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Inside Jeff Bezos’ $400 Million Megayacht: The Flying Fox

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In July 2021, Amazon 's founder Jeff Bezos decided to finally leave the company he'd put much of his blood, sweat, and tears into, where he was not only the president but also the CEO - a position that was profusely intense and time-consuming, to say the least. With an estimated net worth of nearly $190 billion and an age of 57 at the time, it made sense for Bezos to leave his hard-working life behind to enjoy some of his well-earned bucks.

One of the first things Bezos did was what any billionaire would after or even before retirement: buy a massive yacht. Called 'The Flying Fox', the ultra-luxury boat was supposedly commissioned by the Amazon founder in 2019 to be built by Lürssen Yachts , and at a whopping price tag of around $400 million dollars, it's said to be the 18th largest yacht in the world in terms of overall size, and the 14th largest regarding interior space. Before getting on with this amazing yacht, make sure to check out this insane car that's also owned by Jeff Bezos.

The Flying Fox isn't just special because it's owned by Amazon's founder and one of the world's richest people, Jeff Bezos; it's also an incredible piece of machinery in its own right that's nothing short of a private luxury hotel that floats. Let's take a look inside:

Related: Future-E Is An Electric Yacht Concept With Retractable Foils

Jeff Bezos' Flying Fox: An Overview Of The Megayacht's Interior

With a length of 466 feet and a width of 74 feet, The Flying Fox's gigantic size accommodates 22 pairs of guests in 11 different rooms, all with their very own private terraces and ensuite bathrooms. While the exterior and body of the yacht were designed by the widely renowned Naval Architect, Espen Øino, the interior was actually imagined by Mark Berryman, and it features a theme that gravitates mostly around wooden trimming and decor.

The mega-yacht has a total of 6 decks, and amongst them, you can find a two-story 4,300 square-foot spa with a wide variety of amenities including rain shower massages and a cryotherapy sauna, a 40-foot pool that can go from cold to warm in 10 seconds, an enormous outdoor dining deck catered by world-class chefs, and a gym just in case you feel the need to work out in the middle of the sea. Most important of all, however, is the master bedroom, which takes up an entire deck with 348 square feet and is basically a house within the yacht.

Related: Does Elon Musk Have A Cooler Car Collection Than Jeff Bezos? You Decide

The Flying Fox Has An Entire World-Class Crew At Its Disposal

The $400 million yacht has a crew of 55 members, and all of them are the best of the best at what they do. There's a team of top-notch chefs, multiple masseurs, bartenders, gym and diving instructors, amongst many more. In terms of ship management, the crew is composed of members of the British military; which means they earn pretty high salaries for their efforts upon The Flying Fox. The captain of such a yacht can earn around $450,000 per year, while engineers make somewhere close between $100,000 and $150,000.

Passengers aboard The Flying Fox can expect an experience similar or even superior to that of an all-inclusive 5-star hotel; the added bonus is that this one can travel all around the world at an impressive top speed of 20 knots. Though it may not be as quick as this other mega-yacht you should take a look at later.

To summarize, The Flying Fox is a floating wonder that the overwhelming majority of us can only ever hope to experience, let alone own. We should clarify that Jeff Bezos' ownership of the mega-yacht is only alleged, and it cannot be confirmed for sure, but that doesn't change the fact that it's still one of the most exclusive and unattainable vehicles in the world.

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FLYING FOX Yacht -Extravagant $400M Superyacht

The $400 million FLYING FOX yacht was completed in 2019 by the German shipyard Lürssen.

Flying fox is one of the biggest yachts in the world measuring in at a length of 136 meters and capable of accommodating 22 guests in addition to the 54 crew members that help with daily operations.

FLYING FOX yacht interior

Designed by Mark Berryman, the interior of the FLYING FOX yacht features soft colors and timeless but modern furnishings.

Only the highest quality materials were used in the interior of the vessel. Up to 25 guests can be accommodated in eleven spacious guest cabins.

Each of the cabins opens onto a large deck that can be divided into private balconies using custom sliding panels. A crew of up to 55 members finds space in accommodation below deck.

The team includes former military members and even Olympians, who design custom fitness programs for the guests aboard the vessel.

FLYING FOX also has a cinema, a hospital with a decompression chamber, and a spa area of 400 square meters that stretches across two floors.

Guests can utilize a luxury sauna, a hammam, a fitness room, and a beauty salon. For even more comfort, a set of elevators takes the crew and guests from deck to deck.

Specifications

FLYING FOX has a steel hull and a massive aluminum superstructure. With a length of 136 meters (446 ft), a beam of 20.5 meters (67 ft), and a draft of 5 meters (16.4 ft), she weighs in at 9,000 tons.

Powered by two MTU engines, she can achieve top speeds of 20 knots.

At a cruising speed of 15 knots, the megayacht can reach destinations more than 6500 nautical miles away.

She is equipped with the latest steering technology, which simplifies the maneuvering of the 136 meters (446 ft) long vessel.

The exterior of the FLYING FOX yacht was designed by Espen Øino , a well-known luxury yacht designer.

She features a classical yacht design with teak decks complimented by beautiful white elements.

She has an impressive 12-meter pool on the main deck, a Jacuzzi on the sundeck, two helipads, and a spacious beach club area aft of the vessel.

A great variety of toys including three jet skis, four sea bobs, and professional scuba diving equipment ensure the guests are entertained at all times.

Not to forget, the FLYING FOX has a total of seven tenders as well as an Airbus H155 helicopter.

The yacht also has its own dive center with a professional team licensed to teach deep-sea diving to those interested.

The purchase price for the FLYING FOX yacht was US $400 million in 2019. She is currently available for charter and depending on the season, a week onboard will cost close to US $3-4 million.

The annual running price of the yacht lies between US $25 and $40 million.

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A $400 million yacht rumored to be owned by Jeff Bezos called the 'Flying Fox' was spotted off the coast of Turkey

Kat tenbarge   .

