Charlotte Golunski. Photo: Charlotte Golunski/Instagram/A mom aboard the luxury superyacht that sank after ocean storm
On Monday, August 19, 2024, a luxury superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily during a violent storm, leaving its passengers in a desperate struggle for survival. Among the survivors was Charlotte Golunski, who recounted her harrowing experience of saving her 1-year-old daughter, Sophie, from drowning.
Charlotte, along with her partner, had been on the deck of the yacht, the Bayesian, when the storm struck unexpectedly in the early hours. As the yacht began to capsize, chaos ensued. Waves pounded the vessel, and passengers were thrown into the churning sea. In the midst of this, Charlotte lost her grip on Sophie when a massive wave separated them. For a terrifying moment, her daughter was swept away into the dark waters.
“I lost her for about two seconds, but it felt like an eternity,” Charlotte said in an interview with an Italian newspaper. The wave that had taken Sophie from her returned her in what Charlotte described as a miracle. With all the strength she could muster, Charlotte held her daughter above the water, arms stretched upwards, determined to keep her safe from drowning. The storm raged on around them, but Charlotte’s focus was solely on her daughter’s survival.
“It was all dark,” she recalled. “In the water, I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I screamed for help, but all I could hear were the screams of others.”
The Bayesian, a 56-meter yacht flying the U.K. flag, had been moored near Porticello when the storm hit. The Italian coast guard reported that the yacht sank around 5 a.m. local time, just minutes after the storm began. Despite the swift response of rescue teams, the yacht’s passengers faced a terrifying ordeal.
Charlotte and Sophie were eventually rescued by a lifeboat, their ordeal ending with their safe recovery. They were taken to a hospital in Palermo, where a doctor confirmed that both were in stable condition, though Charlotte had sustained minor abrasions. Sophie, thankfully, was unharmed and doing well.
The rescue operation, however, was not without tragedy. Charlotte’s partner, James Emsley, also survived, but others on the yacht were not as fortunate. Seven people, including two Americans and the British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and his daughter Hannah, remain missing. The yacht’s chef was among those confirmed dead, his body recovered by search teams.
Witnesses from Porticello described the scene before the disaster. The yacht, they said, was brightly lit, with a party atmosphere just hours before the storm. “At about 4:30 in the morning, it was gone,” one witness said, speaking to a local newspaper. “A beautiful boat where there had been a party. A normal day of vacation turned into a tragedy.”
Rescue teams continue their search for the missing passengers, combing the waters off Sicily’s coast. The Italian authorities have also launched an investigation into the sinking, trying to determine how the storm caused such catastrophic damage to the yacht.
The incident has sent shockwaves through the community of Porticello and beyond. The sinking of the Bayesian, a yacht associated with wealth and luxury, serves as a stark reminder of the unpredictability of nature and the fragility of life.
As search and rescue operations continue, the families of the missing wait anxiously for news. The coast guard remains hopeful, but with each passing hour, the likelihood of finding more survivors diminishes. The focus now shifts to recovering those who were lost and providing support to the survivors who endured such a terrifying ordeal.
For Charlotte Golunski, the memory of that night will likely haunt her for years to come. Yet, amid the chaos and terror, her story is also one of remarkable strength and determination. Against all odds, she saved her daughter from the clutches of the storm, holding her above the water with every ounce of strength she had left.
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