Los Angeles, Calif.) Pendragon 4 in third.

The 31-boat J/105 class revelled in the extreme conditions with Tim Russells’ (Novato, Calif.) Aquavit turning in solid third and second-place finishes to remain in the lead. Close calls in the middle of the pack, including some spectacular momentary broaches due to equipment malfunctions and wind gusts above 25 knots, delighted the onshore spectators. Good Timin’ owned by Chris, John and Phil Perkins remain in second place overall, one point out of the top spot.

Among the other shake-ups in the fleet, the Farr 40 class leader is Fred & Steve Howe’s (San Diego, Calif.) Warpath, which scored a third and second place to overtake Slingshot, owned by Chuck Parish (Hillsborough, Calif.), now in second, and Jim Richardson’s (Boston, Mass./Newport, R.I.) Barking Mad, which dropped to third overall.

Mike Garl (San Carlos, Calif.) continued to dominate the Beneteau 40.7 class with his White Dove, winning both races and extending his overall points lead on second-place White Fang, owned by Mark Howe (Richmond, Calif.).

The Express 37 class leader is Golden Moon, owned by Kame Richards/Bill Bridge (Alameda, Calif.), while in the Santa Cruz 52 class, Martin Brauns (Los Altos Hills, Calif. )Winnetou is tied on points with Tom Sanborn’s (Oakland, Calif.) City Lights.

John Siegel (San Francisco) leads the 16-boat IRC B class with his Wylie 42 Scorpio.

Two races are planned for today (Saturday), with one final race planned for Sunday. The Rolex Prizegiving Ceremony will follow the conclusion of racing where six historic Perpetual Trophies will be awarded, in addition to a Rolex timepiece to each trophy winner.

Results (preliminary)

IRC Class A (7 boats)

1. Nicholas Lykiardopulo, Athens, Greece, AERA, Kerr 55, 1-1-1-1, 4pts

2. Robert Youngjohns, Woodside, Calif., Zephyra, DK46, 2-2-2-3, 9 pts

3. John McLaurin, Los Angeles, Calif., Penragon 4, LD52, 3-4-3-4, 14 pts

IRC Class B (16 boats)

1. John Siegel, San Francisco, Calif., Scorpio, Wylie 42, 4-1-1-1, 7 pts

2. Norman Olson, Wayne, Penn., Just In Time, Farr/Beneteau, 2-2-3-3, 10 pts

3. French/ Lezin, Santa Cruz, Animal, Sydney 38, 1-4-4-2, 11 pts

TP52 Class (9 boats)

1. Makoto Uematsu, Tokyo, Japan, Esmeralda, 1-2-1-1, 5 pts

2. Karl C. Kwok, Hong Kong, China, Beau Geste, 2-1-4-2, 9 pts

3. Roger Sturgeon, Fort Lauderdale, Calif., 3-6-2-3, 14 pts

SC52 Class (5 boats)

1. Martin Brauns, Los Altos Hills, Calif., Winnetou, 1-2-2-1, 6 pts

2. Tom Sanborn, Oakland, Calif., City Lights, 1-1-1-2, 6 pts

3. Steven P. Williams, Menlo Park, Natazak, 4-3-4-3, 14 pts

Farr 40 (9 boats)

1. Steve & Fred Howe, San Diego, Calif., Warpath , 4-1-3-2, 10 pts

2. Chuck Parrish, Hillsborough, Calif, Slingshot, 2-2-2-6, 12 pts

3. James Richardson, Boston, Mass./Newport, R.I., Barking Mad, 1-3-1-8, 13 pts

Express 37 (9 boats)

1. Kame Richards/ Bill Bridge, Alameda, Calif., Golden Moon, 2-1-1-2, 6 pts

2. Mick Shlens, Palos Verdes Estates, Calif., Blade Runner, 1-4-5-3, 13 pts

3. Bartz Schneider, Cyrstal Bay, Nevada, Expeditions, 5-2-2-5, 14 pts

J/120 (9 boats)

1. Stephen Madeira, Menlo Park, Calif., Mr. Magoo, 1-1-5-1, 8 pts

2. Mark Varnes, San Rafael, Calif., Valkyrie, 8-3-1-5, 17 pts

3. Mark Bowman, Portola Valley, Calif., Jolly Mon, 2-2-7-6, 17 pts

J/105 (31 boats)

1. Tim Russell, Novato, Calif., Aquavit, 2-2-3-2, 9 pts

2. Chris Perkins/Dave Wilson, San Francisco, Good Timin’, 4-1-2-3, 10 pts

3. Thomas Coates, San Francisco, Charade, 3-3-5-4, 15 pts

Beneteau 40.7 (6 boats)

1. Mike Garl, San Carlos, Calif., White Dove, 1-1-1-1, 4 pts

2. Mark Howe, Richmond, Calif., White Fang, 2-4-2-2, 10 pts

3. Joel Davis, Alameda, Calif., Shaddy Daddy, 3-3-3-5, 14 pts