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Thread: Australian Sinead McNamara (20) hanged herself on the back of a super yacht owned by a Mexican billionaire

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    Senior Member blighted star's Avatar
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    Australian Sinead McNamara (20) hanged herself on the back of a super yacht owned by a Mexican billionaire

    https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/re...c75c47f988ebae


    Aussie model?s cryptic post before mysterious death on billionaire?s superyacht in Greece
    THE mystery over what happened to an Australian model found dead on a billionaire?s superyacht in Greece is deepening after a chilling message came to light.

    Marnie O?Neill@marnieoneill7 news.com.auSEPTEMBER 3, 20187:24AM

    TWO weeks before a Sydney model was found dead on a billionaire?s superyacht in Greece, she posted a cryptic message to Instagram.

    My head is all over the shop today,? Sinead McNamara wrote, along with emojis of a volcano, a tornado and a needle with blood dripping from it.

    Sharing an image of herself on a quad bike, she added: ?Take me back to this where my only worry was not cracking my skull open.?

    The chilling post has emerged along with new details about Ms McNamara?s mysterious death on board a billionaire?s superyacht ? and they raise more questions than answers.


    The 20-year-old had been working on the Mayan Queen IV for the past four months before her sudden death on Friday.

    The luxurious US$140 million, 92-metre yacht is owned by Mexican mining magnate Alberto Baill?res, who is worth an estimated AU$9.6 billion.



    According to local media, Mr Bailleres left the yacht, which was anchored off the island of Kefalonia, on Tuesday ? leaving Ms McNamara alone with the crew. Her body was reportedly found on the back of the boat two days later.


    Mystery surrounds the death of Sydney model Sinead McNamara, 20. Picture: InstagramSource:Supplied


    Luxury superyacht Mayan Queen, owned by Mexican billionaire Alberto Baill?res, has been ordered to remain docked at the port of Argostoli until authorities interview all crew. Picture: SuppliedSource:Supplied

    What happened in the 48 hours after the billionaire?s departure, in the lead up to Ms McNamara?s death, is now the subject of an inquiry by local authorities.

    ?The Coast Guard of Kefalonia has ordered an investigation into the circumstances that led to the death of the 20-year-old Australian national as well as an autopsy-necropsy,? In Kefalonia reported

    The Mayan Queen was scheduled to set sail today but has been ordered to remain docked in the port of Argostoli until detectives have interviewed all crew members and a forensic examination of the vessel.

    In a tragic development, local reports suggest desperate attempts were made to revive Ms McNamara at the scene before she died on route to hospital.


    Sinead McNamara was looking forward to her mother flying out to visit her in Greece. Picture InstagramSource:Instagram


    The superyacht is owned by mining magnate Alberto Baill?res, who is one of Mexico?s richest men. Picture: Getty ImagesSource:Supplied

    ?Local port authorities were informed at 2am Friday morning that the body of the woman was found ? at the back of the yacht,? Kefalonian Mantata said.

    The paper said officers from the port authority, crew members and a doctor ?tried for long time to bring her back? before rushing her to a hospital in Argostoli.

    Doctors made the decision to fly her to a private hospital in Athens but Ms McNamara died during the helicopter flight, local media said.

    The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it has offered support to the McNamara family.

    ?DFAT is providing consular assistance to the family of an Australian who died in Greece,? a

    spokeswoman said.


    Sinead McNamara had been working on the Mayan Queen for four months before her death in the early hours of Friday morning. Picture: InstagramSource:Supplied


    Jake McNamara with his sister Sinead on her 18th birthday. Picture: Instagram/JakeMcNamaraSource:Instagram

    Originally from Port Macquarie, Ms McNamara moved to Sydney five years ago.

    She was travelling in the seaside town of Pylos on the southwest coast of Greece.

    In her last Instagram post four days ago, Ms McNamara wrote about jetskiing in Komitata, Greece.

    Ms McNamara had been working on yachts while travelling in Europe.


    Just five days ago on Facebook, Ms McNamara posted a selection of photos with her big sister Lauren, writing ?happy birthday to the most amazing big sister I could ever ask for, 5 days till I get to see you!!! Excitement is an understatement.?


    There has been an outpouring of grief of Ms McNamara?s Instagram profile, from fans of her travel and modelling photography.

    ?Rest In Peace you gorgeous girl, life is so unfair,? wrote @lilyrobinson.

    A number of people have also posted comments asking about the circumstances of her death.


    Ms McNamara writes on her Instagram page that she is a fan of ?camping, 4WD, adventure and travel?. She has 12.7k followers on the platform.


    Australian YouTube star Alex Hayes posted the news to his social media accounts.



    Hayes, who has more than 650k followers on Instagram posted the tragic news in an Instagram story, writing ?Life is so precious gone was too soon. Such a beautiful human being. Will cherish all our memories. Rest in Peace you beautiful soul?.




    https://www.instagram.com/sineadmcnamara/

  2. #2
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    I think it should be Instagram "model"....so basically someone who just wants a bunch of attention and wants everyone to adore them and give them attention constantly. :cough cough:

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    Senior Member blighted star's Avatar
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    I might start using "influencer", I noticed a few other articles referring to her that way.


    There seem to be more & more Insta girls dying lately in the company of, or on premises belonging to obscenely wealthy men.

