reality tv yacht crew

Below Deck Season 1: Where Are The Cast Members Now?

Sailing through the oceanic blues, Bravo’s ‘Below Deck’ chronicles the lives of crew members aboard a mega yacht as they reside and work on the vessel during the charter season. The reality television show was launched in 2013 and has juxtaposed the thrill of sailing with the drama of its crew. As the Chief Stew, Captain, Deckhands, and Chef try to navigate the interpersonal conflicts of their workplace, several chaotic themes follow. Years since the debut season came on air, fans have been curious to find out the whereabouts of the original cast members. So, if you also want to know the whereabouts of the reality stars, look no further because we’ve got all the answers right here!

Lee Rosbach is Navigating Life Beyond Reality TV

At 73, Captain Lee Rosbach has led his crew on sails for more than three decades. The television personality was once a Wendy’s manager. His first encounter with the ocean came in his mid-30s when he and his wife, Mary Anne, moved to Turks & Caicos to run a restaurant. At 35, Lee obtained his Captain’s license and has since never looked back. Commonly referred to as the “Stud of the Sea,” he has been in the business for more than four decades. However, after leading his crew for ten seasons, Captain Lee bid his final farewell to the Bravo reality show.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Captain Lee Rosbach (@captain_lee_rosbach)

During season 10 of ‘Below Deck,’ fans witnessed Lee’s worsening health conditions, leading to him temporarily sitting out. The reality TV star has been facing mobility issues that have led to high pain levels. Ultimately, the network didn’t invite the boat captain back for season 11. Many have speculated that Lee’s exit from the show came after he conflicted with Captain Sandy Yawn in season 10. Yet, these rumors stand unconfirmed. Nevertheless, Lee Rosbach has now teamed up with Kate Chastain, hosting Bravo’s new series, ‘Couch Talk with Captain Lee and Kate.’

The revered Captain and former chief stew break down the biggest Bravo TV moments of the week on their new show. On the personal front, Lee continues to enjoy life with his family and loved ones. After losing his son , Joshua, at 42, to an opioid addiction in 2019, he has become extensively vocal about rehabilitation for people struggling with addiction. Despite sustaining such an incredible loss, the family continues to honor Joshua’s memory through donations and giving testimony in front of Congress.

Aleks Taldykin is Leading in Yacht Management

Originally picked up by the production house to enact the role of Captain on the yacht, Aleks was ultimately replaced by Captain Lee Rosbach after the yacht owner expressed his discomfort with him taking over the reins. Eventually, he became the Captain’s next-in-command but didn’t return to the series after season 1.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Aleks Taldykin (@captaleks)

Since his exit from the show, Aleks has maintained his love for the ocean and is currently the CEO of Elite Yacht Management, a company servicing yachts from the Pacific to the Atlantic. He is also a Yacht Broker specializing in selling large motor yachts in California. In 2016, Aleks had also appeared on ‘Vanderpump Rules.’ At 33, the television personality enjoys life with his wife and family.

Ben Robinson is Engaging in Culinary Ventures and Content Creation

With several credentials, including an apprenticeship at Chef Heston Blumenthal’s restaurant, The Fat Duck, Ben brought his intersectional knowledge of restaurant and catering to ‘ Below Deck .’ However, the reality TV star ultimately left the show after season 2. Ben later appeared on ‘Below Deck: Mediterranean’ and ‘Below Deck: Galley Talk.’ Surprisingly, the certified health coach was briefly speculated to be the father of Chief Stew Kate Chastain’s baby. However, both have time and again denounced trolls for such rumors.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Chef Ben Robinson (@benstogram)

On the personal front, the 42-year-old is engaged to Kiara Cabral. After nearly four years of dating, the television personality went down on his knee at the Vatican to profess his love. When Ben isn’t enjoying his time with friends and family, he’s engaged in several other commitments. Furthermore, he is a TikTok and Cameo creator who sells his personal merchandise brand and offers several services through online channels.

Adrienne Gang is Expanding Her Culinary Expertise

Despite her short-lived stint on ‘Below Deck,’ Adrienne quickly became a fan-favorite for dealing with a difficult crew. The 39-year-old Chief Stew has found herself busy with other endeavors. Apart from freelancing as a stew on different boats, she has also returned to her job as a Chef. Before taking up the role in reality television, Adrienne had been a professional chef for eight years.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Adrienne Gang (@adriennegang)

The television personality is now working at the Culinary Vegetable Institute and Chef’s Garden, honing her skills and expanding her work portfolio. On the family front, Adrienne is married to Chiropractor Dr. Andrew Banks. The couple tied the knot in 2018 in a beachfront ceremony and have enjoyed marital bliss ever since. Sadly, they faced a substantial loss in 2021 after they miscarried their baby. Nevertheless, Adrienne and Andrew remain unfazed by these struggles and enjoy their life with their dog, Buddy. In addition, she hosts the ‘Gangplant Report’ podcast.

C.J. LeBeau is Actively Working in Marketing

Disembarking from the yacht just before the crew could take its final charter, C.J. Beau quickly became disinterested in the activities onboard and eventually left the boat behind. Since then, he has not reappeared in the series and has maintained a profile outside the media. Shortly after the season ended, C.J. was taken into police custody in Phoenix, Arizona, for allegedly getting in a physical altercation with his then-fiance.

