Inside the REAL world of ‘yachties’ you DON’T see on Below Deck: After Bahamas superyacht ‘murder’, insider warns staff often face sex attacks and danger… and hit reality show is only making things worse

The world of luxury superyachts appears to many outsiders to be glamorous, booze-fuelled and one which gives youngsters the chance to earn some cash while safely travelling the world.

But the truth of what goes on between staff and wealthy clients is often darker than the public know, insiders say, kept under wraps by NDAs and threats of unemployment in a sector popularised by reality show Below Deck and social media.

The harrowing death of ‘golden girl’ crew member Paige Bell earlier this month on board a 43-metre vessel in the Bahamas sent shockwaves across the global, yet tight-knit industry.

For many women staffing some of the world’s most expensive yachts, it brought the troubling daily realities of a life on the sea to the surface. 

‘When something like this happens that can’t be swept under the rug, people say “wait, what is going on?”‘ Sandra Jordaan, a respected former crew member and coach, told the Mail.

She described how within the industry, some yachts are known for their ‘toxic’ culture, with male and female crew members falling victim to sexual harassment and bullying from both other staff and clients.

‘Below Deck hasn’t done the yachting industry any favours,’ Sandra said. 

‘In terms of safety, we don’t want to attract people who just want the lifestyle, who think “Okay, I’ll work on a yacht. I’m going to sit in the jacuzzi, drink on the deck. It’s not all like that, it’s one of the hardest jobs out there.’

Paige Bell, 20, from South Africa , was found dead in the engine room of the luxury motor boat Far From It last Thursday

Paige had been working as a crewmember on Far From It, a £100,000-a-week motorboat docked in the Bahamas. She was found unresponsive near Munoz, who had injuries on his arm from what police described as an attempted suicide, in the yacht’s engine room

A crew member for 10 years and now a leading trainer with her firm The Yacht Purser, Sandra Jordaan has supported multiple women who have suffered sexual assault at work

Maritime charity ISWAN’s Yacht Crew Help helpline reported a spike in violence and abuse on superyachts in recent years, with an 125 per cent increase in reports in 2023. 

The annual report for last year, out later this month, is expected to be similarly dismal.

The high-pressured environment on superyachts, which sees staff share work in close proximity and share sleeping quarters, often lead to tensions running high between staff and professional boundaries being crossed.

”If you think about land-based industry people can go to work and leave work, they don’t have to stay at work. On a yacht you’re stuck, you can’t leave,’ Sandra said. 

‘Plus, there is an inherent danger living among people that you don’t know. 

‘You don’t have any control of the crew members, especially as a junior crew member, and you don’t have control over who you share a cabin with.’

Sexual harassment and assault are described as ‘pervasive’ issues by industry experts, with a fear among many female staff that speaking out will see them ‘blacklisted’.

A crew member for 10 years and now a leading trainer with her firm The Yacht Purser, Sandra has supported multiple women who have suffered sexual assault at work and is campaigning to shed light on the issue.

Wealthy clients, she says, often have a sense of entitlement when they board their boats, which can in some instances create a ‘toxic’ environment for staff. 

‘We see a lot of debauchery and partying,’ Sandra said. ‘Sometimes they try to involve staff, who are essentially taught that you are not allowed to say no the guests,’ she added.

‘What often happens is that the victims are plied with alcohol and or drugs, and so it becomes a matter of “well, you were drunk, or you were under the influence, and therefore it’s your fault.”‘ 

‘Staff are essentially taught that you are not allowed to say no the guests,’ Sandra said

When the situation crosses a line, Sandra said, ‘people don’t know about it because we can’t talk about it because crew NDAs.

‘There’s an imbalance of power. Wealthy yacht owners have lawyers on standby, it’s really easy for them to hide behind layers of corporate protection. 

‘I’ve had a situation where a guest – the yacht owner’s brother – grabbed one of our stewardesses and gave her a kiss. As a senior crew member I stepped in and said “no, absolutely not.”‘

Super wealthy clients often feel protected from repercussions due to the lack of recourse precariously employed staff have to take them on, she added.

‘Yachts often hop from country to country, you’re at sea for long periods of time.

‘They cover so many different jurisdictions, the flag, port, the management company is in a different location, your contract is usually with a completely separate company. 

‘So when things go wrong, crew don’t know where to turn. Often the safest thing is for them to just get off the vessel.’

Sandra said that unlike in merchant shipping, which is run by major companies, ‘there is no HR department in yachting.’

‘It’s run by private individuals. It’s almost like an extension of their estate, how they do things in their house,’ she said.

‘If you look at the traditional hierarchies on board, it’s a very patriarchal. There’s the captain, then management companies are often run and owned by men, and they don’t want to hear about it.’

She described how, as a Chief Stewardess, she was in a situation herself where a charter guest tried to force her to drink alcohol with him.