    If they keep this up they'll need their own sub

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    Senior Member TupeloHoney's Avatar
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    I wonder what "working on yachts" entailed? Instagramming pics of her butt all day?
    Quote Originally Posted by Not your business View Post
    I will out think the fucking pants off of you and you would thank me for helping you out of them.

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    Quote Originally Posted by TupeloHoney View Post
    I wonder what "working on yachts" entailed? Instagramming pics of her butt all day?
    I can't believe you would ASSume that, you're being so cheeky!

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    Senior Member blighted star's Avatar
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    Oh shit, they're saying it was suicide? Of all the things I thought might've happened, that never even crossed my mind???


    That's ... weird.


    It was her last day of work, yeah? She should've been cashed up & ready to enjoy a holiday. Her mum & sister were about to join her for exactly that reason.

    I guess it's possible that it's true & her death genuinely was a suicide - you never really know what's going on in anyone else's head, but under these circs, if I was her family I'd be demanding an independent autopsy. I hope the Aus consulate helps them out with that asap


    & just sayin, authorities involved in Ivana Smit's case tried claiming suicide at first too & that case has a lot of similarities ie. a young Instagram model/international traveller suddenly turning up dead while involved with extraordinarily wealthy people


    http://mydeathspace.com/vb/showthrea...le-s-Apartment




    Edit : & yeah, I'm not a big fan of Insta models but I'm totally side-eyeing this suicide story. Even if it it's true, something fucking MAJOR must've happened in the last few days because just a week ago she was excited & looking forward to her sister joining her on holiday


    https://m.facebook.com/sineadmcnamar...content_filter
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by blighted star; 09-03-2018 at 03:05 AM.

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    Senior Member blighted star's Avatar
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    Actually, according to those dates her sister should've already been there? So they should've been set to start their holiday the day after she died




    Edit : also, most Australian media FB comment threads on her death are fucking brutal. Seriously, we're tame by comparison. Even SBS is horrible & despite having the Beyond Blue contact in her article they haven't done shit about cleaning up all the vicious shit being said about her.

    Her poor fucking family if they read any of it. Jfc
    Last edited by blighted star; 09-03-2018 at 03:32 AM.

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    Senior Member blighted star's Avatar
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    I'm wondering if it was a straight up workplace accident now

    They keep using the words "tangled in ropes". That's not the usual way to describe a hanging suicide. Apparently someone on the port was first to see her. They called someone to report what they were seeing & described her as"tangled in ropes" on the back of the boat.

    I found some pix of the back & I'm wondering if part of her last day's duties might've involved taking the flag down for storage after the owners left, or something else involving the ropes back there

    Maybe she just slipped trying to do it on her own?

    Edit : hmm. Wonder where her phone was? I guess it's also not beyond the realm of possibility that she slipped while she was taking selfies of her last day at work












    Last edited by blighted star; 09-03-2018 at 04:24 AM.

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    https://www.smh.com.au/national/supe...04-p501jl.html








    Superyacht that Australian Sinead McNamara died on leaves Greek island port

    Nick Miller
    By Nick Miller
    4 September 2018 ? 1:16am

    The billionaire?s superyacht that Australian Instagram model Sinead McNamara was working on when she died last week has left the Greek island of Kefalonia headed for the western Mediterranean, suggesting there were no signs of foul play in her death.

    The yacht was released after investigators reviewed CCTV footage from the luxury 93-metre boat, Greek media reported.

    McNamara, 20, was found in a critical condition on the Mayan Queen IV on Thursday, according to media reports, and died in hospital after hours in a coma.



    The yacht, owned by Mexican mining magnate Alberto Bailleres, was reportedly ordered to remain in Kefalonia?s port while the death was investigated.

    Greek media reported that Bailleres and his family had left the boat days before the incident, and only crew members were on board.



    The yacht left Kefalonia in the early afternoon on Sunday. According to the MarineTraffic website it was off the coast of Sicily heading due west on Monday night. Its registered destination was "for orders", suggesting it is yet to settle on a next port of call.

    Greek port authorities are investigating the death.

    A spokesman for the Hellenic coast guard said there would be no official update on the case on Monday.


    The happiest of happy little mountain goats 🐐

    A post shared by Salt Bby 💦 (@sineadmcnamara) on Aug 5, 2018 at 10:38am PDT

    A source close to the investigation told Fairfax Media that an autopsy was yet to be completed, and the circumstances surrounding the death were not yet confirmed. However all indications so far were that there were no suspicious circumstances.

    Some local media reported it was a suicide, though no suicide note was found on the yacht, Fairfax Media understands.

    The fact the yacht was allowed to depart indicated that authorities had no evidence of foul play on board, and were not expecting to find any.


    The rest of the crew has been interviewed and authorities accessed footage from the six-storey yacht?s CCTV network.

    Earlier in August, McNamara wrote on Instagram: "Living & working on a boat seeing all that the world has to offer... yep I think I have it pretty good. Today?s a day for being grateful anddd (sic) it?s less then a month till I get to see my family & friends in Aus. Excitement overload!"

    In one of her last Instagram posts McNamara said it was "going to be a good year".

    However in mid-August she posted an old photo saying her "head is all over the shop today? take me back to this where my only worry was not cracking my skull open".

