A fatal collision near Saba Rock in the British Virgin Islands has intensified concerns over maritime safety and crew accountability. First Officer Lesley Joubert of the motor yacht Eau La La faces a manslaughter charge in connection with the death of American charter Captain Stephen Cross Jr., a longtime resident of St. Thomas.

Caitie Rosko and fiancé, Stephen Cross Jr.

The case has drawn attention to the enforcement of no-wake zones in the British Virgin Islands, where vessels are required to travel at speeds of five knots or less in designated areas, including within 100 yards of the shoreline. These regulations are designed to protect moored vessels, swimmers and smaller crafts from the hazards posed by high-speed boating. It also underscores the broader issues of maritime safety enforcement in the British Virgin Islands, particularly in high-traffic areas such as North Sound, where Saba Rock and the Bitter End Yacht Club serve as popular anchorages, as well as the training and competency of yacht crew operating high-speed tenders.

According to the police report, on the night of November 22, 2024, Stephen was nearing the end of a nine-day charter aboard the 46-foot Bali catamaran Solar Winds. He was piloting an 12.5-foot dinghy with six charter guests to dinner at the Bitter End Yacht Club, carefully navigating through a no-wake mooring field near North Sound, Virgin Gorda. As they moved through the designated slow-speed zone, a 21-foot rigid-hulled inflatable boat belonging to Eau La La, operated by Lesley, approached at high speed.

According to the report, local Captain Dontre Antoine told investigators he saw “a black inflatable dinghy with no lights run through a gray inflatable dinghy” without stopping. Charter guest Nicholas Morana, who was on board Stephen’s dinghy at the time of the collision, corroborated the statement, saying that Eau La La’s tender was “traveling about 25 knots” when it “ran over them from the rear and continued on its way,” leaving all seven passengers in the water. Stephen suffered multiple fractures to his ribs, femur and pelvis, as well as a collapsed lung. Several nearby vessels responded quickly, pulling Stephen and the other passengers from the water. Lesley, a 36-year-old South African national, was later questioned by police at Saba Rock.