• A mega-yacht rumored to cost $400 million and be owned by Jeff Bezos was spotted off the coast of Turkey in photos circulating on Twitter.
• The "Flying Fox" yacht was reported to anchor off Datça, a popular tourist destination in Turkey, in early July, but it was unclear whether Bezos was aboard.
• Rumors that the yacht belongs to Bezos have circulated since 2017 , when the Lürssen yacht-building company began construction on what was then referred to as "Project Redwood," one of the world's largest yachts.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Photos of a mega-yacht anchored off the coast of Turkey began circulating on Twitter Saturday, with rumors that the vessel belonged to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and was worth $400 million .

Turkish media first reported that the yacht was anchored off the coast of Datça, a popular tourist destination in Turkey, on July 9. Original tweets claiming that the yacht belongs to Bezos have since been deleted, along with the original photo, but screenshots continue to circulate on social media.

Read more:   Hondas, Toyotas, and a Morris Minor: These are the surprisingly modest car choices of the world's top tech billionaires

According to yacht statistics from the website Superyacht Times , the mega-yacht in question is called the "Flying Fox" and was constructed by yacht building company Lürsen Yachts. The Superyacht Times records it is 136.0 meters long and sleeps up to 22 guests, with a 54-person crew.

The Times also records the yacht as having been completed and become operational in 2019, with 36 guest cabins, including 11 VIP cabins, and 4 decks onboard. It is also reported to have a 12-meter swimming pool and is pictured to have a helicopter pad on deck.

Rumors that the yacht belongs to Bezos can be traced back to 2017 , when it was still under construction and referred to as "Project Redwood." Since then, Bezos has been  estimated to be the richest person in the world. 

Amazon didn't immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

Amazon workers collapse from heat exhaustion in warehouses where the heat index exceeds 100° F so that Jeff Bezos can buy a new yacht pic.twitter.com/6nL1OXPDFg - Sam (@halaljew) August 3, 2019

NOW WATCH: Amazon is reportedly seeking a new space in New York City. Here's why the giant canceled its HQ2 plans 5 months ago.

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Questions for Investigators Trying to Unravel Mystery of Luxury Yacht’s Sinking

The investigators searching for answers about the shipwreck, leaving seven dead, face questions about extreme weather and possible human error or problems with the yacht itself.

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By Alan Yuhas

More than 180 feet long, with a mast towering about 240 feet and a keel that could be lowered for greater stability, the Bayesian luxury yacht did not, in the eyes of its maker, have the vulnerabilities of a ship that would easily sink.

“It drives me insane,” Giovanni Costantino, the chief executive of the Italian Sea Group, which in 2022 bought the company that made the ship, said after its wreck last week. “Following all the proper procedures, that boat is unsinkable.”

But the $40 million sailing yacht sank within minutes and with fatal results: seven dead, including the British technology billionaire Michael Lynch, his teenage daughter, four of Mr. Lynch’s friends and a member of the crew. Fifteen people, including the captain, escaped on a lifeboat.

Mr. Lynch had invited family, friends and part of his legal team on a cruise in the Mediterranean to celebrate his acquittal in June of fraud charges tied to the sale of his company to the tech giant Hewlett-Packard.

The Italian authorities have opened a manslaughter investigation, searching for answers from the survivors, the manufacturer and the wreck itself. They face a range of questions and possible factors.

An ‘earthquake’ in the sky?

When the Bayesian sank around 4 a.m. on Aug. 19, the waters in its area, about half a mile off the Sicilian port of Porticello, were transformed by an extremely sudden and violent storm, according to fishermen, a captain in the area and meteorologists.

But what kind of storm is still a mystery, compounded by the fact that a sailing schooner anchored nearby did not have its own disaster. Also unclear is whether the crew was aware that the Italian authorities had issued general warnings about bad weather the night before.

Karsten Börner, the captain of the nearby passenger ship, said he’d had to steady his ship during “really violent” winds . During the storm, he said, the Bayesian seemed to disappear behind his ship.

Severe lightning and strong gusts were registered by the Italian Air Force’s Center for Aerospace Meteorology and Climatology, according to Attilio Di Diodato, its director. “It was very intense and brief in duration,” he said.

The yacht, he said, had most likely been hit by a fierce downburst — a blast of powerful wind surging down during a thunderstorm. His agency put out rough-sea warnings the previous evening, alerting sailors about possible storms.

Locals have said the winds “felt like an earthquake.” A fisherman in Porticello said that he had seen a flare go off in the early-morning hours. His brother ventured to the site once the weather had calmed about 20 minutes later, he said, finding only floating cushions.

The Italian authorities have so far declined to say whether investigators had seen any structural damage to the hull or other parts of the ship.

Open hatches or doors?

The boat executive, Mr. Costantino, has argued that the Bayesian was an extremely safe vessel that could list even to 75 degrees without capsizing. His company, the Italian Sea Group, in 2022 bought the yacht’s manufacturer, Perini Navi, which launched the ship in 2008.

Mr. Costantino said that if some of the hatches on the side and in the stern, or some of the deck doors, had been open, the boat could have taken on water and sunk. Standard procedure in such storms, he said, would be to switch on the engine, lift the anchor and turn the boat into the wind, lowering the keel for extra stability, closing doors and gathering the guests in the main hall inside the deck.

At a news conference on Saturday, almost a week after the sinking, investigators said the yacht had sunk at an angle , with its stern — where the heavy engine was — having gone down first. The wreck was found lying on its right side at the bottom of a bay, about 165 feet deep.

12 guests occupied the yacht’s six cabins. There were also 10 crew members.

Open hatches, doors and cabin windows could have let in water during a storm, according to the manufacturer.

Open hatches, doors and

cabin windows could

have let in water

during a storm,

according to the

manufacturer.

