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

Portrait of Cybele Mayes-Osterman

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.

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 to 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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Watch CBS News

Tornado likely sank luxury yacht off coast of Sicily, officials say, as search for survivors continues

Updated on: August 20, 2024 / 7:56 PM EDT / CBS/AP

Police divers resumed searching Tuesday for six people believed trapped in the hull of a superyacht that sank in deep seas off Sicily, including a British tech magnate who was celebrating his recent acquittal on fraud charges with the people who had defended him at trial.

Civil protection officials said they believed the Bayesian, a 184-foot British-flagged yacht, had been struck by a tornado over the water. The ship had been moored about a half-mile offshore off Porticello near Palermo when a storm rolled and the vessel sank at about 5 a.m. local time on Monday . 

Grainy film from closed-circuit cameras from shore, broadcast on the website of the Giornale di Sicilia, showed the majestic, illuminated 246-foot mast of the Bayesian weathering the storm and then disappearing over the course of a minute.

Fifteen of the 22 people aboard survived, including a mother who reported holding her 1-year-old baby over the waves to save her. One body was recovered, identified by officials as the Antiguan-born on-board chef. The rest of the 10-person crew survived, including the captain whom prosecutors reportedly sought to interview.

Italy Boaters Missing

However, CBS News senior weather producer David Parkinson said Tuesday that it's still too early to determine whether the yacht was hit by a waterspout or a downburst. A waterspout is a meteorological term for a tornado over water, while a downburst consists of powerful winds that descend from a thunderstorm and can often be misinterpreted as a tornado, according to the National Weather Service.

As of now, Parkinson said, it's only safe to say that the yacht was impacted by a severe thunderstorm. Based on satellite imagery, there were strong to violent thunderstorms in the area where the yacht sank, Parkinson said.

That said, early Monday morning conditions were appropriate for either the development of a waterspout or a downburst, Parkinson explained. At around 4 a.m. local time Monday, the winds spiked, with wind gusts above 43 mph in Palermo. About 10 minutes later in the town of Aspra — which is 20 miles from Palermo and three to four miles west of where the boat sank — wind gusts of 51 mph were recorded, and the thunderstorms appeared to intensify as they moved east.

In cases of downbursts, when wind hits the water's surface, it increases the wind speed, Parkinson said. While at the time the boat sank, water temperatures were 84 degrees Fahrenheit, which would be warm enough to support the development of a waterspout, Parkinson said. 

"It's a great, great tragedy," said Britain's ambassador to Italy, Edward Llewellyn, who visited Porticello on Tuesday. Britain sent four investigators to the scene, given the disaster involved a British-flagged ship and British citizens were among the missing.

Fire rescue officials have said the six other passengers will be considered missing until they are located in the wreckage. They include tycoon Mike Lynch , who was once hailed as Britain's king of technology and was cleared in June of fraud and conspiracy charges in a U.S. federal trial related to Hewlett Packard's $11 billion takeover of his company, Autonomy Corp.

Also unaccounted for are Christopher Morvillo, one of Lynch's lawyers, and Jonathan Bloomer, a chairman at Morgan Stanley International and the former head of the Autonomy audit committee who testified in Lynch's defense.

The wreckage of the luxury craft is some 164 feet underwater — far deeper than most recreational divers are certified for and a depth that requires special precautions. Recovery crews could only stay for 12-minute shifts, a measure that slowed their efforts to reach the cramped inside of the wreck.

Italy Boaters Missing

Karsten Borner, the captain of the Sir Robert Baden Powell, which rescued the 15 survivors who managed to get into a lifeboat, said he was close enough to be able to see the Bayesian as the storm came in.

"A moment later, she was gone," he said. "They said they went flat on the water and were sunk in two minutes," Borner added, quoting the survivors.

The rotating search teams, each made up of two specialized cave divers, worked Tuesday to open up access points to get inside the wreck. They were using a remote-controlled underwater vehicle, or ROV, to help in the search.

The divers hadn't been able to access the below-deck cabins because they were blocked by furniture that had shifted during the violent storm. Rescue crews said they assume the missing six are in those cabins because the storm struck when most would be sleeping, but the teams haven't verified their presence there through portholes.

Luca Cari, a spokesman for the rescue teams, said the search was proceeding much more slowly than another big shipwreck in Italy, the 2012 Costa Concordia cruise ship that flipped on its side off Tuscany's coast, because of the depth of the wreck and the limited space divers have to maneuver.

"That was much simpler. Here everything is more tight," he said.

The outing was intended at least in part as a celebration of Lynch's acquittal and a "looking forward to what was coming next," said Reid Weingarten, a Washington attorney and a member of Lynch's defense team who was not on the yacht.

"A lot of people went, a lot of people were planning to go and then of course this happened," Weingarten said.

Some of the people who stood by Lynch throughout the ordeal were on board, including Morvillo, the lawyer, who Weingarten worked with and said "was like a brother."

Morvillo's wife, Neda, is also missing, according to his law firm Clifford Chance.

Aki Hussain, CEO of international insurer Hiscox Group, where Bloomer, the witness, was chairman, said the company was "deeply shocked and saddened by this tragic event."

"Our thoughts are with all those affected, in particular our Chair, Jonathan Bloomer, and his wife Judy, who are among the missing, and with their family as they await further news from this terrible situation," he added.

Among the survivors, the Emslie family was released from Palermo's pediatric hospital on Tuesday where little Sofia had been kept overnight after her rescue. Her mother, Charlotte Golunski, had reported that she momentarily lost hold of the 1-year-old in the water but then managed to hold her up over the waves until a lifeboat inflated and they were both pulled to safety, doctors said.

Hewlett Packard Rotten Deal Trial

The father, identified by ANSA news agency as James Emslie, also survived.

"They don't talk much, primarily because they consider themselves survivors and they don't understand why they survived given what they went through," said Dr. Domenico Cipolla, head of the emergency room at Di Cristina Pediatric Hospital.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Cipolla said Golunski had reported that she and the baby were sleeping in the cabin and suddenly found themselves in the water, where they also found Emslie who had been in a different part of the ship. Cipolla said the parents had been in touch with other survivors, who are being housed at a nearby hotel and were waiting for other family members to arrive in Sicily.

The baby slept well overnight and all were released after final checks Tuesday morning, he said according to a videotaped interview posted on Palermo Today, adding that psychologists had been made available.

Among the other survivors was Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares. Hannah Lynch, reportedly the couple's 18-year-old daughter, is among the missing.

The yacht's registered owner is listed as Revtom Ltd., according to online maritime database Equasis. Bacares is listed as Revtom's sole owner, according to corporate registration documents from the Isle of Man.

