A chef who was on the superyacht that sank near Sicily’s coast is being remembered by his loved ones as a ‘one-of-a-kind special human being.’
On August 19, the 183-foot yacht known as the Bayesian sank off the Sicilian coast after a violent storm caused a tornado to tear through the vessel. There were 22 individuals on board, including 12 passengers and 10 crew members.
Rescuers initially managed to save 15 passengers and promptly initiated efforts to locate the six remaining missing individuals.
As the week continued, the Italian coast guard successfully located five out of the six missing people.
One of those initially recovered on the day of the incident was Chef Recaldo Thomas. His family has since confirmed his passing.
In an interview with The Independent, one of Thomas’ friends, who communicated with him ‘nearly every day,’ described him as a ‘one-of-a-kind special human being.’
“He loved his life, his friends, and his job,” she continued.
Thomas, a Canadian-Antiguan chef, was working toward renovating his late parents’ house. A close friend disclosed that he was nearly at his goal.
Talking to the BBC, Gareth Williams — a friend of Thomas for 30 years — mentioned that the chef spent the yachting off-season in Antigua and continued working in the field despite being fatigued to achieve his goal.
“He told me just the other day that he needed to work two more seasons to fix up his late parents’ house,” Williams commented. “He loved yachting, but he was tired.”
Williams further described Thomas as someone with ‘the deepest, most sultry voice in the world, and a smile that lit up the room.’
Another friend, Eli Fuller, mentioned that he first met Thomas 25 years ago and that Thomas served as a role model for the youth on the Caribbean island.
“Personality was very important in his job. The world’s richest people want to hang out with someone social. He was sought after,” Fuller stated. “The kids would see all these white people working on yachts. For them to see an Antiguan man traveling all over the world — it was important for our community.”
Italian authorities have not yet officially confirmed the identities of the five newly recovered bodies from the shipwreck. However, it was previously reported that the six missing individuals included Mike Lynch, a British tech tycoon, his daughter Hannah, Chairman of Morgan Stanley International Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy, and lawyer Christopher Morvillo and his wife Neda.