‘Below Deck hasn’t done the yachting industry any favours,’ Sandra Jordaan said

‘I point-blank refused. I said no, I don’t feel comfortable, I don’t feel safe, and I had to call the captain to intervene.’

She said while her captain was supportive, far too many are failing to ensure the safety of their crew.

‘When incidents are reported they have to be thoroughly investigated, a lot of captains lack the resources and skill to actually sit down and figure out what happened.’ 

She said sometimes this ‘toxic’ guest behaviour translates to staff, and that some yachts are known for being ‘party’ boats.

‘As a crew member it is very difficult to know when you’re joining a yacht whether it’s a good yacht or a bad yacht, you have no idea. Often you’ve been sold something that is not what you thought it was.

‘It’s very difficult once you’ve got to another country, you’re stuck there and how do you get off. And then your livelihood is threatened.

‘Often they will say “don’t speak up” or “don’t say anything otherwise we’re not going to give you a reference.”

Paige, whose family live in Durban, was due to turn 21 on July 14, with a huge celebration planned to mark her milestone birthday

A friend of Paige’s described the young woman as a ‘golden girl’ and called what had happened ‘despicable’

‘If you report something you get labelled as ‘bad’, you get ‘blacklisted’. It’s very difficult for people to come forward, and even when they do, they sometimes have been so traumatised, they don’t want to retraumatise themselves, it’s not worth the effort.’

Jessie Frost, who worked for a decade on yachts and is now director of recruitment UK firm Crewfolio, said that ‘too many crew are still being harmed onboard’.

She started a petition two years ago calling for criminal background checks to be made a legal requirement for all seafarers, with the letter gaining momentum following news of Paige’s death.

‘It was only when I moved into crew recruitment that I began to see the industry from a broader perspective – and frankly, the lack of safeguarding shocked me,’ she wrote for industry magazine Dockwalk.

‘Sadly, themes of bullying, harassment, sexual and physical violence, theft and even murder surface year after year – often quietly accepted, normalised, or brushed aside. 

‘There are repeat offenders in our industry who are known and named, yet they continue to find work – because there’s always someone unaware of their past who unknowingly gives them another opportunity.’

A recent case in Palm Beach, Florida, sparked outrage across the yachting community and prompted more calls for stringent background checks.

Boat Captain James Robert Magruder attempted to return to helming luxury yachts despite being on a five-year probation for a felony battery charge.

‘This case reignites growing concern over the lack of consistent screening in the yachting industry,’ a post by popular industry broadcaster Yachting International Radio read.

‘How is it that individuals with documented histories of violence are still entrusted with roles involving crew leadership and guest safety?’

Boat Captain James Robert Magruder attempted to return to helming luxury yachts despite being on a five-year probation for a felony battery charge

Magruder was accused of sexually battering a woman he went on a date with before pleading guilty to the lesser charge of battery, which saw him spared a lengthy jail term. 

He also had a previous conviction for harassing an ex-girlfriend and had been arrested multiple times between 2017 and 2019 – after which he worked as a Boat Captain in the Florida area.

Sandra said the case, among many others, proved that calls for background checks do not go far enough – with individual employers still willing to hire people with criminal pasts.

Angelika Grigorjeva, a chief stewardess from Cornwall who documents her life on board a yacht in Barcelona for thousands of followers, is among many who have shared their fears about crew safety protocols in recent days.

‘The industry is not there yet with background checks and it should[n’t] take a Paige to get there…’ she said in an Instagram post responding to the South African crew member’s death.

‘This is the industry where you’re told to “suck it up” and ” grow a thick skin” and it’s not exactly the industry where you can openly talk about your concerns.

Describing her experience starting out in the industry she added: ‘It literally could have been any of your friend[s] that you know.

‘It’s actually so shocking when you think about it. You think the due dilligence has been done, It hasn’t. You actually don’t know who you’re working with. People could have criminal records, offended, assaulted… We need to do better.’ 

Sandra, who has long worked to help victims access support, says she now refuses to stay silent. 

‘I’m not afraid to speak up about this stuff because it’s the truth. This is what is happening,’ she said.

Describing her feelings on fellow South African yachtie Paige, who was due to turn 21 on July 14, she said: ‘As a mother, the pain is unimaginable. As a woman, I am angry. As an activist who has been working behind the scenes to make the yachting industry a safer space, I am not surprised. 

‘This was not a question of if, but a question of when.’

• This article has been revised to remove an erroneous photograph which was said to be of the accused, Brigido Munoz. In fact, the man pictured happened to share a similar name but was entirely unconnected to the death of Paige Bell, which we are happy to make clear. 

If you have been affected by any of the issues discussed, the International Seafarers Welfare and Assistance Network’s YachtCrewHelp is free, confidential, multilingual, available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and provides emotional, wellbeing and practical support to yacht crew and their families of any nationality: www.iswan.org.uk/yachtcrewhelp