Italy Boaters Missing

Its name, Bayesian, may be a reference to "Bayesian Inference," one of the two main approaches to statistical machine learning and the one that was used by Lynch's company.

The yacht, built in 2008 by the Italian firm Perini Navi, was carrying 12 passengers and 10 crew. According to online charter companies, it had been available for charter for about $215,000 a week and was notable for its massive aluminum mast, one of the tallest in the world.

The coast guard said to date there was no trace of fuel leaks from the wreckage.

In an unrelated event, Lynch's co-defendant in the Autonomy trial who was also cleared, Stephen Chamberlain, was killed Sunday when he was hit by a car while running in Cambridgeshire, England, said Chamberlain's lawyer, Gary Lincenberg.

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More from CBS News

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Morgan Stanley International chairman among missing from sunken yacht, reports say

Jonathan Bloomer

Jonathan Bloomer, the chairman of Morgan Stanley International, was on Monday night reported to be among the missing from the sunken yacht Bayesian.

He was confirmed missing by Italian authorities, according to The Times.

Mr Bloomer is a close friend of Mike Lynch, the owner of the yacht, who is also missing alongside his 18-year-old daughter Hannah.

Salvatore Cocina, head of the Civil Protection in Sicily, said Chris Morvillo, a lawyer at Clifford Chance, was also missing.

The vessel is thought to have been hit by a tornado while anchored off Sicily. 

Four of the missing passengers are British and two are American, Italian newspaper la Repubblica stated. Italian media said the man who died was the yacht’s onboard chef.

Mr Lynch’s US fraud trial, which ended two months ago with him being cleared by a San Francisco jury, saw Mr Bloomer take the stand as he had led the audit committee at Mr Lynch’s firm Autonomy.

Mike Lynch missing after superyacht sinking

It was alleged that he had overseen fraudulent accounting at Autonomy that wildly inflated the former FTSE 100 company’s value before it was sold to Hewlett-Packard for $11 billion (£8.7 billion) in 2011.

Mr Bloomer claimed that Mr Lynch had largely ignored Autonomy’s accounting, in evidence which was critical to his defence.

Mr Bloomer claimed: “Mike was mostly interested in the strategy, new products, new areas to look at, potential acquisitions.

“For example, he didn’t come to the audit committee and wasn’t particularly interested in the finance side.”

According to his Linkedin profile, Mr Bloomer is currently the chairman of insurance provider Hiscox and was the chief executive of Prudential before being ousted in a boardroom coup in 2005 following the dotcom crash.

Live Reporting

Related stories, lawyer and chairman among those missing.

Salvatore Cocina, head of the Civil Protection in Sicily, said Chris Morvillo, a lawyer at Clifford Chance and Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of Morgan Stanley International, were also among the missing people.

Meanwhile, Italian media said the man who died was the yacht’s onboard chef.

Did Bayesian superyacht’s 237ft mast cause it to sink?

Bayesian’s 237ft metal mast may have played a part in the sinking of the superyacht off the coast of Sicily, experts have suggested.

The yacht, seemingly named after the mathematical theory which Mike Lynch used to make his millions in the tech industry, foundered in the small hours of Monday morning.

Key among potential reasons for the loss of the vessel will be its most striking feature – the aluminium mast.

Read our latest here

British inspectors deploy to Sicily

Britain’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch said four of its inspectors were being deployed to Palermo.

A basic assessment of the scene will be made by the team with no investigation launched at this stage, the PA news agency understands.

Lynch’s co-defendant in fraud trial died in car crash on weekend

Mike Lynch’s co-defendant in his US fraud trial died in a road accident on Saturday days before the tycoon went missing off the coast of Sicily.

Stephen Chamberlain was hit by a car during the accident over the weekend in Cambridgeshire.

Chamberlain faced the same charges of fraud and conspiracy as his former boss Lynch for allegedly scheming to inflate the value of his company Autonomy before it was sold to Hewlett Packard.

A source told The Telegraph: “Our dear client and friend Steve Chamberlain was fatally struck by a car on Saturday while out running.

“He was a courageous man with unparalleled integrity, and we deeply miss him. He fought successfully to clear his good name, which lives on through his wonderful family.”

Pictured: Search mission continues

Divers

‘A holiday day at sea turned into a tragedy’

“At around 4:30 in the morning it was gone. A beautiful vessel where there had been a party. A normal holiday day spent happily at sea turned into a tragedy,” a witness told Italian news agency ANSA. 

He continued: “The vessel was not far from the port. It would have taken very little to raise the anchor and head for the port. Evidently they were surprised by the storm that suddenly hit and they were unable to avoid the sinking.”

Rescue operation will continue overnight

The rescue operation for the missing six passengers will continue overnight, Salvo Cocina of Sicily’s civil protection agency has said.

A specialist caving search and rescue diving team has also arrived and hoped to “achieve results” overnight or early tomorrow morning, the BBC reported. 

Pictured: Survivors leave the Porticello Coast Guard headquarters

Survivors leave the coast guard headquarters

Superyacht guests were celebrating Mike Lynch’s acquittal when disaster struck

Guests were celebrating the acquittal of Mike Lynch, the British tech entrepreneur, on the superyacht Bayesian when the vessel sank off the coast of Italy.

Mr Lynch had gathered guests from Clifford Chance, the legal firm, and Invoke Capital, his own company, after being cleared in June of fraud over the multi-billion-dollar sale of Autonomy.

He was found not guilty on all counts of an accusation of inflating the value of the company, which he sold to the US tech giant Hewlett-Packard for £8.6 billion in 2011.

Read the full story here

Pictured: The Bayesian in a promotional video

‘We should have found something by now’

Francesco Venuto, the spokesman for Sicily’s civil protection agency, has told the BBC that they “think [the missing people] must be there [in the boat]”.

“We’ve been searching all day with helicopters and boats, we’ve found nothing. That wouldn’t make sense, in these conditions we should have found something by now,” he added.

Lynch’s wife in wheelchair following incident

According to La Repubblica, Bacares is in a wheelchair, with abrasions on her feet that prevent her from walking and bandages on other parts of her body.

The newspaper said that she told doctors that at 4am the boat tilted and she and her husband woke up.

At first, they were not worried but then there was a scene of confusion as glass shattered and everything slipped.

Italian firefighters at the scene

Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter also missing

Mike Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter Hannah is among those missing in the superyacht sinking, The Telegraph understands.

Italian media early reported that Angela Bacares, Mr Lynch’s wife, told doctors that her husband and daughter were missing.