    The model from Port Macquarie had more than 14,000 Instagram followers and had been working on the yacht over the northern summer, posting regularly from scenic spots around the Mediterranean.

    Her last Instagram post was from the Greek island of Kefalonia and has since been inundated with tributes from her friends and followers.


    ɲɛbjɛski tiger stripes below 🐅💦 photo from this morning (niebieski is a polish word for beautiful blue, a young polish girl from my last boat taught me it when we were jet skiing around the most beautiful turquoise water in the med last year. It has been my favourite word ever since)

    A post shared by Salt Bby 💦 (@sineadmcnamara) on Aug 27, 2018 at 8:32am PDT

    Lifeline 131 114, MensLine 1300 789 978, beyondblue 1300 224 636

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    Senior Member blighted star's Avatar
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    I really won't be surprised if Australian media turn their attention to the way people have been responding to her death on soc med. I think a lot of the threads have pulled now because they were so fucking awful, but LADbible still has theirs up & the sentiments expressed about her on their page aren't much different to the shit talking that was going on in every other comment section. LADbible has memes as well as comments, other than that it's pretty much the same sentiments being expressed


    https://m.facebook.com/story.php?sto...99098633470668





    Edit : & I'm really leaning towards maritime workplace accident. She was employed as a working crew member, she died "tangled in ropes" at the rear of the boat which just happens to be the location of mooring & docking lines, winches etc





    Lots of ropes, especially when the crew are working




    She might not have been hanging at all, but if she was I guess it's lucky there's CCTV because it would be hard to tell the diff between accidental/intentional at autopsy if there was no other evidence.
    Last edited by blighted star; 09-03-2018 at 04:06 PM.

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    Administrator Olivia's Avatar
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    Coroner has ruled suicide - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ner-rules.html

    An Australian Instagram model found unconscious and tangled in ropes at the back of a superyacht died from hanging, a Greek coroner has ruled.

    Sinead McNamara's body is due to be flown home on Tuesday, some five days after a passing fisherman spotted it on the back deck of the $190million 'Mayan Queen IV', which she had been working on as a crew member.

    Ms McNamara, 20, was reportedly working her final shift on-board the superyacht as it sat docked at Argostoli, on the Greek Island of Kafalonia, when she tragically died.

    A local coroner who carried out the autopsy confirmed to Daily Mail that the cause of the Instagram star's death was hanging, but said results from additional tests could take months to come back.

  13. #13
    I don't belive it was suicide. It wasn't necessarily murder, maybe a freak accident.

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    Senior Member puke's Avatar
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    Every time I see this article pop-up on the forum homepage I read her name as Snead because the "i" blends in with the "n".
    Last edited by puke; 09-03-2018 at 06:18 PM.
    Gooble goble gooble goble one of us one of us. t(-_-)t

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    Senior Member blighted star's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by poeticchaos View Post
    I don't belive it was suicide. It wasn't necessarily murder, maybe a freak accident.
    I'm switching between suicide & workplace accident. They're supposed to have CCTV from multiple cameras so presumably they know exactly how it went down.

    I've seen a couple of posts from maritime workers saying ropes are a big killer in their industry, but I guess either is possible

    I 100% don't think it's anything like the Ivana Smit case. I found a vid of the owners & they look like a kindly elderly couple who care about their employees



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    Senior Member blighted star's Avatar
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    Just realised the coroner quotes all just say "hanging", not suicide. So I guess it's still not 100% definite


    I'm kind of leaning more toward suicide now though. According to this she was found at 1.45am. It doesn't seem like she would've been doing work that would bring her into contact with ropes at that time of night - not when they were docked anyway (butI've never worked on a yacht so I don't really know shit about what gets done & when)

    I dunno, it's all still a bit iffy - so far she's been described as "tangled" & the first person to see her said her body "lay" on the deck. No actual witnesses have used the words "hanging" (so far). Plus, whatever really did happen, she was still alive even after the time it took for her to be noticed by another boat's captain, the time it took him to then realise what he was seeing, alert crew on the Mayan Queen & then for her crew mates to reach her - that's a long time for someone who's hanging. It's hard to imagine someone lasting that long if this was a deliberate act - & that's only counting the time from when the other boat saw her, who knows how long she was there before she was seen.

    Also, apparently her family have been told by the coroner not to view her body. That might've been done for compassionate reasons, but jfc, surely the coroner realises he's inviting conspiracy theories by suggesting they not view her??

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ner-rules.html

    A passing captain spotted the 20-year-old's body as it lay on the back deck of the Mayan Queen IV (pictured), a AUD$190million superyacht docked at the Greek port Argostoli

    The coroner revealed he had advised Ms McNamara's mother and sister against visiting her in the morgue, saying they should not go 'to see her in such bad state'.

    A doctor on-board the Mayan Queen IV tried to resuscitate Ms McNamara for several minutes after being alerted to her lifeless body by a passing boat.

    The captain of the boat, who asked not to be named, told news.com.au that he saw Ms McNamara's body about 1.45am on Friday.

    He shouted out to her but after receiving no response, he began screaming for help.

    The captain said a police patrol passed the Mayan Queen IV but did not see the young woman's body.