Source: Superyacht Times, YachtCharterFleet, MarineTraffic

By Veronica Penney

Water pouring into open hatches or doors could have contributed to the sinking, experts say, but that on its own may not account for the speed at which such a large boat vanished underwater.

Asked about the hatches at the news conference, the authorities declined to comment on whether they had been found open at the wreck.

The authorities have also not specified whether the boat had been anchored, whether it was under power at the time or whether its sails had been unfurled.

A retracted keel?

The Bayesian had a keel — the fin-like structure beneath a boat that can help stabilize it — that could be retracted or extended, according to its manufacturer. On some yachts, keels can be raised to let the large vessel dock in shallower water, and extended downward to help keep a boat level.

But like the hatches, the status of the keel alone may not explain why a large ship sank with such precipitous speed. Investigators have not disclosed what divers may have seen at the wreck, aside from saying divers had faced obstacles like furnishings and electrical wiring in tight quarters. Officials want to raise the wreck to better examine it, a process that may take weeks.

Human error?

Ambrogio Cartosio, the prosecutor in charge of the case, said at the news conference that it was “plausible” crimes had been committed, but that investigators had not zeroed in on any potential suspects.

“There could be responsibilities of the captain only,” he said. “There could be responsibilities of the whole crew. There could be responsibilities of the boat makers. Or there could be responsibilities of those who were in charge of surveilling the boat.”

It remains unclear what kind of emergency training or preparation took place before the disaster, or what kind of coordination there was during it. So far, none of the surviving crew members have made a public statement about what happened the night the ship sank.

Prosecutors said they want to ask more questions of the captain and crew, who have been in a Sicilian hotel with other survivors. They said that neither alcohol nor drug tests had been performed on crew members, and that they have been allowed to leave Italy.

Prosecutors also said they were also investigating why the captain, an experienced sailor, left the sinking boat while some passengers were still on board.

Besides possible manslaughter charges, the authorities are investigating the possibility of a negligently caused shipwreck.

The bodies of five passengers were found in one cabin, on the left side of the yacht, the authorities said. The five were most likely trying to flee to the higher side of the boat and were probably sleeping when the boat started to sink, they said.

Inside The Flying Fox: Jeff Bezos' $400 Million Mega Yacht

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When Jeff Bezos announced that he will be stepping down as the Chief Executive Officer of the multi-trillion-dollar company, Amazon, a lot of people assumed that he just wanted to relax and enjoy his life at this point as he was already the richest man in the world at the time. Just as his time as CEO has ended, Jeff Bezos immediately took off in a mini trip into the space through his aerospace company, Blue Origin. During that time, Bezos who has a current net worth of $200 billion in 2021 decided to purchase a mega yacht which costs about $400 million.

Bezos who is still a business minded individual, when rents out his yacht when he is not using it. It was reported that even the multimillionaires Beyoncé and Jay-Z rented the yacht on a weekly basis to go explore with their family. The couple reportedly spent about $4 million per week on the boat. What makes the yacht so expensive? Dive into the article so you can find out more about the superyacht of Bezos.

RELATED: Jeff Bezos Pledges $2 Billion To Restore Food Systems And Wildlife Affected By Climate Change

The impressive interior design of the yacht was done by Espen Øino who managed to give the yacht a sleek and elegant interior as well as exterior design despite the massive size of the yacht. The yacht can accommodate about 25 guests as it has about 11 cabins, all of which have a private sea view terraces. The master suite of the luxurious yacht takes up the entire top deck of the yacht with size of 30 sq m. Interior design which was created by Mark Berryman Design features a luxurious yet contemporary décor which gives the yacht warm tones because of the use of woods. The facilities include a nightclub, gym, water sports equipment and a sauna. There is also about 55 crew members on board to serve the rich people which includes chefs, housekeepers, medics, dive instructors, hairdressers, and masseurs.

When Jeff Bezos bought the super yacht in 2019, there was never a confirmation that the yacht was indeed his. While different news outlet and websites have gotten from several sources that the yacht was indeed under his name, some sources have claimed that he does not own it. The yacht named as the Flying Fox can provide absolutely everything a billionaire could ask for as it is named as the fourteenth largest yacht in the world. The yacht can provide relaxation, entertainment, leisure time and privacy to spend some quality time with your loved ones.

The impressive construction of the yacht measures about 466 ft which spans across four decks. It is has a beam of 73.8 ft, a volume of 9,022 GT and a draft of16.7 ft. The yacht which was built by Lürssen Yachts comes with two helipads, a two deck spa with wellness and health facilties, a 40 ft swimming pool and an in-house cinema. It is powered by two MTU 16V 1163 M84 diesel engines that can take a top speed of 23 mph. It has a cruising speed of 17.2 mph and a steel hull as well as an aluminum superstructure.

Looking at the finished arrangement of the superyacht of Jeff Bezos, it is clear that the yacht is differs from other yachts as it is defined by passion for watersports and wellness. The modern preference is also reflected on other yachts but not on this level. The entire aft end of The Flying Fox is about two decks of temple to fun water activities as well as relaxation. The tone set on the yacht is can be felt as soon as the guests step on the 22.5-metre-wide bathing platform which makes it by far the best super yacht spa to this date. The heated limestone floors and the louvred oak paneling, the centerpieces of the 400-square-metre is the vast spa pool and the waters which can be changed from icy to steaming in just about ten minutes as it has both hot and cold tanks. It can be a plunge pool as well following the sauna and hammam.