Pictured: Previous waterspouts and tornados in Italy

A downburst reported near Sicily in 2018

A tornado reported at Licata, Sicily, in 2021

A waterspout in Apulia, Italy, in 2024

‘In the wrong place at the wrong time’

The boat sank after a tornado over the water known as a waterspout struck the area overnight, said Salvo Cocina of Sicily’s civil protection agency. One body has been recovered, and police divers were trying to reach the hull of the ship, which was resting at a depth of 50 meters (163 feet) off Porticello, near Palermo, where it had been anchored.

The Italian coast guard said the yacht had a crew of 10 people and 12 passengers.

A sudden fierce storm had battered the area overnight, and struck where the 56-meter (184-foot) British-flagged Bayesian had been moored. “They were in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Cocina said, noting that another superyacht nearby wasn’t as badly damaged and was able to rescue some of the 15 survivors.

Who is Mike Lynch? Britain’s ‘Bill Gates’ who was acquitted of £8bn fraud just two months ago

Mike Lynch

Just weeks ago, Mike Lynch was walking out of a San Francisco courtroom a free man with tears in his eyes.

The technology tycoon known as “Britain’s Bill Gates” had improbably beaten the odds in a bitter US legal dispute with technology giant HP, convincing a jury that he was not guilty of claims of massive fraud.

Cleared after a 13-year legal fight, the entrepreneur vowed to fight to reform Britain’s extradition laws after he was flown to San Francisco to face trial and kept under house arrest.

Read the full profile here

Pictured: Rescue teams search the water

Rescue teams search the water

Pictured: A diver leaps into the sea during search for victims

Diver

‘I held her afloat with all my strength’: British mother describes rescuing her baby from drowning

Among the 15 survivors is a one-year-old British baby called Sofia who was saved by her mother, Charlotte Golunski.

Ms Golunski, an Oxford graduate and senior associate at Invoke, had fought to prevent her child from drowning. While all around her she could hear the screams of the terrified passengers and crew, she kept her grip on her baby to stop her from slipping beneath the waves.

The child’s mother told Republicca, the Italian newspaper: “I held her afloat with all my strength, my arms stretched upwards to keep her from drowning. 

“It was all dark. In the water I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I screamed for help but all I could hear around me was the screams of others.”

Mike Lynch was awarded an OBE for services to enterprise

Mike Lynch was made an OBE for services to enterprise in 2006. 

That same year, he was appointed to the board of the BBC, and was later elected to then-prime minister David Cameron’s council for science and technology in 2011.

He advised Mr Cameron on subjects including “the opportunities and risks of the development of artificial intelligence and the government’s role in the regulation of these technologies”.

Mr Lynch is among six tourists missing after the luxury yacht sank in bad weather off the coast of Sicily, sources said.

Four of the missing passengers are British and two are American, Italian news website la Repubblica stated.

UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch sending team

The UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch is sending a team of four inspectors to conduct a “preliminary assessment” into the sinking of the Bayesian, a government spokesman said.

The Bayesian was registered in London and flew the Red Ensign, meaning UK authorities will be involved in the investigation into why she foundered.

Specialist divers are being flown to Sicily from the Italian mainland

Specialist cave divers are being flown to Sicily from the Italian mainland to assist in the search for survivors of the superyacht as hopes fade of finding any of the six alive.

Luca Cari, spokesman for the firefighting service, told The Telegraph firefighter divers from Palermo and the Sardinian towns of Cagliari and Sassari had been working tirelessly at a depth of 50 metres since the early hours of Monday morning when the alarm was sounded.

But Mr Cari said the spaces inside the luxury yacht were so small that specially trained cave divers and their equipment were required to access the cabins.

“We are working non-stop with our divers and our helicopter.  But we are talking about very small confined spaces inside the yacht so we need the specialist cave divers and their equipment,” he said.

He declined to say whether divers had identified bodies through the portholes of the sunken yacht but said as time went on it was increasingly unlikely that the firefighters would find any more survivors.

Divers search for bodies after superyacht sinks in Sicily

Divers involved in the rescue operation for the missing passengers of the Bayesian have been captured entering the water as part of the search effort. 

Three divers in orange wetsuits are seen in the water off the coast of Sicily before they commence an underwater search for those that are missing. 

Mike Lynch has been called the ‘British Bill Gates’

Mike Lynch, the British technology tycoon, is one of six tourists missing in a superyacht sinking. 

Mr Lynch founded software giant Autonomy in 1996, and made his name as one of Britain’s most influential entrepreneurs through the company.

He has been described at points as the Bill Gates of Britain, for founding the company which became one of the biggest enterprise software firms on the planet.

He negotiated an 11 billion dollar (£8.64 billion) sale of Autonomy to Hewlett Packard, which generated a more than 800 million US dollar windfall for him.

But the sale also kicked off a 13-year legal saga. It was only in June this year that Mr Lynch was cleared of charges alleging he orchestrated a fraud and conspiracy leading up to the deal, which turned into a costly albatross for HP.

He faced more than 20 years in US prison if convicted of the fraud and conspiracy allegations, and the Times reported that he spent 13 months under house arrest awaiting the trial that ended in June.

Bayesian superyacht specs

The Bayesian is 56 metres long (183ft) and has a 75m (246ft) long mast.

The vessel was in front of the port of Porticello, in the province of Palermo, when the severe weather struck. 

Its anchor was down and the strong gust would have caused the vessel to lose balance which is believed to have led to the shipwreck.

Who is Mike Lynch?

Mr Lynch, 59, founded the software company Autonomy in 1996 and became one of Britain’s most high-profile businessmen when he sold it to Hewlett Packard for £7bn in 2011.

He spent more than a decade seeking to clear his name after HP accused Autonomy executives of illegal accounting practices in 2012.

Mr Lynch was charged with fraud in the US in 2018 and was found not guilty in June in a stunning legal victory. He had only recently returned to the United Kingdom and had planned to defend wrongfully convicted Britons.

Ms Bacares holds much of his fortune. The couple have had two daughters, who are 21 and 18.

Survivor leaves coast guard headquarters after sailboat sank off Sicily

A survivor leaves the coast guard headquarters after a superyacht sank at around 5am in front of Porticello in the province of Palermo on Monday.

The 50-metre vessel reportedly had mostly British nationals on board and 15 people were saved by coast guard patrol boats and firefighters, including a one-year-old child.

Earlier today the coast guard issued a statement saying it had rescued 15 people from the yacht that had 22 people onboard. 