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    Senior Member blighted star's Avatar
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    Sorry about the multi-posting but I just stumbled on this. Seems the posts I saw referring to worksite dangers on super yachts weren't bullshit, nothing specifically involving ropes so far, but a lot of deaths & injuries & inquests that specifically named sleep deprivation & harsh working conditions as risk factors in the industry


    https://www.theguardian.com/lifeands...ise-the-anchor


    Life and death on a superyacht: 'If something goes wrong, they can just raise the anchor and leave'

    Crewing can seem a glamour-filled job. But at least three young Brits have lost their lives, as Rupert Neate reports


    Sat 26 May 2018 17.00 AEST Last modified on Wed 30 May 2018 22.54 AEST


    If Dirk Zimmerman?s boss fancies a fresh tomato salad, the 35-year-old German hangs up his chef?s apron, dons a headset and takes to the skies. Zimmerman, who has been working on superyachts for more than a decade, has lost count of the number of times he?s been sent out on a ship?s helicopter or seaplane to source food, from courgettes in Oman to truffles in Argentina or vine tomatoes from a nearby Pacific atoll.

    ?It might shock you to know how much money some people spend privately,? he says as he prepares sushi in the professional-grade kitchen on the 60-metre St David, moored in Monaco. ?But to be able to take a helicopter and fly two hours somewhere to get the boss?s preferences makes his day.?


    As the rich become even richer ? 145 more dollar billionaires were minted last year ? orders for new superyachts (longer than 24 metres) have hit a record high. More than 500 are being built in shipyards around the world, and with many requiring at least 100 staff, superyachts now employ more than 37,000 people. Britain?s seafaring history has made it the biggest source of employees; crewing on a superyacht is so popular among young adventurers that Southampton Solent University now offers degree-level training at its Warsash Superyacht Academy. Every spring, dozens of young Brits decamp to Antibes on the C?te d?Azur, the unofficial centre for superyacht crew recruitment, where you can wander along the docks looking for opportunities.


    While it is a dream job for some, other deckhands and chefs have horror stories of working punishing hours. Accidents, injuries and deaths are also commonplace, with union leaders believing working on superyachts to be more dangerous than life on oil rigs; over the past few years at least three young Brits have died while serving their billionaire bosses. Because many superyachts continually float around the world (this is marketed to some as a way to avoid being registered in any country and hence to avoid paying tax), their crews may not be afforded the same legal protections as those on land. Families complain about a lack of assistance and sympathy from owners and those in charge of the vessel. None of the owners attended the three British men?s funerals.

    Michael Hanlon, 22, left Cumbria for his dream job as a deckhand and watersports instructor on 62-metre superyacht Faith, owned by the Canadian fashion billionaire Lawrence Stroll, in March 2013. Less than a month later, and before he?d had a chance to spend any of his first $3,500 (?2,600) monthly pay cheque, he was dead.

    Michael, known as Milo to his friends and family, had returned exhausted from a night out to the vessel docked in Antibes on the French Riviera. He had done two shifts back to back, working night and day, then gone to local bars to celebrate sailing across the Atlantic. Faith had been locked up for the night, and Michael climbed to its top in an attempt to get inside via an unofficial emergency entrance. An inquest found he fell from the top deck, hit his head on the quay and drowned. His body was recovered the next day.


    Jacob Nichol, who died last year, aged 24; he fell while cleaning a superyacht. Photograph: SWNS.com


    Jacob Nichol, from Cornwall, died last summer, aged 24, two years after he suffered severe brain injuries after falling from superyacht Kibo, while cleaning it as it was docked in a Majorcan port. Jacob, the yacht?s third assistant engineer, had been hanging in a harness when he fell and fractured his skull. His sister, Jenade Moon, said he had never been asked to clean the boat before: his job focused on engine maintenance. The owner of the ?90m yacht, Russian billionaire Alexander Mamut ? until last month owner of Waterstones, and friend of Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich ? was not on board at the time.

    After 10 days in a coma in a hospital in Palma, Jacob was repatriated to Shropshire, where he needed constant care. In September an inquest recorded a verdict of accidental death. ?Our beautiful Jacob has sadly passed away,? his family said. ?A young, bright, intelligent, kind soul has left us after an excruciating two years.?

    In 2010, Robin Black received a call from the captain of the ?15m sailing superyacht Burrasca, on which Black?s son Will was bosun, or officer in charge of crew and equipment. At the time, it was moored at the Monaco yacht show in Port Hercules, the annual beauty parade held in the industry?s global hub. The captain told Black that Will, 28, hadn?t been seen since the night before, when the rib he was piloting (a small boat used to ferry passengers to and from the yacht) collided with another boat. He thought Will may have been knocked overboard.

    The captain said: ?Don?t worry, we threw some flowers over the side and gave his belongings to the police'

    By the time Robin, Will?s mother Judith and his sister Rosanna, now 37, arrived in Monaco to join the search, the yacht had left. ?The captain said: ?Don?t worry, we threw some flowers over the side and gave his belongings to the police,?? Rosanna says, fighting back tears as she describes ?the worst days of our lives?. ?I couldn?t comprehend that the boat had gone before Will was found and before we got there,? she says. ?How could they just leave a family to deal with the death of one of their crew, and the police and paperwork and everything? I can?t believe that if something goes wrong ? if someone dies ? they can just raise the anchor and leave.?