READ NEXT:  Supercar Of The Sea: Inside Conor McGregor's $3.6 Million Lamborghini Tecnomar 63 Yacht

Sources: Boat International , House Beautiful , Auto Evolution , Super Yacht Times , Forbes

A photo of a $400 million yacht rumored to be owned by Jeff Bezos went viral, but Amazon says it's not his

• A mega-yacht rumored to cost $400 million spotted off the coast of Turkey in photos circulating on Twitter was rumored to belong to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, but a representative of the company told INSIDER it isn't his.
• The "Flying Fox" yacht was reported to anchor off Datça, a popular tourist destination in Turkey, in early July, but it was unclear whether Bezos was aboard.
• Rumors that the yacht belongs to Bezos have circulated since 2017 , when the Lürssen yacht-building company began construction on what was referred to as "Project Redwood."
• A photo of the Flying Fox gained traction on social media after the journalist Yashar Ali tweeted it was Bezos' new yacht, but Ali later deleted the tweet. Amazon told INSIDER it didn't know who owned the yacht.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

A representative of Amazon told INSIDER Saturday night that, despite reports that a mega-yacht spotted off the coast of Turkey in early July cost $400 million and was owned by Jeff Bezos, the Amazon CEO does not own the yacht and the company doesn't know who it belongs to.

Photos of the mega-yacht in question began circulating on Twitter Saturday, with rumors and media reporting that the vessel belonged Bezos, although it was unclear whether he was onboard at the time it was spotted in Turkey.

Turkish media first reported that the yacht was anchored off the coast of Datça, a popular tourist destination in Turkey, on July 9. Original tweets claiming that the yacht belonged to Bezos have since been deleted, along with the original photo, but screenshots continue to circulate on social media.

—Sam (@halaljew) August 3, 2019

Yashar Ali — the journalist who tweeted the photo and caption in many of the screenshots circulating on Twitter, but who later deleted his tweet — told INSIDER that the picture was initially posted by the jewelry designer Loree Rodkin, who posted the photo on Instagram on Saturday with the caption "When u own amazon...(guess who)....your rental boat is bigger than a hotel....🙈...welcome to the neighborhood .🛳🇹🇷"

When u own amazon ... (guess who)....your rental boat is bigger than a hotel ....🙈...welcome to the neighborhood .🛳🇹🇷 A post shared by Loree Rodkin (@loreerodkin) on Aug 3, 2019 at 4:32am PDT Aug 3, 2019 at 4:32am PDT

Rodkin didn't immediately return Business Insider's request for comment.

Read more: Hondas, Toyotas, and a Morris Minor: These are the surprisingly modest car choices of the world's top tech billionaires

According to yacht statistics from the website Superyacht Times , the mega-yacht in question is called the "Flying Fox" and was constructed by yacht-building company Lürsen Yachts. The Superyacht Times says that it is 136 meters long and sleeps up to 22 guests with a 54-person crew.

The Times also says the yacht as having been completed and become operational in 2019, with 36 guest cabins, including 11 VIP cabins, and four decks onboard. It is also reported to have a 12-meter swimming pool and is pictured to have a helicopter pad.

Rumors that the yacht belongs to Bezos can be traced back to 2017 , when it was still under construction and referred to as Project Redwood. Since then, Bezos is estimated to be one of the world's richest people.

This post was updated on August 4, 2019, to include a statement from Amazon.

Watch: Jeff Bezos talked to us about leaving a steady Wall Street job to start Amazon, why his rocket company Blue Origin is his most important project, and what it's like to have Trump as your biggest critic

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This $400 million mega yacht is ridiculously over the top

The White Pearl cost $400 million and is now the largest sailing yacht in the world. (YouTube/ Sascha Buchholz)

The world's largest sailing yacht has hit the high seas and is turning heads.

It's the latest boy-toy of multi-billionaire Andrey Melnichenko, who is one of Russia's wealthiest men, and cost a staggering $400 million.

The 468-foot-long White Pearl , known as "Sailing Yacht A", was spotted in Kiel, Germany this week as it was tugged out of the shipyard for its test voyage.

And it was hard to miss with its 300-foot-high masts, one so large it has a small room inside it.

Built by the German Naval Yards shipyard, it was imagined by marine architect Martin Francis and celebrated designer Philippe Starck, who has described it as a “stealth yacht.”

Starck was behind Melnichenko​'s previous yacht ( below ) delivered in 2008, which went by the name​ "Motor Yacht A", but at 360 feet, it now seems like a dingy in comparison.

The White Pearl yacht has a helipad, three swimming pools, six guest rooms, a disco and eight levels, which also includes an underwater observation room. It can reach a maximum speed of 24 miles per hour and will have a crew of 54 to attend to the 20 guests it can hold.

“Physically it is more a fish than a building, which deviates quite a bit from what is being done today,”  Starck told Yachts International . “Inside are extraordinary technical innovations that yield extraordinary comfort, which are very large spaces."

Melnichenko has an estimated net worth of $9 billion and founded companies including a fertilizer producer, a coal producer, a power generator, and a pipe exporter.

The Russian billionaire and his Serbian model wife Aleksandra Nikolic also own a Boeing jet and a series of Monet paintings.

The "Sailing Yacht A"  overtakes the current world’s largest sailing yacht, the 359-foot Sea Cloud, which was launched in 1931.

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The 5 tragic minutes that sank a superyacht

PORTICELLO, Italy — Survivors of a storm that sank a superyacht off Sicily recounted their ordeal to one of the doctors who rushed to their aid, with some saying it took mere minutes for the 180-foot ship to go down. 

Dr. Fabio Genco, head of the Palermo Emergency Medical Services, told NBC News on the phone Thursday that he arrived in the seaside village of Porticello before dawn Monday, about an hour after the $40 million Bayesian sank in the violent and sudden storm.   

Of the 22 people onboard, 15 survived despite storm conditions and darkness, climbing onto a lifeboat before being rescued by a nearby sailboat. The crew members have made no public statements so far, though some have been interviewed by investigators.

“They told me that it was all dark, that the yacht hoisted itself up and then went down,” Genco said, recounting what the survivors told him. “All the objects were falling on them. That’s why I immediately made sure, by asking them questions, if they had any internal injuries,” he said. 

It appears they had just minutes to abandon the sinking ship, Genco said. 