Survivor leaves coast guard headquarters after sailboat sank off Sicily

The term Bayesian explained

The term Bayesian refers to a branch of statistics pioneered by Thomas Bayes, an 18th century mathematician and vicar.

Much of modern artificial intelligence and computer analysis is underpinned by Bayesian inference, which involves updating the probabilities of various scenarios based on ongoing evidence.

The statistical model was crucial to Autonomy’s technology, which searched through large amounts of corporate data to find information.

In 2021, Mike Lynch said that: “Bayes deserves far more historical credit for the place he occupies among the forefathers of information theory”

Mr Lynch has often used playful naming conventions. Conference rooms at Autonomy were named after James Bond villains, another interest of his, while his dogs have named after engineering terms such as Valve, Tappet and Switch.

Doctor describes mother’s ordeal

Dr Domenico Cipolla, head of emergency room at the Giovanni di Cristina paediatric hospital in Palermo, has described the experience of Charlotte, the British mother who was onboard the Bayesian when it sank. 

DrCipolla said: “She told me that while they were sleeping, at a certain point the yacht overturned due to the tornado, and they found themselves in the water. 

“Some of them immediately managed to get onto the lifeboat. And some, evidently, didn’t make it.

“She told me that she was in the water for no more than two, three seconds, and she managed to save the baby, to keep her arms up, and then, with the others, they were able to get on the lifeboat, and then, I think, they were rescued by the coast guard.

“They are all in good condition. We managed to get the parents to talk (to each other) on the phone, all the doctors and nurses were all very moved, also because the little girl is fine, the prognosis is good and we are carrying out tests just to be careful.”

British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch missing in superyacht sinking

British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch is missing after the sinking of a superyacht off the coast of Sicily, The Telegraph understands.

Watch: Captain who rescued passengers from yacht sinking interview

The captain who rescued passengers from the Bayesian has spoken to media about the ordeal.

Captain of another boat describes saving 15 Bayesian passengers

The captain of a nearby boat that rescued the 15 people has described the conditions in which the Bayesian sank last night.

Karsten Borner said his own vessel, the Sir Robert BP, was battered by very strong gusts in the early hours of the morning, managing to stabilise it while anchored by using the engine.

He said as they were doing this, they noticed the Bayesian nearby and manoeuvred to avoid hitting it.

“We managed to keep the ship in position, and after the storm was over, we noticed that the ship behind us was gone.”

Passengers of the Bayesian were reportedly rescued by the crew of a Dutch-flagged sailing vessel

Details of the superyacht

The Bayesian is 56 metres long (183ft) according to ship tracking website VesselFinder.

The luxury super yacht is said to have a 75m (246ft) long mast.

She was built in 2008 by Italian company Perini Navi with an initial asking price of 35 million euros (£30 million) according to Nautic Link. 

According to the leasing company Yacht Charter Fleet, the boat is furnished with a “Japanese-style” interior.

It has been designed to accommodate up to 12 guests in six suites, along with ten crew members.

The Bayesian was awarded the best exterior styling at the 2009 World Superyacht Awards.

Male body recovered, Vigili del Fuoco confirms

Vigili del Fuoco,  Italy’s fire and rescue service, has confirmed a male body has been recovered from the yacht.

In a post on X, it said the “lifeless body of a man recovered [has been] from the wreck by the divers.”

It posted the statement alongside a clip of the rescue effort with footage showing helicopters, boats and divers carrying out a search operation.

#Palermo , naufragio imbarcazione a Porticello: recuperato dai #sommozzatori dei #vigilidelfuoco il corpo senza vita di un uomo, all'esterno del relitto. Proseguono le operazioni di ricerca con il coordinamento in mare della @guardiacostiera [ #19agosto 11:30] pic.twitter.com/Y2m9o5ohCe — Vigili del Fuoco (@vigilidelfuoco) August 19, 2024

Four Britons missing after yacht sinks off Sicily

One person has died and four British nationals are missing after a yacht sank off the coast of Sicily, Italian media has reported.

The 50-metre boat, which is called the “Bayesian”, sank at around 5am in the stretch of sea in front of Porticello in the province of Palermo.

The vessel reportedly had mostly British nationals on board and 15 people were saved by coast guard patrol boats and firefighters, including a one-year-old child.

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One-year-old survivor called Sofia, local media reports

The one-year-old English girl who was saved from the shipwreck has been named as Sofia, local media reports. 

Map: The superyacht’s journey before it sank

The Bayesian sank at around 5am in the stretch of sea in front of Porticello in the province of Palermo.

Below is a map of its journey before it went down. 

A mother saved her one-year-old from drowning, local media reports

A mother has told of how she kept her one-year-old daughter alive after a yacht sank off the coast of Sicily.

Charlotte, a survivor of the incident said her child is now being treated in the Di Cristina hospital, in Palermo, following the ordeal in which the Bayesian sank due to severe winds. 

The mother, who is said to be a British tourist, told la Repubblica, a local news website: “I held her afloat with all my strength, my arms stretched upwards to keep her from drowning. 

“It was all dark. In the water I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I screamed for help but all I could hear around me was the screams of others.” 

Charlotte said her husband James has been taken to Civico hospital in Palermo after suffering minor injuries. 

La Repubblica said that the father asked about his daughter’s health during a phone call with his wife.

According to the paper, he said: “How is the little girl? Is she there with you?”

His wife reassured him and they promised to hug each other again soon, the site reported. 

Shadow foreign minister pays tribute to those involved in incident

Alicia Kearns, shadow foreign minister for Europe, wrote on X: “Desperately sorry to hear of the capsizing of the Bayesian - a heartbreaking incident.

“My thoughts are with all the families of those lost at sea, and those recovering following the rescue operation, I’m sure the foreign office will be providing consular support to British Nationals and their families.”

Foreign Office statement

The Foreign Office said in a statement: “We are in contact with the local authorities following an incident in Sicily, and stand ready to provide consular support to British nationals affected.”

‘I saw it suddenly disappear’, says Porticello fisherman

Pietro Asciutto, a fisherman from Porticello who witnessed the sinking, told ANSA: “I was at home when the tornado hit. I immediately closed all the windows. Then I saw the boat, it had only one mast, it was very large. I saw it sink suddenly.”

He added: “I think the tornado came from Porticello. Shortly after I went down to the Bay of Santa Nicolicchia to get a better look at what was happening. 

“The boat was still floating, then suddenly it disappeared. I saw it sink with my own eyes.”

Fire Brigade and Coast Guard units search for missing people

Sinking of Bayesian ‘strange’, says former chief stewardess

A former chief stewardess of the Bayesian has described news of the yacht’s sinking as “strange” because the boat had withstood the choppiest of seas.

