Tributes have flooded in from around the world for superyacht stewardess Paige Bell days after she was killed, with family, friends and the yachting community marking what would have been her 21st birthday.
The South African crew member was found dead in the engine room of Far From It, the luxury motor boat she worked on in the Bahamas, on July 3.
Police arrested a 39-year-old Mexican engineer who worked with Paige after discovering him near her body, and he was later charged with her murder.
Paige’s distraught parents Michelle and John Bell flew out to the Bahamas last week, ‘seeking justice for the monster that took her life’ and ‘to begin the painful process of bringing their baby girl home.’
Tragically, Paige had been just days away from travelling home to Durban to attend a big celebration with loved ones for her birthday on July 14.
As they prepared to mark the milestone without their beloved daughter, a statement written on GoFundMe on behalf of Paige’s family asked that people ‘come together’ to commemorate her life.
‘In honor of Paige, her mother has asked that we all eat red velvet cake (her favorite) on that day and share a photo in remembrance of the beautiful soul she was,’ it read.
Yacht workers, friends and well-wishers around the world responded by sharing their support for the family, with dozens posting pictures of their red velvet cakes.
Crews on boats from the Bahamas to Europe and Paige’s native South Africa also blared their horns in a worldwide tribute to honour the life of one of their own.
Paige Bell was found dead in the engine room of the luxury motor boat Far From It on July 3
Yacht captain and Below Deck star Hugo Ortega shared footage of a harbour full of yachts sounding their horns on Paige’s birthday
A South African yacht crew ate red velvet cake and blared their boat’s horn to honour Paige
One of Paige’s crewmates shared a photo of a bottle of prosecco emblazoned with her nickname ‘Paigey’ and 21
When a seafarer dies, it is a maritime tradition to sound eight bells in their honour – a signal that a sailor’s ‘watch’ is over.
Yacht captain and Below Deck star Hugo Ortega shared a picture of Paige and footage of a harbour full of yachts sounding their horns on her birthday.
In a tribute on social media, he wrote: ‘To Paige’s family, boyfriend, crew & friends, I’m so incredibly sorry.
‘I think I can speak for the entire yachting community when I say my heart is broken for you… for women in the industry, for women everywhere,’ he added.
One of Paige’s crewmates and close friends shared a touching tribute to the youngster, who she called ‘my darling angel.’
‘Happy birthday to the girl with the loudest cackle. Thank you for being an absolute ray of sunshine in my life, you will be deeply missed.
‘I will miss being woken up by your contagious laugh on our off duty days,’ she said, adding: ‘Love you lots, more than you like pepperoni [pizza].’
Pictures in her post showed Paige smiling with her team and a bottle of prosecco emblazoned with ’21’ and her nickname ‘Paigey’.
Countless videos from around the world showed yacht crews blaring their horns, both at sea and in harbour, highlighting how hard the tragic news of Paige’s death has hit the tight-knit yachting community.
Video showed one yacht with a British red ensign blaring its horn along with a chorus of others
Yacht captains from around the world, including Paige’s native South Africa, paid tribute to the youngster
Superyacht crews around the world, including those whose vessels are at sea, blared their horns on July 14
The sound of maritime horns was heard blaring in Florida’s Lauderdale Marine Center and around the globe on Paige’s birthday
Sharing footage of him and his crew eating red velvet cake as he switches their boat’s horn on, crew member Andre West wrote: ‘As a South African crew in Greece, we are sending every ounce of love and all the comfort in the world to the friends and family of Paige Bell. Our hearts break with you all. Fly high.’
Another clip showed a crew falling silent in prayer as they paused work to remember the young woman’s life.
Industry broadcaster Yachting International Radio shared a moving tribute online, reiterating the request of Paige’s family that people mark her birthday with cake.
‘We didn’t know Paige. But we know grief. We know the ache of a life interrupted. And we know this industry has too often turned away instead of toward,’ the poignant statement read.
‘So today, we pause. Not to perform. But to remember. Because some absences should never feel quiet.’
The broadcaster, which works to highlight issues faced by the yachting industry, added poignantly: ‘The fight for justice and change can resume tomorrow.
‘Today, we say her name. Not in anger. Not in noise. But in stillness, so the world cannot forget. Paige.’
The young stewardess was remembered by those who knew her as a hard-working ‘golden girl’ with a ‘radiant spirit’ and ‘infectious laughter’.
Stephanus Coetzer, a former crewmate of Paige on board motor yacht Sweet Emocean, said she had once told him of her dream of one day becoming a Chief Stew.
‘I truly believe that if she was with us still she would have accomplished all of her dreams, without a doubt,’ he said in a tribute post.
‘I believe she would have tried to “be the change” that she believed made crew members good.’
Paige’s distraught parents Michelle and John Bell flew out to the Bahamas last week
Paige had been working on luxury motor yacht Far From It, which was docked at Harbour Island in the Bahamas
A friend of Paige’s described the young woman as a ‘golden girl’ and called what had happened ‘despicable’
Just after 1pm on July 3, police were alerted to an incident at the marina on Harbour Island, an exclusive resort 60 miles east of the capital Nassau.
Cops boarded the 43-metre yacht Far From It, where they were told that Paige had not been seen for a short period of time.
They found her unresponsive in the yacht’s engine room with visible injuries, before a doctor attended the scene and confirmed she had died.
She was found near the engineer who had severe injuries to his arm in what police described as a suspected suicide attempt.
He was apprehended, cautioned and taken to a nearby clinic for treatment, police said in a statement, before he was later charged with murder.
