Cherise Reedman, a former chief stewardess, founded Yacht Pearls of Wisdom after transitioning ashore a few years ago. The initiative provides a platform for women — whether still working in yachting or living ashore — to share their experiences in the industry. At its core, the idea is women supporting women and passing along knowledge gained from firsthand yachting experience. With this principle in mind, Yacht Pearls of Wisdom has hosted numerous events to bring women together and to shine a light on their stories. Reedman’s latest project is a safety survey designed to make it easier for women to share their experiences, including incidents of bullying, harassment, assault, and drink spiking. This effort was driven by the July 3, 2025, murder of Stewardess Paige Bell in The Bahamas Since Bell’s death, Reedman said she has struggled to identify meaningful changes to improve safety for women on board. “I got very angry,” she said. “In a year where we lost a life — a young girl was murdered — can we talk about violence against women on board and all the things we all know go on, but nobody seems to know how to tackle?” The survey is Reedman’s attempt to establish a solid baseline about women’s lived experiences on board. “Without data, it’s impossible to prove whether things are getting better or worse,” she said. Her hope is that the survey will collect meaningful information on safety, violence, and incident responses within the yachting industry. In addition to consulting with women across the superyacht industry, Reedman developed the survey in collaboration with Dr. Kate Pike, an associate professor at Solent University specializing in seafarer welfare, gender issues, and safety culture. CHIRP Maritime and the International Seafarers’ Welfare and Assistance Network (ISWAN) have also lent their expertise to ensure the research meets professional standards. In addition, CrewPass has partnered with Yacht Pearls of Wisdom, and MHG Insurance and Ropner Insurance have sponsored the undertaking. “Women in the industry have a rare opportunity right now to make their voices heard,” Reedman said in the press release. “Once this survey closes at the end of April, we will not be able to return to the industry to gather this information again for some time. This is the moment for women who have worked at sea, past and present, to ensure their voices are included.” The survey is exclusively for women, Reedman said, because the issue disproportionately affects them. She believes it is both legitimate and necessary to create a space focused specifically on women’s safety and experiences. It’s also not about digging for dirt, Reedman said. She wants to understand the full spectrum of experiences. “I want to see the good, the bad, and the ugly,” Reedman said, noting that the survey also aims to identify examples of positive outcomes. Ideally, she hopes to know what types of incidents occur, how frequently, and where responses are working — or failing. Her goal is to establish a credible starting point for developing practical solutions, policy changes, and greater accountability within the yachting industry. “I’ve tried to make it as scientific as possible, so it just can’t be ignored,” she said. While the survey won’t solve the issue on its own and represents only the first step in a much larger undertaking, it may help identify areas where additional research is needed and guide the development of targeted interventions and practical solutions, all supported by concrete data. The survey is straightforward, Reedman said — a simple checkbox style that should take less than 10 minutes to complete. It’s intended for women with yachting industry experience and aims to capture the details of lived experiences, from serious incidents to positive examples of how incidents were handled. Responses will be anonymous, and Reedman emphasized that the goal is not to name and shame individuals or yachts, but to gather information. The questions and language used in the survey were designed to be victim-aware and trauma-informed, she said, and support resources are provided at the end. The survey launched March 13 and will run through the end of April 2026. “What I want with the survey [is that] it’s in black and white, and it’s really, really clear. We don’t need to keep spending time talking about where [the industry] is. We know where it is. What are we doing about it?” Take the survey now Check out Triton’s latest issue