Monica Jensen, 48, told The Telegraph: “It seems a bit strange. We have been in bad weather with it, crossed the Atlantic.

“It’s been all over. These things definitely don’t happen very often.”

Ms Jensen worked on the 56m superyacht from November 2018 to October 2020 for a private owner and said the boat had since been sold. 

She accompanied the boat on two Caribbean seasons and cruised around Italy, Malta, Greece and the Balearics.

Ms Jensen said the crew would have been well-drilled on the evacuation process.

She said: “You can’t work on a boat without the right certificates, training and you do drills monthly.”

Pictured: Emergency services carrying bodybag following shipwreck

Emergency services are pictured carrying a bodybag to shore after local media reported a man’s body had been recovered from the shipwreck off the coast of Sicily. 

Emergency services carry a body bag after a sailboat sank in the early hours of Monday, off the coast of Porticello, near the Sicilian city of Palermo, Italy

Coast guard statement

The Italian Coast Guard said in a statement: “This morning at about 5am, following a violent gale, a 56-metre yacht named Bayesian and flying the UK flag sank off Porticello.

“The first shipwrecked were rescued by a boat in the immediate vicinity and brought ashore by four coast guard vessels, which promptly responded to the scene from Porticello, Termini Imerese and Palermo.

“Initial information received from the yacht crew indicated that 22 people (10 crew members and 12 passengers) were onboard the yacht.

“There are currently 15 people rescued and seven missing (one crew member and six passengers), of British, American and Canadian nationality.

“Of the people recovered, eight were transported to local hospitals. The vessel is reported to have sunk on a seabed of about 50 metres.

“The search continues unabated with naval, air and underwater resources, including the Messina Coast Guard Diving Unit.”

Picture taken from video released by the Italian Coast Guard on Monday

Mayor makes statement about incident

Filippo Tripoli, the mayor of Bagheria in Sicily, said: “This morning, off the coast of Santa Flavia, a foreign boat sunk due to bad weather, 15 people recovered and seven missing.

“Already all the police forces and emergency services are operational and our Red Cross volunteers are present.”

‘Captain should not be blamed’, says local businessman

Bartolomeo Lo Coco, who owns the Tosto Chiosco cafe in Porticello, said it was common for rental yachts and boats to sail through the fishing village, adding that the captain should not be blamed for what had occurred because the weather had been so unpredictable.

“This was a terrible misfortune that no-one could have foreseen. It is nobody’s fault, the captain should not be blamed.”

Lo Coco said Carabinieri police, coast guard and firefighters were still searching the port. He stressed that the yacht was at a depth of 50 to 60 metres.

People in ‘mourning’, says local business owner

Bartolomeo Lo Coco, who owns the Tosto Chiosco cafe in Porticello, said those in the port were in “mourning” following the deeply shocking incident.

He said no one could have predicted the storm and the whirlwind that appeared to have caused the accident.

“We are in mourning here, all of us are in mourning,” he told The Telegraph. “We have never seen anything like this, ever. There is a very serious tragedy.”

His kiosk, which serves snacks and sandwiches, overlooks the water in Porticello.

He said the whirlwind, which occurred in the early hours of Monday, had not only caused the tragic accident but also widespread damage in the port.

He added: “This wasn’t a thunderstorm, this was a whirlwind. It happened all of a sudden. There is a lot of damage here. Boats were dislodged from their moorings and restaurant tables were broken within minutes and sent flying several metres.”

Body of man recovered in search, local media reports

The body of a man has been recovered from the seabed in the search for missing people following a shipwreck off the coast of Sicily, according to il Fatto Quotidiano.

The local news website said: “A body was found and recovered by rescuers on the seabed. Firefighters and the coast guard are looking for six other passengers, while fifteen have been rescued.”

Among the survivors is a one-year-old girl who is being treated in the Civico hospital with her mother, the site said.

According to witnesses, the vessel was in front of the port of Porticello when the severe weather struck. 

The anchor was down and the strong gust would have caused the vessel to lose balance which is believed to have led to the shipwreck.

Storm in Palermo

Footage shared by the BAIA Santa Nicolicchia restaurant shows the storm hit the port.

The violent weather causes damage outside the restaurant, knocking over chairs and plant pots.

Yacht designed for luxury travel

The Bayesian was designed for luxury travel, according to local media.

Tgcom24 described the yacht as an “elegant 56-metre sailing boat” weighing 473 tons. It was said to be flying a United Kingdom flag when it sank.

The online newspaper said it was built by the Perini Navi Viareggio shipyard in February 2008, before being refitted in 2020.

The boat had arrived in Porticello after a stop in Milazzo and a passage in front of Cefalù, Tgcom24 reported.

Watch: Search underway

Aerial footage of the search has been posted on social media by Vigili del Fuoco, Italy’s fire and rescue service.

The post on X, formerly Twitter, said: “A Palermo boat wreck off the coast of Porticello, 15 people saved, seven reported missing.

“Since dawn firefighters and divers have engaged in the search. The wreck has been identified 50 metres deep.”

Vessel ‘caught middle of a hurricane’

The BAIA Santa Nicolicchia restaurant in Porticello wrote on its Facebook page that the yacht sank at around 4am after being caught in a hurricane.

They called it an “unbelievable tragedy”, adding that they were “lost for words”.

The post read: “Last picture I took at 10pm. The yacht on the left sank at 4.05am, caught in the middle of the hurricane 300 metres from the port of Porticello, next to another sailboat that provided rescue.

“It looks like there are 22 on board but unfortunately seven missing, they’re still afraid inside the hull.

“Unbelievable tragedy tonight. I’m out of words.”

Pictured: Last photo of boat

The last photo thought to have been taken of the yacht at 10pm on Sunday in Porticello.

The boat on the (left)

Four Britons missing

Four Britons are reported to be missing after a yacht sank in a stretch of sea in front of Porticello.

Seven people are missing in total, including four Britons, one Canadian, two Americans and the ship’s cook.

The vessel reportedly had mostly British nationals on board and 15 people were saved by coast guard patrol boats and firefighters, including a one-year-old child.

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What is the pronunciation of 'yacht' in English?

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how to say yacht in australia

Learn How to Pronounce yacht

how to say yacht in australia

Not sure how to say a word? Try the Promova pronunciation tool for free and learn how to pronounce anything in English correctly. Discover over 100,000 words and easily learn English pronunciation online!

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Definition:

(nou) an expensive vessel propelled by sail or power and used for cruising or racing

Phonetic Transcription:

Caffari was the skipper of the yacht.

