Lauren Beck is the former editor of Dockwalk and was with the publication from 2006 to 2023. At 13, she left South Africa aboard a 34-foot sailing boat with her family and ended up in St. Maarten for six years. Before college, she worked as crew for a year, and then cut her journalistic teeth at Better Homes and Gardens and Ladies’ Home Journal online. She loves traveling, reading, tennis, and rooting for the Boston Red Sox.
The Miami Beach Police Department responded to a “possible strongarm robbery” on July 23, 2023, aboard what is believed to be 105-foot M/Y Nirvana around 9 p.m. at The Wharf in Miami Beach.
According to the Miami Beach Police Department Case Report, the captain on board, named as Capt. Gabriel Lopez, stated that the guests, including Migos rapper Quavo, had been advised that time was running out on their charter, and the boat needed to be returned. According to the police report, two male guests “became very aggressive toward [the captain] and his boat crew and demanded a refund.”
The captain also said that the guests threatened him, telling police that one guest said he would kill him and throw him off the boat. The guest then removed the captain’s wallet with approximately $3,500 and phone and threatened another crewmember that if the money was not returned, he would kill him too. This was witnessed by a third crewmember, although no cameras were in the vicinity of the incident.
The crewmember apparently then returned $5,000 to the guests. The captain contacted the yacht’s owner, who notified law enforcement.
Two firearms were found on board but had not been used to make threats. The guest denied the robbery allegations and showed detectives texts between the guest and vessel owner disputing the “rental hours.” The police also were shown receipts for the charter payment.
“Based on the totality of the circumstances, and conflicting statements, no arrest was made at this time,” the police report stated.