Mike Lynch's Bayesian superyacht sinking: Friends say tycoon and daughter are part of a 'close-knit, loving family'

His daughter Hannah had just finished her A-levels and was due to study at Oxford University.

Sasha Murray, Bayesian's Chief Stewardess, said: “Those who knew her know that Hannah was a diamond in a sea of ​​stars. Bright, beautiful and always shining.

“What most people may not have seen is the extraordinarily strong, deep and loving relationship she had with her parents, whom she adored more than anything.

“When she was swimming with them, she often said that if anything happened, she would save them.

“I have no doubt that the Irish and Latino fire burning in his soul kept that fiery determination alive.”

Murray is understood to have been rescued after disaster struck the yacht earlier this week.

Susannah Gurdun, a close friend of the Lynch family from Suffolk, shared a series of heartfelt stories about Lynch and who he was beyond being one of Britain's greatest tech moguls.

She said she first met him at a dinner party and was “intimidated” by the idea of ​​sitting next to a “major alpha male from a big tech company.”

“But after a minute, all my fears evaporated,” she said. “Because of course I discovered that Mike was much more than the corporate cliché.”

“He was fascinating. He was funny, kind and endlessly interesting; able to talk about anything and everything.”

Gurdun spoke of his “exciting ability” to explain difficult and complicated concepts in a way that people could easily understand.

“He was especially wonderful with children,” she said.

“I will never forget hearing him explain to a group of them – including our 10-year-old son – the physical phenomena behind why the sky turned pink at sunset.

“We were on the boat after a beautiful day. He was using a half-peeled orange as a visual aid. They were sitting there like little sparrows, fixated on his every word.”

The close friend said she realised Lynch was a “genius” while on holiday together in Spain.

His wife, Angela Bacares, and his daughters told Gurdun about his ability to “invent beautiful stories out of nothing.”

The next evening, as the plates were cleared, Lynch told a story about a hero, the same age as Gurdun's son, who went on adventures in search of treasure.

She called it “magical.”

She added that she was not surprised to learn that Hannah had begun to show “serious literary promise.”

“It is more than tragic that we will never know where his particular genius might have led us… but I still feel blessed to have shared that time with them in Spain,” she said.

“Not only because I witnessed Mike’s incredible storytelling, but also because I had the chance to understand what that moment said about the four of them as a close-knit, vibrant, loving family.

“For those of us who knew him that way, this family achievement – ​​in partnership with Angela – was just as special and beautiful as those he achieved in the world of technology and science.

“Perhaps even more so, since he did everything simultaneously.

“He was an extraordinary human being and it was – truly – a privilege to have known him.”