The yacht was an auxiliary of the coast guard.

The yacht was damaged below the waterline.

how to say yacht in australia

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Yacht in Different Languages. Learn How to Say and Translate

Yacht in Different Languages: Please find below many ways to say yacht in different languages. This page features translation of the word "yacht" to over 100 other languages. We also invite you to listen to audio pronunciation in more than 40 languages, so you could learn how to pronounce yacht and how to read it.

Saying Yacht in European Languages

All LanguagesWays to say yacht
[jachta]
[yakhta]
[skáfos anapsychís]
[jahta]
[yakhta]
[jahta]
[yakhta]
[yakht]

Saying Yacht in Asian Languages

Ways to say yacht [zbosanav] [iẏaṭa] [yóutǐng] [yóutǐng] [iakht’a] [yāṭa] [nauka] [vihāra nauke] [yaxta] [yoteu] [yahta] [ heuoyod] [vallam] [naukā] [darvuult ongots] [rwatlhaay] [yāṭa] [yāṭa] [yātrāva] [paṭaku] [paḍava]

Saying Yacht in Middle-Eastern Languages

Ways to say yacht [yakht]

Saying Yacht in African Languages

Ways to say yacht [jeliba]

Saying Yacht in Austronesian Languages

Ways to say yacht

Saying Yacht in Other Foreign Languages

Ways to say yacht

Yacht in Different Languages - Image

Cambridge Dictionary

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English pronunciation of yacht

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(English pronunciations of yacht from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus and from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary , both sources © Cambridge University Press)

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Man knocked unconscious by whale’s tail off Australia, reports say. ‘Extremely rare’

A fisherman was hospitalized after he was struck in the face by a whale’s tail off the coast of Queensland, Australia, in what has been described as an “extremely rare” encounter, according to news reports.

The man — an unidentified 40-year-old — was in a small boat with another fisherman about a half-mile from the mainland on the morning of Aug. 18 when the incident occurred, according to 9News .

“All of a sudden a whale’s tail appeared striking one in the head,” Scott Brown, a paramedic with the Queensland Ambulance Service, told the outlet.

The freak episode rendered him unconscious.

Adam Bell, a jet skier who witnessed the incident, described it to 7News as “like getting hit by Mike Tyson … it just pounded him, absolutely pounded him.”

After being slapped, the man’s face was covered in slime and sported a large welt, Bell added.

Bell and his family then sprang into action, calling the authorities, who organized a rescue operation, per the outlet.

Paramedics and water police boarded the man’s boat, and volunteers helped navigate it to shore, according to 9News.

“They didn’t want to take him off the boat because they thought he had neck injuries,” John Murray, an official with the Marine Rescue New South Wales, told the outlet.

The man was then transported to Gold Coast University Hospital “in a stable condition,” according to ABC News Australia .

He sustained minor injuries and had no memory of the event, Brown said, according to the outlet.

The man, who remained in the hospital overnight, “couldn’t believe it when paramedics told him about the accident,” according to 7News.

Authorities said the encounter was incredibly rare.

“I’ve been doing this for 22 years and I’ve never heard of a whale actually hitting someone on a stationary boat,” Murray said, according to 9News.

“One, to come that close to a whale and then two, for the whale’s tail to contact you while you’re in the boat — extremely rare,” Brown said, according to News.com.au .

He urged oceangoers to be cautious as there are many whales in the area during this time of year, according to ABC News Australia.

Humpback whales , for example, migrate northward along the country’s eastern coast between June and August, according to the Australian government.

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Search resumes for missing mogul, 5 others in yacht sinking

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How to Pronounce Yacht? (A Step-by-Step Guide)

how to say yacht in australia

Do you know how to pronounce yacht correctly? Yacht is a word that is used frequently by many, but many people dont know how to properly say it.

To give you a better understanding of yacht and learn how to say it properly, this article will provide an easy step-by-step guide on how to pronounce yacht.

Well cover the correct pronunciation of yacht, the phonetic pronunciation of yacht, common mispronunciations of yacht, when yacht is used, and why it is important to know how to pronounce yacht correctly.

Additionally, well provide some tips to remember how to pronounce yacht.

By the end of this article, youll be confidently able to pronounce yacht correctly in any situation.

Table of Contents

Short Answer

Yacht is pronounced with a long “a” sound, like “yawt”.

It rhymes with “bought”.

The word is typically pronounced with a soft “ch” sound at the end, like “yacht-ch”.

It is also sometimes pronounced like “yaw-cht” with a hard “ch” sound at the end.

What Is a Yacht?

A yacht is a luxurious boat or vessel, typically used for recreational purposes such as sailing, cruising, or fishing.

Yachts are typically quite large and are usually powered by either sails or motors.

They are usually equipped with a variety of features and amenities that make them perfect for leisurely activities and entertaining large groups of people.

Yachts range in size from small, personal boats to large, more elaborate vessels that can cost millions of dollars.

Yachts are often associated with wealth and status, as they are often seen as a symbol of luxury and privilege.

What is the Correct Pronunciation of Yacht?

how to say yacht in australia

The correct pronunciation of the word “yacht” is “yot”.

It is pronounced with a soft “y” sound, followed by a short “o” sound, and ending with a hard “t” sound.

This pronunciation is the same in both American and British English.

It is important to note that the word is not pronounced with a long “a” sound like some mistakenly believe, but rather with a short “o” sound.

When saying the word, it is important to be careful not to elongate the “o” sound, as this often leads to mispronunciation.

For example, some people mistakenly pronounce the word as “yahcht” or “yawcht,” which are incorrect pronunciations.

Additionally, the “y” sound at the beginning of the word should be soft, and not pronounced as an “ee” sound like in the word “yell.

” To practice the correct pronunciation of “yacht,” it may be helpful to break the word down into its individual sounds.

Start by saying the soft “y” sound, followed by the short “o” sound, and finally the hard “t” sound.

Once you have the individual sounds down, practice stringing them together to form the word.

It may also be helpful to listen to the word being said by a native speaker, which can help you to develop your pronunciation skills.

The Phonetic Pronunciation of Yacht

The word is often used to refer to a luxury boat or vessel, typically used for recreational purposes.

In phonetics, the “y” sound of “yacht” is known as a palatal approximant, which is a sound made by bringing the front of the tongue near the roof of the mouth without creating any friction.

The “o” sound is a close-mid back rounded vowel, which is made by rounding the lips and raising the back of the tongue towards the soft palate.

