Family to hold memorial service for slain superyacht stewardess Paige Bell
'Paige Bell was part of the yachting family and the yachting community and she's gone. She was murdered. I hope that guy rots in jail. As time goes by things go to the wayside. I think we need to jump on this now.'
Meire offered his platform, Yacht Industry News, and sponsors to kick-start the online conversation.
'We can discuss what crew and crew agencies can do to change this. We can get crew agents on. We can get brokers on. We can get captains on. We could all come together as a community and make plans.
'We can make real changes. This is unbelievable. I've been doing this 35 years and I've seen a lot. I've lost a lot of people. Never like this. I've lost a lot of friends, but never like this. We need to do something.'
Bell's parents, who flew to the Bahamas 'to begin the painful process of not only bringing their baby girl home but also seeking justice for the monster who took her life', and the owners of Far From It issued a joint statement a week ago.
They thanked the global yachting community for honouring Bell on what would have been the biggest 21st birthday celebrations with red velvet cake and her family on July 14.
'On behalf of the Bell family and the FFI team, we are at a loss for words to express our gratitude for the incredible outpouring of love and support shown on July 14. The compassion from the global yachting community has been overwhelming. Paige was a beautiful, bold and fiery spirit — a true firecracker who made sure everyone knew her 21st birthday was coming. For weeks she radiated excitement, planning her big day and insisting July 14 would go off with a bang.
'Captains, that bang — the celebration you all created — far exceeded anything we could have imagined. Your tribute, unity and love honoured Paige in a way she would have adored. There is no doubt she would have been ecstatic to know her yachting family around the world celebrated with her,' they said.
Meanwhile, the man charged with Bell's murder is expected to make his next court appearance in November.
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Even the vessel's Designated Person Ashore (DPA), a required neutral safety authority for yacht crew, failed to protect her, she said. 'When your safety depends on people whose salaries are paid by the abuser, there is no safety. When the flag state can only investigate 'labour conditions', not violence or coercion, what are we really regulating?' According to Fisher, there was also an unsuccessfully attempt to coerce her to resign. Fisher stated that the yachting industry has a dark side. 'It fires victims to preserve reputations. It demands silence through contracts (non-disclosure agreements). It fails to enforce even the most basic safeguarding procedures. We work in confined quarters, remote coastlines, and shared cabins. If a predator wants access, the system makes it easy.' Fisher warned that unless the industry prioritises crew protection over contracts, such issues will persist. 'When misconduct occurs, it is typically the victims who are dismissed, discredited, or quietly forced out. In the most tragic cases, such as those of… Paige, the result has been fatal.' Fisher said the men involved remain and continue to progress through the ranks even when their actions are known within the industry. The unfortunate reality is that in yachting, it is not what you know, but who you know, she said. Women who report misconduct are often labelled as 'difficult' or regarded as a liability and are quietly removed from the rotation of opportunity. 'Until the industry creates and enforces transparent mechanisms for reporting and responding to misconduct, this culture of silence and impunity will persist. And it will continue to cost women their careers, their safety, and in some cases, their lives,' said Fisher. She said criminal background checks should be mandatory for all crew members. 'It baffles me that in an industry with such an extreme volume of required documentation including medical certificates, visas, Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers(STCW) training, firefighting, first aid and crowd control, not once in my nine years as a chief stewardess and interior manager was I asked to provide a criminal background check or ask for one when I hired crew. 'The irony is, we live and work in isolation, sometimes with complete strangers, in confined environments at sea. We're sharing cabins. We're working 18-hour days under high stress. And yet, we hire people from Facebook groups, based on word of mouth, or through recruitment agencies.' Another concern she raised is that recruitment agents do not properly vet candidates. 'For me, earning €8,000 a month, the agent made €8,000 when I was placed. There's no long-term interest in whether that hire is safe, stable, or ethical.' Fisher called for mandated criminal background checks, psychological screening, enforceable rest periods, and a human resource structure that doesn't serve only the owners. She noted that B1/B2 (US, Caribbean) or Schengen (Europe) visas don't confirm a criminal check, only a declaration without investigation. When asked why industry safety is not widely discussed, Fisher replied: "Because we're afraid." 'We lose our jobs. We get branded as 'difficult.' We get bullied, isolated, and replaced,' she said, adding that complainants are seen as the weak link and a liability. Fisher stated that the NDAs prevent employees from discussing anything unethical, unsafe, or traumatic that occurs on board, under penalty of termination, lawsuits, or industry blacklisting. 'Until we dismantle that culture of silence and give crew the legal and psychological safety to speak, we will keep burying stories and people.' 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