    The family don?t know who owns Burrasca, though he is thought to have been a Russian billionaire (owners do not have to declare themselves). He was not on board at the time of the accident. The yacht did not request divers to look for Will?s body, leaving the captain of another superyacht, who was a friend, to pay for search and recovery divers. But they were unable to find Will, who had not been wearing a life vest.

    Will Black with his family

    Will Black, who died aged 28, with his family; his body has not been found. Photograph: courtesy Rosanna Black


    Will?s life was not insured. ?But it?s not about money,? Rosanna says, ?it?s about respect for another life.? She says that the owner didn?t and doesn?t seem to have cared. A spokesman for the yacht?s management did not respond to the Guardian?s requests for comment.

    If something goes wrong on a superyacht, it can be incredibly difficult for crew and their families to understand which laws and rights apply. Vessels are often operating in international waters, their day-to-day operations run by management companies on behalf of often unidentifiable owners; their yachts are registered via offshore companies in places such as Panama or the British Virgin Islands.

    To add to the confusion, superyachts can be registered with another country and fly their flag, even if the yacht is not based there. At the time of Will?s death, Burrasca was registered in St Vincent and the Grenadines. There was no British inquest, and local authorities recorded this report of the accident: ?Mr William Black was on tender duty between the mothership at anchor and the shore. The anchorage was very crowded. Returning to the mothership, the tender hit an unattended vessel that was anchored in the bay. The tender was found drifting with no one on board? Mr Black?s body was not found.?

    Will, who had always wanted a life of adventure, had worked his way up from a deckhand on smaller boats to an officer on Burrasca. He?d recently begun his role as bosun on the 55.7-metre yacht and Rosanna says he was passionate about his job. ?Will had found his calling. He worked hard, but he played hard, too, and always came back with the most amazing stories,? she says as she shows me photos of Will on a night out with 50 Cent and Jamiroquai. ?We still get letters from some of the families he worked for. They send cards for Uncle Whale, as he was called,? she says. ?He had a huge personality and everyone loved him.?

    Despite the circumstances of his death, Rosanna says she would not discourage others from joining the superyachting world. ?I would just tell them to make sure they?re always on top of safety, and to find out who the owner is before they join.?

    <<snipped>>

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    Senior Member blighted star's Avatar
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    <<cont'd>>

    It?s shorts, T-shirts and deck shoes weather at the Monaco yacht show, as I weave my way through champagne receptions, passing Ferraris and Aston Martins for sale on the quayside. This year?s display of yachts is collectively worth more than ?2bn; the combined annual spending on the world?s 6,281 superyachts could wipe out all developing countries? debts.

    There are so many superyachts docked for the show that Top Shop boss Sir Philip Green?s ?100m Lionheart has been forced out of its mooring into the Bay of Monaco. The 110-metre Jubilee, which was built for the late emir of Qatar, is on sale for $300m.

    On board the six-cabin St David, which is on sale for just under ?20m, Zimmerman is preparing canapes for a party. He says the industry keeps many people in well-paid employment, adding that he can?t envisage going back to work on land, as ?the pay cannot compare. I have three children, and working here pays for their education.? But, he adds, newbies have to decide early on whether they can sit by and watch their billionaire bosses spend vast amounts enjoying themselves, while appearing not to care about those around them. ?It?s a compromise that everyone has to make ? can you accept it??

    Liz Brasler, 29, is chief mate, or second-in-command, of one of the yachts in the harbour. She won?t say which but ?it?s one of the bigger ones?. She has worked her way up the ranks from deckhand since 2006. ?It can be great fun but it?s also exhausting, delivering the highest standards invisibly, magically, with no apparent fuss,? she says. ?Owners expect the best in the world. They want to go wherever, whenever, and demand the highest standards without delay. Money is not a problem for them.?

    For most of her career, Brasler, who is South African, bunked with colleagues in small cabins; now she has a cabin of her own. But while she has more privacy, she says she can?t remember the last time she had seven hours? sleep while on charter or at sea.

    Has she ever woken up to find an A-list actor on board? ?Oh yes, quite often. You can?t get all excited every time you see Tom Cruise. It is a glamorous life. I?ve met some of the most famous people you can imagine. [But] they pay to be invisible ? the richest of the rich are sometimes the most discreet.?

    The billionaires? superyacht designer of choice, Andrew Winch, knows all about the needs of the super-rich. We speak on Cloud 9, the 74-metre, ?59m yacht he designed for the Australian retail tycoon Brett Blundy; this is the first time he has stepped aboard since he handed it over. Winch, who has designed yachts in a London studio since 1986, created Madame Gu, the 2014 motor yacht of the year, and Phoenix 2, owned by the late Polish billionaire Jan Kulczyk. His yacht designs have proved so popular that he now designs clients? homes and planes, including Roman Abramovich?s Boeing 767.

    ?Most clients will have three, four or five houses around the world,? he says. ?We have clients we?ve already worked with on their jet and their yacht, and soon there will be a ?rollover? and we?ll start on another sequence.?