Finally, the “t” sound is a voiceless alveolar stop, which is made by pushing the tongue against the roof of the mouth and releasing the air quickly.

When pronouncing the word “yacht,” the emphasis should be placed on the “t.

” The “y” and “o” sounds should be relatively short and soft, while the “t” should be strong and pronounced clearly.

Additionally, the “y” sound should be drawn out slightly longer than the other two sounds.

In addition to the phonetic pronunciation of the word “yacht,” there are also several other ways to pronounce it.

Some people pronounce the word with a “ch” sound instead of the “t,” while others pronounce it with a “j” sound.

However, the traditional and most commonly accepted pronunciation is with the “t” sound.

Common Mispronunciations of Yacht

how to say yacht in australia

When it comes to pronouncing the word yacht, many people get it wrong.

There are several common mispronunciations, including yawt, yotch, yachtch, and yak.

Each of these pronunciations is incorrect, and can make it difficult for others to understand what you are saying.

To make sure that you are correctly pronouncing the word, it is important to understand the proper way to say it.

The most common mispronunciation of yacht is yawt.

This pronunciation is incorrect because the y sound should be a soft y, followed by a short o sound, and ending with a hard t sound.

The aw sound in yawt is incorrect, and should be replaced with the correct o sound.

Another mispronunciation of yacht is yotch.

This pronunciation is incorrect because it does not accurately represent the three distinct sounds that make up the word.

The y should be a soft y sound, followed by a short o sound, and ending with a hard t sound.

The third mispronunciation of yacht is yachtch.

This pronunciation is incorrect because it fails to accurately represent the correct pronunciation of the word.

The ch sound should not be included in the word, and should instead be replaced with the correct hard t sound.

Finally, the fourth mispronunciation of yacht is yak.

This pronunciation is incorrect because it fails to accurately represent the three distinct sounds of the word.

It is important to remember that the correct pronunciation of yacht is yot.

This pronunciation is made up of a soft y sound, followed by a short o sound, and ending with a hard t sound.

This is the only way to correctly pronounce the word, and should be used any time you are referring to a luxury boat or vessel, typically used for recreational purposes.

When Is Yacht Used?

The word yacht is used to describe a variety of luxury boats and vessels, usually used for recreational purposes.

Yachts can range in size from small, privately owned vessels to large, luxury cruise ships.

Yachts are often used for leisure activities, such as entertaining guests, fishing, or even just taking a relaxing cruise.

Yacht owners may also use their vessels for business, such as chartering them out to other individuals or organizations.

Yachts are also used in competitive sailing and racing events.

Yacht racing is a popular sport, with a number of international events taking place each year.

Yacht clubs are also popular, providing owners a place to store, maintain, and sail their vessels.

Why Is It Important to Know How to Pronounce Yacht Correctly?

how to say yacht in australia

Knowing how to pronounce the word yacht correctly is important for a variety of reasons.

For starters, using the correct pronunciation shows respect for the people who own or use yachts.

Yachts are expensive luxury vessels, and mispronouncing the word can be seen as a sign of ignorance or disrespect.

Additionally, knowing how to pronounce the word correctly can help you communicate more effectively with people who are familiar with yachts and sailing.

It is also important for avoiding confusion when discussing the topic with others.

For example, if you are discussing the correct pronunciation of the word yacht with someone, it is important to be able to pronounce it correctly in order to avoid any misunderstanding.

Finally, knowing how to pronounce the word correctly can help you feel more confident and knowledgeable in conversations related to yachts and sailing.

Tips to Remember How to Pronounce Yacht

When it comes to pronouncing the word yacht, there are some helpful tips to keep in mind.

First, as mentioned, the correct pronunciation is yot.

The y sound should be soft and the o sound should be short.

The t should be pronounced with a hard sound.

To help you remember how to pronounce the word, think of the phrase yacht club .

By saying the two words together, youll be able to remember the correct pronunciation.

You can also try saying yacht in a sentence to help you remember.

For example, you could say, Im going to join a yacht club.

Another helpful tip is to practice saying the word yacht out loud.

This will help you get used to the correct pronunciation and help you remember it.

You could also try writing out the word and saying it aloud as you write it.

This will help you become more familiar with the pronunciation and make it easier to remember.

Finally, if youre still having trouble with the pronunciation, you could try listening to audio recordings of people saying the word yacht.

Listening to the word being said by native English speakers can be a great way to get used to the pronunciation and make it easier to remember.

Final Thoughts

Now that you know how to properly pronounce the word yacht, you can confidently use it in conversation.

Whether you are discussing luxury boats or other recreational vessels, you can be sure that you are saying it correctly.

Remember to pronounce it with a soft y sound, followed by a short o sound, and ending with a hard t sound.

With these tips in mind, you can be sure to pronounce yacht correctly and confidently!.

James Frami

At the age of 15, he and four other friends from his neighborhood constructed their first boat. He has been sailing for almost 30 years and has a wealth of knowledge that he wants to share with others.

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Student with metal detector finds bangle — then discovers ancient hoard in Denmark

An archaeology student brought his education out of the classroom when he grabbed his metal detector and headed to a farm in Denmark.

Gustav Bruunsgaard, 22, was walking and scanning the ground of a field when his metal detector beeped, according to a news release from the Moesgaard Museum.

He dug into the ground, and a small, silver bangle emerged from the dirt, the museum said.

Hoping to find more, Bruunsgaard went to the same location a few days later and dug out six more bangles and a coiled ring, according to the museum.

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The items were analyzed by Danish and international experts, who confirmed the pieces belonged to an ancient Viking hoard.

The museum shared a video Aug. 19 on Facebook explaining the find .

Historian Kasper Anderson explained that the Vikings used silver as a measure of value or a currency. In order for the silver to be exchanged, they were made to almost exact weights.

Of the seven bangles recovered, three of one style had the same weight as the ring, and three of the other style had the same weight as each other, Anderson said.

They were likely forged somewhere in southern Scandinavia, likely Denmark, around the 800s, the museum said.

The coiled ring, however, was a bit different from the rest of the silver pieces.

The ring design originally comes from Russia or Ukraine, the museum said, and was later imitated by the Nordics.

This is compared to the stamped bands that later inspired bangles in Ireland and the rare, smooth bangles that have been found in Scandinavia and England, the museum said.

Anderson said finding the Viking pieces in this area of Denmark, and with connections to other geographical regions, shows just how vast the Viking world was, particularly because the silver would have had to be imported.

The town now called Aarhus was named Aros by the Vikings during the ninth century, and would have been a regional hub for Vikings moving into eastern Europe, Anderson said.