“They told me that suddenly they found themselves catapulted into the water without even understanding how they had got there,” he said, “And that the whole thing seems to have lasted from 3 to 5 minutes.”

Giovanni Costantino, CEO of The Italian Sea Group, which owns Perini Navi, the Bayesian's shipbuilder, told Sky News that there were no flaws with the design or construction of the yacht. He said their structure and keel made boats like that “unsinkable bodies.”

In an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, he disavowed responsibility, blaming instead the actions of the crew. “Mistakes were made,” he said. 

Genco said one of his colleagues who arrived at the scene before him initially thought that only three people survived, but the coast guard reported there were other survivors and more emergency services were called in. 

When Genco arrived, he found scenes of panic and despair. 

“Unfortunately, we are used to such panic scenes because we are used to the shipwrecks that happen on Lampedusa ,” Genco said, referring to the island southwest of Sicily, where the wreckage of boats carrying migrants on the sea journey from North Africa to Italy are often found . 

Six of the passengers were declared missing Monday, and by Thursday, the bodies of five had been recovered from the wreck , some 160 feet underwater.

Among those who survived is Angela Bacares, wife of the British tech mogul Mike Lynch , whose body was recovered Thursday. 

Another survivor has been identified as Charlotte Emsley, 35. She told the Italian news agency ANSA that she had momentarily lost hold of her year-old daughter, Sofia, in the water but managed to retrieve her and hold her over the waves until a lifeboat inflated and they were pulled into safety.

Dr. Domenico Cipolla at the Di Cristina Children’s Hospital in Palermo is also part of a team of medical professionals treating the shipwreck survivors. He told the BBC on Wednesday that Emsley and her daughter, as well as the father of the child, who Cipolla said also survived, are continuing to receive psychological help. 

“Psychological support was constant and is constant even today, because basically it is the wounds of the soul that are the most in need of healing in these cases,” Cipolla said.

Genco also told NBC News that he was especially concerned about the child. “She did not understand anything. She was soaking wet and cold,” he said. 

Karsten Borner, the Dutch captain of the Sir Robert Baden Powell, a yacht that was anchored near the Bayesian, said by phone Wednesday that he saw a thunderstorm come in at around 4 a.m. local time (10 p.m. ET) Monday, followed by what looked like a waterspout, a type of tornado that forms over water. 

The International Centre for Waterspout Research noted on X that there was a “waterspout outbreak” off Italy on Monday, the day the Bayesian sank. 

“I turned on the engine and made maneuvers so that we wouldn’t collide with the Bayesian, which was anchored about 100 meters from us,” Borner said. “Then all of a sudden it disappeared. Then the wind calmed down, we looked around and saw a red flare.”

Borner said he got into his boat’s tender and saw a life raft with 15 people on it. Members of the crew were administering first aid. 

“I don’t know why it sank so quickly, but it may have something to do with the mast which was incredibly long,” he said. Questions have been raised about whether the mast was to blame for the accident as tall masts, even with the sails down, have more surface area exposed to the wind, which can contribute to tipping a vessel in a storm.

The CCTV footage that emerged Tuesday showed the yacht’s 250-foot mast, believed to be one of the tallest aluminum sailing masts in the world, lashed by the storm as it appears to tilt to one side before disappearing.

Claudia Rizzo is an Italy based journalist.

Claudio Lavanga is Rome-based foreign correspondent for NBC News.

Yuliya Talmazan is a reporter for NBC News Digital, based in London.

How safe are luxury yachts? What to know after Mike Lynch yacht disaster left 7 dead

The Bayesian was a world-class yacht.

The 19th largest yacht designed by luxury Italian manufacturer Perini , it boasted a sleek interior design by French designer Remi Tessier, a double engine, and one of the tallest aluminum masts in the world. It won multiple awards, including for "best sailing yacht" the year after its release.

But, almost two weeks ago on Aug. 19, the luxurious vessel sank to the bottom of the ocean off the coast of Sicily in an internationally-followed disaster, dumping 22 people aboard into the water and leaving seven dead , including British tech magnate Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah .

"The impossible happened on that boat," Giovanni Costantino, the yacht manufacturer's CEO, told Reuters.

In the wake of the disaster, an ongoing investigation into possible criminal errors committed by the Bayesian's crew and lingering questions surrounding its design underscore the need for proper yacht safety measures and practical ship designs, according to experts.

Italian prosecutors from a nearby town have now widened their investigation into possible criminal actions by the ship's captain in the lead-up to the shipwreck to include two additional crew members, a judicial source told Reuters on Wednesday.

Tim Parker Eaton and Matthew Griffith are now under investigation for manslaughter and shipwreck, days after news broke that investigators are probing whether Captain James Cutfield committed the same crimes.

Authorities are looking into whether Parker Eaton, a ship engineer, failed to protect the ship's engine room and operating systems. Griffith, a sailor on the ship, was on watch duty on the morning the ship sank.

Cutfield "exercised his right to remain silent" when investigators interrogated him on Tuesday, Giovanni Rizzuti, his lawyer, told Reuters.

"First, he's very worn out," Rizzuti said. "Second, we were appointed only on Monday, and for a thorough and correct defense case, we need to acquire a set of data that at the moment we don't have."

Rizzuti did not immediately respond to a request for comment emailed to him by USA TODAY.

Rescuers found the bodies of Chris Morvillo, an American citizen and lawyer for Clifford Chance, his wife, Neda Morvillo, Jonathan Bloomer, a non-executive chair of Morgan Stanley International, and his wife, Judy Bloomer, inside the ship two days after the wreck. Recaldo Thomas, the ship's cook who also went by Ricardo, was the first person pronounced dead in the disaster – his body was recovered on the day of the sinking.

Captains must follow safety procedures before storms

Costantino chalked up the boat's fate to a "series of indescribable, unreasonable errors" committed by the crew. The ship's crew made an "incredible mistake" in not preparing adequately for the storm, he said.