    A wall folds down to create a balcony 'because it?s very nice, when the sun?s setting in Greece, to have a massage'

    Of all Winch?s projects, which first take shape at his offices on the banks of the Thames, Cloud 9 was a clear favourite. ?He [Blundy] is great fun. This is the second boat we?ve done with him, so we know him very well, and he?s family.?

    Everything on board is designed for the owner, from the bedroom suites named after Star Wars characters (his favourite film), to the extra head space above the gym?s treadmill (he?s tall) and the proliferation of chess sets: ?He likes to play chess, for several days, with various guests at the same time,? Winch says. In the hair salon, a wall folds down to create a balcony ?because it?s very nice, when the sun?s setting in Greece, to have a massage outside?.

    A short ride downstairs in the ship?s glass-topped elevator is the ?beach club? at the bow. From here Blundy and his guests can hit the water with the boat?s ?toys?, including a speedboat for waterskiing, jetskis and what Winch calls a ?James Bond-style personal submarine?. A ?water sports and boys? toys? instructor will be on hand to help guests get the hang of it and take care of ?all the boring things?, like cleaning and clearing away. For guests who dislike the swell or salt of the ocean, there?s a swimming pool above an espresso bar.

    The gym includes a pair of rowing machines and exercise bikes which can be carried up to the bow so the owner and his personal trainer can race each other in the sea breeze. ?The captain can be motoring the boat from place to place, and it could feel as if he is pedalling it there,? Winch says. The gym can also be turned into a classroom for Blundy?s two children. Chairs and desks appear from discreet compartments; the walls contain an interactive blackboard and video screen. ?They [the children] can join any class anywhere in the world,? Winch says. ?They can learn about the history of the ship?s next destination before they get there.?

    The ship?s teacher, one of 22 staff, is on hand to guide their learning. There?s also a nanny, personal trainer, masseuse and hairdresser. ?You take your life with you,? Winch explains.
    <<snipped>>

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    <<cont'd>>


    ?Life on board is perfect for owners ? they receive a seven-star service. But for officers and crew it can be a lot more difficult,? says Danny McGowan, the strategic organiser of seafarers? union, Nautilus International. He has come from their offices in London to the Monaco show to draw attention to the deaths of young workers, highlighting the dangers of working in an industry that to outsiders appears the height of glamour.

    ?They will often be working very long hours, right around the clock, looking after guests,? says the fair-skinned, red-haired McGowan, sheltering from the sun in Monaco?s famous La Rascasse bar, which a crew recruitment company has hired out for the week. ?These are tragic situations where young people have lost their lives, and there are hundreds of other injuries and complaints that aren?t reported.? He says staff have had their passports confiscated and wages withheld; they talk of being sent home for the slightest uniform infraction.

    Superyacht owners can view crew as ?dispensable and replaceable? and don?t consider the impact on their families. ?Often an owner feels they can just get a new third engineer, rather than thinking of the consequences for the individual,? he says. ?We?re not here to be up against these billionaires. We want to work with them to make employment in this industry better.?

    Most recently, McGowan has been representing the 42-strong crew of a ?67m superyacht owned by the Indian multimillionaire Vijay Mallya. The crew, among them several Britons, haven?t been paid for months, and are owed more than $1m. McGowan helped them take their case to court, to have the yacht impounded in Malta. Mallya, a co-owner of the Force India Formula One team, was arrested in London last year over allegations that he supported the team with laundered cash, and Indian authorities are currently seeking his extradition to face trial. He is living in a Hertfordshire mansion while on bail; the yacht, which features a 15-seat cinema and Sir Elton John?s baby grand piano, remains impounded, with some of the crew still on board.

    Sitting on the harbour wall overlooking Cloud 9 and a fleet of other superyachts, Fiona Hanlon fights back tears as she remembers the ?heartbreakingly impersonal? way she was informed of the death of her 22-year-old son, Michael.

    Hanlon has flown to Monaco from the family home in the Lake District to scatter Michael?s ashes. At the same time, knowing he had worked two shifts back to back, she is taking the opportunity to highlight the plight of some other superyacht crew, who she says are often forced to work long hours ? conditions that might be illegal in the UK. ?It was Michael?s dream job,? she says. He grew up sailing on Windermere. ?He had just got his first salary and he?d sent me photographs of the sunglasses and travelling guitar he was going to buy. He was so excited, it was wonderful.?

    It was seen as an inconvenience, as the boat was going on to pick up Catherine Zeta-Jones

    Michael had been texting his mother daily updates about his adventures sailing across the Atlantic. But on 7 April 2013, Fiona?s phone didn?t ping. She texted him: ?Worried about you now ? no contact gets me thinking something is wrong ? say hello soon please x? followed by, ?My baby where are you x x please get in touch angel ? we just want to know you are OK.?

    The next day his mother was told Michael was missing. ?It was seen as an inconvenience, as the boat was going on to pick up Catherine Zeta-Jones,? she says. The following day Michael?s body was found under the yacht by police divers.

    The coroner for Cumbria, Philip Sharp, ruled that he died from drowning and recorded a verdict of accidental death. He wrote to the yacht?s registered owner ? a PO box in the British Virgin Islands ? to raise concerns that ?crew members and in this case the deceased were likely to have been asked to work additional shifts when the boat came in to port, potentially causing tiredness?. Sharp?s letter required the yacht?s owner to provide all crew with a key to the boat, and to ensure the captain check the crew are not required to work excessive hours.