The hoard was found just outside Aarhus, on the western peninsula of Denmark.

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How to properly pronounce yacht ?

Yacht pronunciation yɒt yacht, here are all the possible pronunciations of the word yacht ., pick your prefered accent:, popularity rank by frequency of use, discuss these yacht pronunciations with the community:.

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Share houses and less overseas migration: Why Australia's rental market could be on a downward slope

By Hannah Murphy

Topic: Rental Housing

An aerial shot of a city skyline in the distance, with houses and parklands in the foreground

Experts from all sides of the property sector say the latest CoreLogic figures are revealing when looking at the state of the current rental market.  ( ABC News: Gian De Poloni )

New figures from CoreLogic show national rental growth is starting to slow for the first time in three years.

Rent only increased by 0.1 per cent in the 12 months to July.

What's next?

Property analysts say the figures could be a sign of good things to come for renters, after years of surging prices.

The Australian rental market could be about to ease on the brakes as prices stagnate for the first time in four years, property analysts say.

The latest figures from CoreLogic show national rent growth only increased by an average of 0.1 per cent in the 12 months to July, compared with highs of nearly 40 per cent at its peak.

It is the first positive sign Australian renters have received since 2020, when rental prices began to surge and demand reached record highs.

Three men side by side

Michael Fotheringham (left), Peter Koulizos and Tim Lawless say the latest growth figures show things are beginning to slow down in the rental market. ( ABC News )

CoreLogic executive research director Tom Lawless said it was a strong indication Australia's rental market was beginning to cool.

"Although the pace of growth is slowing, it's doing so from an extremely high base," he said.

"Two years ago our national rental index was rising at the annual pace of 9.5 per cent, slowing to 8.6 per cent a year ago and 7.8 per cent over the past 12 months.

"On a more granular monthly basis, the 0.1 per cent rise in rents through July was the smallest increase we have recorded since August 2020 as the rental market moved through a slump through the early months of the pandemic."

Michael Fotheringham from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute agreed rental prices had a long way to fall.

"It generally shows a slowing in the growth of rental prices, and that's not to say that there's no growth, nor is it saying that the rental prices are going down," he said.

"They're just going up less quickly.

"That is a positive, obviously, for many renters and that is generally a sign that things are heading towards a stable point."

A graph depicting lumps and bumps on the way to a low rental growth rate

The annual change in rents over the last five years, according to CoreLogic. ( CoreLogic )

Nationally, rent is up 7.8 per cent on average in the year to July, down from a peak of 8.6 per cent in April.

Representatives from the Reserve Bank of Australia said they were "very mindful" of pressure on rents continuing amid the housing shortage. 

RBA governor Michele Bullock and others appeared before the economics committee at Parliament House in Canberra on Friday. 

The RBA's assistant governor of economics, Sarah Hunter, told the hearing: "The pace of growth in market rents has slowed down in some markets in the last couple of months, so very recently ... it will take time [to] flow through to the stock of rentals."

She noted renters would see their leases lifted to match or approach the "market rate" when they were renewed annually.

"It's really, really challenging, and it's unfortunately because [housing] supply takes time to come online. You can't build new homes overnight," she said.

"Sadly, it's unlikely to resolve itself in the near term." 

Peter Koulizos, from the University of Adelaide's Australian Centre for Housing Research, agreed the figures were welcome news at first glance.

"For existing and wannabe tenants, this is a very good sign," he said.

"It won't be as hard to secure rental property unless you are seeking social and affordable housing. 

"Speaking with property managers, there isn't as much pressure on rents for properties that attract tenants on medium to high incomes."

What is causing the slowdown?

Mr Koulizos said new properties on the market had freed up the crushing demand felt on the Australian property market since the pandemic.

"Rental growth is slowing for one main reason — supply," he said.

"The supply of new rental property has increased, as builders and developers start getting back to normal after the restrictions due to COVID.

"Another indication is that lending to investors has increased and is now well above the 10-year average."

Rent sign outside apartment inspection site with people lining up

The rental growth figures have been collected over a 12-month period. ( ABC News )

Mr Lawless said slowed overseas migration also cut demand for rental properties, as had some Australians' decision to embrace share houses.

"With such pronounced rental affordability pressures, it's likely more rental households are looking to maximise their tenancies to spread rental costs across a larger number of tenants," he said.

Mr Lawless said he believed the downward trend would continue.

"The recent pace of rental growth has been extreme, but unsustainable," he said.

"Renters generally don't have a great deal of elasticity in their ability to pay more rent.

"With more than 30 per cent being dedicated to rental payments, based on the median household income and median rent, it's hard to see rental growth maintaining a rate anything near what we have seen over the past few years."

Dr Fotheringham said he anticipated the slowing could be due to the Reserve Bank's policy settings on bringing down inflation, but it was also likely Australia's rental market had finally taken all it could.

Rental prices have increased far more quickly than wages over several decades now, but most acutely in the last two years," he said.

"Frankly, the market could have reached the point where it can't take any further growth, and people just can't stretch any further and the prices have maxed out."

Dr Fotheringham said while it was reassuring to see the market was slowing, it was important to remember regional areas were particularly struggling with high prices.

"A lot of the slowing of growth has happened in the major capitals, whereas in the regions the growth is still quite strong," he said.

"Those rental prices are still continuing to rise, and regions tend to have lower incomes on average than the big cities.

"This is a growing problem for our regional communities now — this is not just a big city problem."

COMMENTS

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  6. How to pronounce YACHT in English

    British English pronunciation. American English: yɒt British English: jɒt. Word forms plural yachts. Example sentences including 'yacht'. His 36 ft yacht sank suddenly last summer. New from Collins.

  7. Yachts

    Here are a few tips that should help you perfect your pronunciation of 'yachts': Sound it Out: Break down the word 'yachts' into its individual sounds "yots". Say these sounds out loud, exaggerating them at first. Practice until you can consistently produce them clearly. Self-Record & Review: Record yourself saying 'yachts' in sentences.

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  23. How to Pronounce Yacht? (A Step-by-Step Guide)

    Yacht is a word that is used frequently by many, but many people dont know how to properly say it. To give you a better understanding of yacht and learn how to say it properly, this article will provide an easy step-by-step guide on how to pronounce yacht.

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  29. Australia's red hot rental market is at last starting to cool

    An increase in supply, a decrease in overseas migration and share housing could be the reason the rental market is at last beginning to slow.

  30. How To Pronounce YACHT: YACHT pronunciation

    Listen to the pronunciation of YACHT and learn how to pronounce YACHT correctly. Start Free Trial. Catalan Pronunciation.