Costantino said the crew should have summoned passengers from their rooms earlier, as the storm picked up. The keel, a heavy weight under the ship to counterbalance the ship's large mast, should have been lowered, and portholes should have been closed – both factors that could influence whether the captain is found culpable, according to experts .

Captains should always check weather forecasts and look into local weather patterns, Mitchell Stoller, a maritime expert witness and captain, told USA TODAY . When in stormy weather, captains should also weigh anchor, so that a ship can float over unstable waters, he added.

"The general standard of care in this situation is to monitor the weather, exercise caution, have a night watch, have the engine going, ready to maneuver," he said.

More: Even heroes need a vacation: What to expect from the Disney Destiny cruise ship

Wealthy clients push for impractical designs, expert says

Costantino said the ship's design and construction was error-free. But one yacht design expert disagrees.

"There's so many other factors, and this huge, complex boat is part of it," said Tad Roberts, a British Columbia-based yacht designer who has worked in the industry for nearly 40 years.

The Bayesian's giant mast is part of a trend of bigger and bigger yachts, according to Roberts. He worked on the design of the Asolare, formerly the Scheherazade – at 154 feet long, the largest cold-molded sailing yacht in the world when it was released in 2003, according to its manufacturer, Hodgdon Yacht Services. "It's small today," Roberts added.

Roberts said problems emerge when yacht designers can't say no to wealthy clients' demands for more and more extravagant and overgrown designs.

"The clients are wealthy people. They are very used to getting whatever it is they want," he said.

But owners' requests can compromise security, he said.

"Owners are not naval architects," he said. "They don't understand the issues involved, and trying to explain to them may or may not work, but there are compromises being made all the time."

Yacht buyers are more likely to get a better boat than they would 50 years ago, since yachts are exported and built towards international standards, he said. Still, the worsening effects of climate change and extreme weather are growing risks to anyone sailing the high seas, he added.

"Be aware. That's the biggest part of it," he said. "There's a possibility that things could go bad, that there is risk involved."

More: Investigators seek answers to why luxury superyacht Bayesian sank in storm

Yacht owners install million-dollar, AI-powered security systems

Piracy on yachts is even rarer than sudden storms – only two cases were reported between 2019 and 2023, according to the International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Centre . Still, superyacht owners are investing in James Bond-esque technology in an effort to protect their vessels.

"There's definitely increased concern," said Frederik Giepmans, managing director of safety and security at MARSS, a technology company that offers high-tech surveillance and security systems for superyachts with a price tag "from the hundreds of thousands into millions," he said.

NiDAR, a software program manufactured by MARSS to provide protection for superyachts, can pick up on objects approaching a yacht from the air or water "while underway, at anchor and in port," according to the company's website.

The surveillance system uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to handle data from sensors monitoring all sides of a vessel. The AI system provides "constant, long range monitoring of the air, of the surface, of the underwater, to try and give the crew as much response time as possible," said Giepmans.

That way, yacht owners can pick up on any manner of approaching objects, from "small, fast craft approaching on the surface" to divers and submarines under the water.

But if a threat is detected, a yacht owner's "options to respond are limited," Giepmans said. "You can get out of the way. You can bring people to safety. But, for instance, a more military response is not available to you."

Giepmans pointed to a recent increase in attacks on commercial ships, like attacks carried out by Houthi rebels on ships cruising through the Red Sea. "There's a gap there in terms of security," he said. "Because there isn't really, right now, a way for commercial or private clients, to respond, perhaps, in an appropriate way to these threats."

Luxury yacht owners cruising off the coast of Monaco, for instance, shouldn't be as concerned about a direct threat to their security, as compared with boats sailing through other locations, he said. "It really depends on that, as to what extent they will go to protect their ship."

The greater danger could come from adverse weather events, as the planet warms every year.

Meteorologists have pointed to a water spout, a tornado that spun up over the water amid the storm that hit the Bayesian, as a possible factor in its wreck.

Water temperatures in the area were more than three degrees higher than average that day, the perfect conditions for the spout to form and the likely result of climate change, Rick Shema, a certified consulting meteorologist and former member of the Navy, previously told USA TODAY.

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

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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Fact check: What the Obamas and other Democratic speakers got right, wrong on Day 2 of the DNC

Former president barack obama and former first lady michelle obama energized convention attendees. here are some fact checks of their claims..

CHICAGO —  Two decades after exploding onto the political scene at a different Democratic convention, former President Barack Obama, along with former first lady Michelle Obama, energized convention attendees here. The Obamas bestowed their support on nominee Kamala Harris, who aims to follow Obama as the nation’s second Black president.

Barack Obama began his address by praising outgoing President Joe Biden. “I am proud to call him my president, but I am even prouder to call him my friend,” Obama said of Biden, his former vice president.

Obama attacked Harris’ opponent, former President Donald Trump with zingers, once needling Trump for a “ weird obsession with crowd sizes ” (which also involved a suggestive hand gesture).

Barack Obama offered a few notes that rhymed with his career-making 2004 keynote address at the Democratic convention in Boston, in which he argued against the idea that there is a blue America and a red America.

Michelle Obama’s speech also offered some optimistic notes, including the notion that “hope is making a comeback” with Harris’ late entry into the presidential race as Biden’s would-be successor. But the former first lady’s remarks were sometimes even more acerbic than her husband’s.

She said, for example, that Trump had benefited from the “affirmative action of generational wealth” yet still managed to get “a second, third or fourth chance” while regularly “whining” or “cheating.” She also criticized Trump — an early spreader of the “birther” conspiracy theory that doubted that Obama was born in the U.S. — for having made Americans “fear us” as an educated, high-achieving couple who “happen to be Black.”

PolitiFact fact-checks politicians across the political spectrum. We also fact-checked the  Republican National Convention  in July.  Read more about our process.