    An unnamed director of the superyacht?s owner, Pluteus Limited (a company based in Monaco, incorporated in the British Virgin Islands and registered in the Cayman Islands), wrote to the coroner to say: ?We are keen to cooperate and address the concerns you have identified as a result of the inquest. However, please note that in doing so, no acknowledgment or admission of failings or liability is intended or to be inferred.?

    Michael Hanlon, who was 22 when he died

    Michael Hanlon, who was 22 when he died; he grew up sailing on Windermere. Photograph: courtesy Fiona Hanlon


    The director said that access to the yacht had been improved by the provision of keyless codes to all staff. It was also promised that working hours would be monitored, ?to ensure crew members are not working additional hours without the requisite rest periods, in particular between shifts, unless the safety of the boat, crew and passengers is in danger?.

    ?It?s destroyed our family,? Fiona Hanlon says. ?Michael wanted to travel the world. Instead he?s in my bag [she carries his urn with her] and I?ve taken him to see the Great Pyramid of Giza, Pearl Harbour and the Great Wall of China.?

    Meanwhile, chief mate Liz Brasler is wondering what job she might do next. She says that while working on superyachts has been fun, it can be difficult, demoralising and sometimes dangerous. Friends have been injured and she knows of others who have died. ?We?re insured, but it doesn?t cover everything. I know the price of my life,? she says. ?And it?s less than my parents think.?

  20. #20
    Senior Member TupeloHoney's Avatar
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    Daily Mail says she was "dealing with a bad breakup," and also this:

    Ms McNamara is understood to have jumped overboard during the early hours of Friday, just minutes after an anguished conversation with a security guard.
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...p-suicide.html
    Quote Originally Posted by Not your business View Post
    I will out think the fucking pants off of you and you would thank me for helping you out of them.

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    Yeah, definitely sounds 100% like suicide now - & that means the guy who called out to her must've seen the whole thing. What a fucked up thing to do to someone. Jfc.

    Maybe she'd been expecting to introduce her boyfriend to her mum & sister & only discovered that night that the relationship was as temporary as her employment

    I wonder if there'll be an inquiry in Australia, because presumably she was trained & placed by a superyacht employment contractor down here.

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    Senior Member blighted star's Avatar
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    Actually, this is still kind of weird. From Tupe's link :

    "She was found at the back of the yacht attached to one of the mooring ropes."

    The mooring ropes are thick, & they would've been in use - there shouldn't have been enough slack for her to tie it around her neck??

    It also says she jumped from the boat. Maybe she jumped deliberately expecting to go into the water but was instead caught between the vessel & the fixed rope?




    Also WTF is The Sun doing today?? Check out the captions on these pix??

    There's absolutely nothing in their own articles or anyone else's to support these statements. How the fuck can you screw up your reporting this badly & not fix it??



    https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/worldn...-found-hanged/
    Attached Images Attached Images

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    Senior Member blighted star's Avatar
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    & now the coroner denies the family were ever advised not to view her body, in fact he denies speaking to the family at all. I doubt her mum & sister would've misunderstood something like that so presumably it was a subordinate staff member they spoke with.


    Also, someone on a neighbouring boat is claiming the Mayan Queen was scrubbed down the morning she died. It's a super yacht so that's probably normal practice - they don't stay gleaming white on their own, but it wasn't a great idea to do it immediately, especially when it was being held in port for the police investigation.


    Also, also, I'm guessing Rupert Murdoch will be crossed off Alberto Bailleres' billionaire Xmas card list this year since his shite tabloids are behind most of the insinuations that there's some kind of sinister coverup afoot.

    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...8e4b5fe3e2a595

    Greek coroner didn?t turn away family of Australian model Sinead McNamara

    By DOMANII CAMERON and SAM BUCKINGHAM-JONES
    2 HOURS AGO SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

    The coroner probing the death of an Australian model has rejected claims that he told the family to stay away from the morgue, confirming she died by hanging, as investigators await the results of a toxicology test.

    Sinead McNamara, 20, was found unconscious on the back of a six-storey, $190 million boat owned by 87-year-old mining *tycoon Alberto Bailleres. It was moored in Argostoli, a port off the Greek island of Kefalonia, when she was discovered. There was no suicide note.

    ?I have not spoken to the family,? said Elias Bogiokas, who conducted an autopsy on Ms McNamara.




    ?I?ve seen reports on the internet saying that I refused members of the family to go to the morgue, that is not true.

    ?In many cases I ask the members of the family to come and see their relative.?

    Mr Bogiokas was reported as sayingMs McNamara had been strangled to death by thick rope. ?She was unconscious, but not dead,? he said.

    She died on her way to Athens despite receiving CPR from the boat?s doctor and treatment at a local clinic.

    Port Authority police took statements from the crew and witnesses at the weekend, ordering the vessel not to leave.

    It has now departed, with one harbour official saying no crime had been committed.

    Samples of Ms McNamara?s DNA have been taken and toxicology tests are under way, but they are expected to take months, the coroner said.

    Dimitri Mantalvanos, who was staying opposite where the boat was anchored, told News Corp he saw ?a lot of commotion? on the morning of her death. ?Then some of them (crew) started scrubbing the floor and cleaning the outside (of the yacht),? he said.

