It was often said that a Perini yacht was the ultimate ocean-going extravagance, a byword for seafaring elegance. Not any more.
After several bodies were recovered from the wreck of the 183ft Bayesian, which sank within five minutes of being struck by a tornado, other owners of these multi-million-pound status symbols must be wondering if they are in possession of a floating coffin.
Glimpse a Perini and you won’t forget her. They are giant sailing yachts – from 150ft long to more than 260ft. They’re very scarce: Only some 60 have been built since the first around 40 years ago.
Launched in 2008, Bayesian was originally named Salute (the Italian for ‘Health’) before being bought in 2014 by a company owned by Angela Bacares, Mike Lynch’s wife.
Pictured, a Perini Navi Bayesian Yacht. Several bodies were recovered from the wreckage of a yacht owned by British entrepeneur Mike Lynch
The Bayesian (pictured) overturned during a severe thunderstorm on Monday morning
The yacht was renamed Bayesian, after the method of statistical analysis that was of key importance to the multi-billion-dollar company HP Autonomy, founded by Dr Lynch.
While the exact cause and circumstances of Bayesian’s sinking remain unclear, she has a number of unusual features, the main one being her 246ft mast, said to be the tallest aluminium one in the world. To optimise performance, the yacht also has a modified keel and rudder lines to improve her stability. Whether these radical designs had anything to do with the speed at which Bayesian capsized and sank is unknown.
The genius behind Perini yachts is Fabio Perini, an engineering obsessive born into a family of paper-making entrepreneurs in Tuscany in 1940.
Shy, self-effacing, elegant, with a gimlet-eye for design, he was inventing machines to improve the paper production process as early as his teens.
The genius behind Perini yachts is Fabio Perini, an engineering obsessive born into a family of paper-making entrepreneurs in Tuscany in 1940. (An undated handout issued on August 19 of the ‘Bayesian’ sailing boat)
Perini replaced the need for a large crew by adapting technology from the machines he had created to roll up loo paper in order to power the winches required to handle massive sails
At 20, he patented a machine for cutting tissue paper. In 1966 he founded his own company which specialised in machinery to produce kitchen and toilet rolls.
When in the 1970s, he decided to commission a boat, he wanted one that combined the space, comfort and handling of a motor boat with the elegance and lines of a yacht.
In 1980, after several thwarted attempts with established boat yards, Perini decided to build his own 130ft craft.
Typically a 130ft sailing yacht would need a large crew to handle the massive loads on the sails. This was the last thing Perini wanted. He replaced the need for a large crew by adapting technology from the machines he had created to roll up loo paper in order to power the winches required to handle massive sails.
The superyacht (pictured) was docked off the coast of Porticello, near Palermo, when it was hit by an over-sea tornado, known as a waterspout
It is a characteristic feature of all Perini yachts that they can be controlled by one crew member wielding a joystick.
While the hull design and profile of a Perini yacht were the preserve of Perini’s in-house designers, what happened below deck, where there was plenty of room because of the reduced crew required, was up to the owner. Clients compete to appoint their yachts with luxurious bedrooms, lounges, suites, galleys, bars, entertainment and dining rooms.
Sadly, there is a sense of hubris to Perini. After years of financial struggle, the company was declared bankrupt in 2021. Now, the assets, the name and the shipyards belong to The Italian Sea Group.
In 2015, I attended a Perini regatta in Sardinia. Besides the main prize for the fastest yacht, other awards were handed out, among them a gong for the yacht that served the best cocktail.
The winner was the 170ft Jasali II, whose owner had flown out the barman of the Ritz Hotel especially for the occasion. Bayesian, whose name will now for ever be associated with tragedy, came second.