Here are some fact-checks of claims made during the convention’s second night.

Barack Obama: Under Joe Biden, the U.S. produced “15 million jobs, higher wages, lower health care costs.” 

He’s right about jobs: The U.S. has  added 15.8 million jobs  since January 2021, when Biden was sworn in, though some of those represented the workforce return of workers the pandemic had sidelined.

Wages are up under Biden without factoring in inflation. But for his full tenure, wages have  trailed inflation , which hit a four-decade high under Biden. Nevertheless, wages have outpaced inflation over the past two years, the past year and compared with before the pandemic.

Whether health care costs were lower overall is a trickier question, because there’s great variation from family to family and person to person. However, U.S. health care expenditures as a percentage of gross domestic product peaked during the pandemic in 2020 and have  since fallen  roughly to prepandemic levels. This represented the biggest sustained decline in decades.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.: “Unemployment was soaring” when Biden and Harris took office in January 2021.

Mostly False.

Sanders overstated the unemployment situation when Biden and Harris were inaugurated.

In April 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the unemployment rate surged to 14.8% as millions of Americans lost their jobs.

But by the time Biden took office in January 2021, the rate had fallen to 6.4%, and it continued to fall that year.

So it wasn’t “soaring” any longer, though the rate was still high by historical standards. It was lower than 6.4% for about six years prepandemic.

July’s unemployment rate is 4.3%.

Project 2025

Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, D-Philadelphia: “And on Page 587, Project 2025 would cut overtime pay for hardworking Americans.”

Labor law experts have told PolitiFact  that the Project 2025 plan would not eliminate overtime pay, but some workers could lose overtime protections if the plan’s proposals are enacted. It’s hard to say how many; it would depend on what’s enacted.

The document proposes that the Labor Department maintain an overtime threshold “that does not punish businesses in lower-cost regions (e.g., the southeast United States).” This threshold is the amount of money executive, administrative or professional employees need to make for an employer to exempt them from overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

In 2019, the Trump administration  finalized a rule  that expanded overtime pay eligibility to most salaried workers earning less than about $35,568. The Biden administration  raised that threshold  to $43,888 beginning July 1, and that will rise to $58,656 on Jan. 1, 2025.

Project 2025’s proposal would return to the Trump-era threshold in some parts of the country. It’s unclear how many workers that would affect, but experts said some would presumably lose the right to overtime wages.

Other proposals in the plan include allowing some workers to choose to accumulate paid time off instead of overtime pay, to work more hours in one week and fewer in the next rather than receive overtime,,and require employers to pay overtime for working on the Sabbath.

Former first lady Michelle Obama: One of Trump’s proposals is “shutting down the Department of Education.”

Trump has said he would  abolish the Education Department , a proposal  he shares with Project 2025 , an agenda independently produced by some Trump allies.

It’s also something conservative groups have pushed for decades. The idea is to save a few essential functions and hand them to other agencies.

Trump’s education agenda also includes universal school choice, not spending federal dollars on schools that have vaccine mandates, allowing prayer in school, making principals directly elected by voters, subsidizing homeschooling and abolishing tenure for K-12 teachers.

Health Care

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.: “Democrats lowered prescription drug prices.”

Mostly True.

The Democrats did take historic steps to lower prices for Medicare recipients, but that’s a limited group of people and for many drugs that will take time.

In August 2022,  Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act,  which allows the federal government to negotiate prices with drugmakers for Medicare. It passed without Republican support. The same law  capped  the monthly price of insulin at $35 for Medicare enrollees starting in 2023.

The Biden-Harris administration  announced  Aug. 15 that the federal government had reached agreements with all participating manufacturers on new negotiated drug prices for the first 10 drugs selected under the new law.

That will define the prices to be paid for prescriptions starting in 2026. For 2027 and 2028, 15 more drugs per year will be chosen for price negotiations. Starting in 2029, 20 more will be chosen a year.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham: Donald Trump and J.D. Vance want to “repeal the Affordable Care Act.”

Half True .

Trump’s new position doesn’t match his old one, but more details are needed.

In 2016, Trump campaigned on a promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. As president, Trump supported a failed effort to do just that. In the years since, he has repeatedly stated his intent to dismantle the health care law, including in campaign stops and social media posts throughout 2023.

In March, however, Trump walked back this stance. He wrote on Truth Social that he “isn’t running to terminate” the ACA but to make it “better” and “less expensive.”

Trump hasn’t said how he would do this, and health care policy experts said it’s difficult to know where he stands without a detailed plan. Experts identified an array of possible changes that could be executed under another Trump administration but said a sweeping repeal likely isn’t in the cards given a lack of political support.

Childhood Poverty

Sanders: “We cut childhood poverty by over 40% through an expanded child tax credit.”

Biden’s American Rescue Plan increased the child tax credit from $2,000 to $3,600 for children younger than 6 and to $3,000 for children 6 to 17.

We  previously reported  that supplemental poverty numbers showed poverty among all U.S. children dropped from 9.7% in 2020 to 5.2% in 2021, the Census Bureau said — a decline of 46%. About 5.3 million people were lifted out of poverty, including 2.9 million children.

The provision lapsed after December 2021, facing opposition from Republicans and Sen. Joe Manchin, now an independent, who argued that expanding the credit would worsen inflation.

When the expanded tax credit expired, supplemental child poverty  spiked , rising from 12.1% in December 2021 to 17% in January 2022 — a 41% change.

Kamala Harris in a DNC video: Trump “wants to impose what is in effect a national sales tax on everyday products and basic necessities that we import from other countries. … (it) would cost a typical family $3,900 a year.”

Trump has said that  he would propose a 10% tariff on all nondomestic goods sold  in the U.S. Although tariffs are levied separately from taxes, economists say that much of their impact would be passed along to consumers, making them analogous to a tax.

The video’s figure about how much it will cost families is higher than current estimates.