    Ms McNamara, from Port Macquarie, NSW, had more than 14,000 followers and regularly posted photos from around Greece. She was working on the vessel and was reportedly on her final day of a four-month tour around Europe. Australian consular officials have been assisting her family, and are expected to help arrange for her body to be returned home.

    Mr Bailleres, the president of Mexican mining conglomerate Grupo Bal, is worth more than $13 billion. His family own one of the world?s largest silver mines.

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    Senior Member blighted star's Avatar
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    I guess a lot hinges on exactly what kind of "incident" they're referring to. Whatever it was it must've happened after they left the bar because it's been reported she was happy & dancing up until that point


    https://au.news.yahoo.com/news/aussi...220729929.html

    Aussie model called family 'in tears' moments before death on billionaire's superyacht

    Yahoo7 News7 September 2018, 8:07 am AEST

    An Australian model who was found unconscious on a Mexican billionaire?s superyacht near the Greek Island last week called her family in tears just moments earlier.

    Sinead McNamara, 20, was found in critical condition at the rear of the Mayan Queen IV early last Friday local time while the vessel was moored in the port of Argostoli in Kefalonia.


    She died as she was being airlifted to hospital

    While initial evidence gathered by the coast guard suggested the Instagram influencer took her own life, the final cause of death will not be announced until lab tests are completed, which could take a month or more.



    Sinead McNamara was found hanging from rope at the rear of the superyacht off the Greek Islands last Friday. Source: Instagram / Sinead McNamara

    Her heartbroken family, who are now demanding answers, have released a statement through their lawyer, Haralambos Triandafylopoulos, who revealed that Ms McNamara reached out to her family before the fatal incident.

    ?(Sinead) had communicated by telephone with her mother and brother shortly before the unfortunate incident under investigation,? the statement read.

    ?She was crying and referred to an incident that took place on the yacht with another crew member.

    ?The parents also state that Sinead was not having any problems, she often communicated with her family and she was happy.

    ?For these reasons, the family finds it crucial to thoroughly investigate both the conditions of death and the events and incidents that preceded this event in order to reveal the full truth and learn what actually happened and led their 20-year-old daughter to death.?



    The Port Macquarie resident had been working for four months as a stewardess on the six-storey vessel owned by billionaire mining mogul Alberto Bailleres.

    Valued at about $195 million, the superyacht was initially prevented from leaving until an investigation and autopsy were completed. However, local media have reported that the ship was granted permission to leave port on Sunday night.

    Mr Bailleres had left the yacht, leaving Ms McNamara on board with the rest of the crew, local media reports.

    She was on her last shift and was planning to meet up with her mother and sister the following day, who had been on their way to Greece at the time.




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    Senior Member blighted star's Avatar
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    The other article left out a few details

    https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/...07-p5029n.html




    Sinead McNamara was 'crying' in last phone call to mother: lawyer



    From a luxury megayacht anchored at the Greek island of Kefalonia, Sinead McNamara made a distressing call home shortly before her death, her family's lawyer says.

    Speaking to her mother and brother, the 20-year-old Instagram influencer was crying as she told her family about an incident that happened involving another member of the crew, the lawyer revealed.




    "The deceased had communicated by telephone with her mother and brother shortly before the unfortunate incident under investigation," lawyer Charalampos Triantafyllopoulos said in a statement.

    "She was crying and referred to an incident that took place on the yacht with another crew member."

    In the statement published by Keep Talking Greece, Triantafyllopoulos said it was an unusual phone call as McNamara was normally a positive person.



    "The parents also state that Sinead was not having any problems, she often communicated with her family and she was happy. In two days she would return to her family and her friends in Australia," he said.

    McNamara was found in a critical condition on the Mayan Queen IV and taken to a local hospital. She died hours later during a transfer to a larger facility.

    Triantafyllopoulos said McNamara's family were expecting a full investigation into her death.

    "The family finds it crucial to thoroughly investigate both the conditions of death and the events and incidents that preceded this event in order to reveal the full truth and learn what actually happened and led their 20-year-old daughter to death," the lawyer said.


    "In addition, the family is looking for the reasons for the long delay between the time of the unfortunate incident to Sinead?s transfer to an Athens hospital and while she was already for several hours unconscious, in a comatose condition and every minute was critical to her life."

    Despite their concerns about McNamara's last hours, Triantafyllopoulos said the family trusted the Greek authorities to do a thorough job of the investigation.

    "They hope that the above critical issues will be thoroughly explored and that they will receive ... appropriate answers for the sudden and unexpected death of their daughter, ? he said.

    The superyacht, owned by billionaire Mexican mining magnate Alberto Bailleres, was released by Greek authorities on Sunday, which suggested there were no signs of foul play in McNamara's death.

    Investigators reviewed CCTV footage from the 93-metre yacht before it was allowed to leave, local media reported, and the rest of the crew were interviewed. The Bailleres family had reportedly left the yacht days before the incident.




    While inquiries into her death have not officially been finalised, a source close to the investigation told Fairfax Media all indications showed there were no suspicious circumstances.

    McNamara, from Port Maquarie, had been working on the yacht during the northern summer and regularly shared scenic photos with her 14,000 Instagram followers.


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