The American Action Forum, a center-right think tank, has  projected  additional costs per household of $1,700 to $2,350 annually.

The Peterson Institute of International Economics, another Washington, D.C.-based think tank,  projected  that such tariffs would cost a middle-income household about $1,700 extra each year.

PolitiFact chief correspondent Louis Jacobson, senior correspondent Amy Sherman, staff writers Samantha Putterman, Sara Swann, Loreben Tuquero and Maria Ramirez Uribe contributed to this story. 

Our convention fact-checks rely on both new and previously reported work. We link to past work whenever possible. In some cases, a fact-check rating may be different tonight than in past versions. In those cases, either details of what the candidate said, or how the candidate said it, differed enough that we evaluated it anew.

This fact check was originally published by PolitiFact , which is part of the Poynter Institute.

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2 Americans, U.K. tech mogul among 6 missing after yacht sinks off Sicily

Rome  — Six people, including two U.S. nationals, a British technology entrepreneur and one of his daughters, were still missing Tuesday after a large luxury sailing yacht sank off the coast of the southern Italian island of Sicily during a violent storm. The 184-foot Bayesian had been anchored about half a mile off the port of Porticello, near Palermo, with 22 people on board — 10 crew members and 12 passengers.

The vessel sank at about 5 a.m. local time (11 p.m. Eastern, Sunday) after being hit by a possible waterspout spawned by the storm. Italian media said the winds snapped the boat's single mast, unbalancing the vessel and causing it to capsize.

Fifteen of those on board managed to escape the yacht and were rescued by a Dutch-flagged vessel that was anchored in the immediate vicinity. They were brought ashore by Italian Coast Guard and firefighters.

One body — an unidentified male — was recovered, but six people remained missing, including British software magnate Mike Lynch, once described as Britain's Bill Gates. 

Lynch was acquitted in June of fraud charges in the U.S. that could have landed him with a decades-long prison sentence. In an unusual twist, Lynch's co-defendant in that fraud case, who was also acquitted, died Saturday after being hit by a car while out jogging in England.

Lynch's teenage daughter Hannah was also among those missing, along with Lynch's American lawyer Chris Morvillo, a former assistant district attorney in New York, and his wife Neda. British banker Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of Morgan Stanley International, was also still missing Tuesday.

Among the survivors was a 1-year-old British girl who was being treated at a nearby hospital along with her parents. They were doing well, according to Italian media.

"For two seconds I lost my child to the sea, then I immediately was able to grab her again in the fury of the waves," the girl's mother, identified only as Charlotte, was quoted as saying by Italy's ANSA news agency. "I held on to her tightly in the stormy sea. Many were screaming. Luckily the life raft opened up and 11 of us managed to get aboard."

"It was terrible," she told ANSA. "In just a few minutes the boat was hit by a very strong wind, and sunk soon thereafter."

Karsten Borner, the captain of the Dutch vessel that came to the rescue, told ANSA he had been anchored near the Bayesian.

"When the storm was over we noticed that the ship behind us was gone, and then we saw a red flare, so my first mate and I went to the position and we found this life raft drifting, and in the life raft was also a little baby and the wife of the owner."

Recovery efforts were back underway Tuesday, with speedboats, helicopters and divers continuing to search for the missing — as well as for answers, as to how a state-of-the-art superyacht could disappear in a flash. 

According to Italian media, Fire Brigade divers reached the boat and saw bodies trapped inside some of the cabins, but they had been unable to recover any of the victims from inside the vessel by Tuesday, due to obstructions. The Bayesian appeared to have sunk in an area with a depth of about 160 feet.

Witnesses said the boat sank quickly. 

"I was at home when the tornado hit," fisherman Pietro Asciutto told a local news outlet. "I immediately closed all the windows. Then I saw the boat, it had only one mast, it was very large. I suddenly saw it sink... The boat was still floating, then suddenly it disappeared. I saw it sink with my own eyes."

The director-general of Sicily's civil protection agency, Salvatore Cocina, confirmed to CBS News partner BBC News  that three of the six people still missing Monday were British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, whose company Autonomy Corporation PLC was acquired in 2011 by HP ; one of his daughters, Hannah Lynch, who is believed to be 18; and the boat's chef, Ricardo Thomas.

CBS News has seen corporate documentation showing a company called Revtom, solely owned by Lynch's wife Angela Bacares, who was among those rescued from the accident, as the owner of the yacht that capsized off Sicily. 

While the yacht was a privately owned pleasure boat, the waters around the island have claimed many lives over the last decade.

Dozens of migrants have died attempting to reach Sicily and smaller Italian islands in the region. Sicily sits only about 100 miles from the east coast of Tunisia in north Africa, and the Mediterranean crossing has been a frequent site of both nautical rescues and disasters as smugglers routinely send small boats overloaded with desperate people into the sea.

CBS News' Chris Livesay in Rome and Joanne Stocker in London contributed to this report.

Saudi prince MBS bought this $400 million megayacht from a Russian Oligarch and immediately kicked him out. The 439 feet long vessel has two helipads, a submarine, and a nightclub. The royal has also hung a $450M painting in it.

For the longest time, the whereabouts of this Leonardo Da Vinci masterpiece were a mystery. According to Al Jazeera , Mohammed bin Salman reportedly brought the painting and hung it on a cabin wall on the superyacht Serene. Both purchases together amount to over $1 billion. The painting meant to grace the Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi never showed up at the scheduled events. This left people perplexed and wondering about the whereabouts of the expensive painting. All except one!

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Jerry Jones’ $225 million superyacht Bravo Eugenia is as luxurious as it is stylish. The 357ft stunner has Swarovski furniture, two helipads, and a teppanyaki bar.

Mark Zuckerberg likes his privacy so much that he had his superyachts secretly sail away to the Mediterranean after switching off their mandatory location transponders. Docked in Mallorca, his $300 million yacht is so big that it dwarfs every other craft in the marina.

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