The television personality was reportedly charged with intentional assault and defacing property. It was also reported that C.J. allegedly broke his fiance’s cell phone during the fight. Later, he became the Sales Director for Direct Source Distributing, a marketing company based in San Diego. On the personal front, C.J. has maintained privacy and doesn’t disclose his private information.

Kat Held is Pursuing Nursing and Bartending

Despite repeatedly knocking heads with the Chief Stew, Kat quickly became a fan-favorite for her famous phrases. However, she ended up leaving the show after season 2. Since then, Kat has been pursuing different opportunities. The 39-year-old worked as a waitress before eventually returning to nursing school in 2017. Kat also worked as a Bartender in Las Vegas and currently likes to keep her personal and professional details under wraps. Moreover, the television personality attended ‘Watch What Happens Live’ with her ‘Below Deck’ costars in 2020.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kat Held (@katostate)

Samantha Orme is Building a New Life and Career

While Samantha’s time was full of ups and downs on the yacht, the television personality decided she wanted more in life and not just work at a mega yacht. Shortly after exiting the show, she met Bradley Ulmer, a Coast Guard Helicopter Pilot, and the two hit it off. The couple decided to tie the knot a few months into dating.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Samantha Ulmer (@samiorme)

Subsequently, the duo welcomed their daughters, Blake and Molly. On the professional front, 36-year-old Samantha has accrued equal success. The television personality was the Vice President of a Solar Energy Firm before she returned to study Industrial Engineering. She is currently working as the Enterprise Program Manager for Fidelity National Information Services.

Eddie Lucas is Commanding the Harbor

After appearing as the Deckhand in season 1, Eddie ultimately became a Bosun and the First Officer on the Bravo series. Yet, after eight seasons, he decided to leave the franchise entirely. Eddie is now the Captain of a harbor tug boat in the Baltimore Harbor. The homeowner had revealed in an interview with The New York Post that he gets paid the lowest amount compared to other shows on Bravo.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Eddie Lucas (@eddielucas)

It is also speculated that Eddie’s arguments with Rayna Lindsey over alleged homophobic comments could have been the reason for his departure from the show. Nevertheless, these speculations have not been entertained by the television personality. Instead, the 38-year-old has left behind the reality television life and now focuses on chartering to the Caribbean and experiencing the best of the ocean life with his dog named Bert, as well as friends and loved ones.

David Bradberry is Pursuing Acting Opportunities

Sailing through the season without any conflict, David’s endearing demeanor won countless viewers during the show. Regardless, the reality TV star ultimately left the series following his appearance in season 1. Since then, David has explored a path in entertainment and starred in works like, ‘Confessions,’ ‘The Last Straight Man,’ ‘Fiendish Things,’ and ‘The Men Next Door.’ On the personal front, the 37-year-old is no longer with his boyfriend featured in ‘Below Deck.’ The television personality has since kept his dating life under wraps and loves to maintain a private profile.

Read More:  Is Below Deck Scripted?

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Below Deck: Superyacht Reality TV

People have been saying for a long time that yachts would make a great reality show, so it’s no real surprise that the day has finally arrived: Tonight in the US, yachting reality show ‘Below Deck’ screens on Bravo TV. With episode titles like “Luggage, luggage, everywhere” and “Dude, that’s a dude, dude”, I’m guessing it’s not aimed at the intellectual end of the market.   I lost 24 brain cells just watching the trailer. See the trailier  here . 

When the idea for a reality show got floated (sorry) a few years back, there was an outpouring of vitriol on Dockwalk by yachting professionals deeply concerned that such a show would damage the industry.  And now that the show is being launched (sorry), the vitriol is back, as many people see this show as a threat: a threat to the image of the yachting industry, one that will imperil the golden rule of discretion and make yacht owners and guests view crew and yachting differently.   

Of course the ‘reality’ is dubious.  Crewed by actors and yacht crew who want to be famous, and chartered by wannabe actors who want to be famous, and edited and produced by people who want to be famous… well, it’s safe to say that the ‘reality’ of yachting will be the first victim.  That’s not to say that there won’t be situations portrayed in it that we have all actually encountered in our jobs on yachts (the producer worked as a stewardess for 3 seasons, and there are three yacht crew in the cast), but people do not act naturally while surrounded by a film crew. And even if they do let their real selves out on occasion, the final cut is made by people who want sensationalism and spectacle.  This is for telly, after all.  No one wants to watch a stewardess clean a cabin for 3 days to the sound of Rihanna on repeat. Not least because of Rihanna.

This morning, The New York Times has published an article on the series entitled “Who wants to sail with this ship of trolls?”  It’s not a glowing review, to put it mildly, calling the show ‘bland’ and the guests ‘insufferable’ , concluding that, “It’s a good thing the earth is flat, because that means the Honor, the yacht that is the focus of the new Bravo reality series ‘Below Deck’ is bound to sail over the edge someday. That would presumably relieve us of the obligation to pay any further attention to the people on it.”

The show was shot during a 5 week Caribbean charter on the 50m Cour de Leone, which was renamed ‘M/Y Honour’ for the show.  The original crew were given time off, although the captain Lee Rosbach, the first mate and the engineer stayed on board (but not as characters in the show) to ensure the boat stayed in one piece.  And 9 ‘crew’ were brought in in their place, only 3 of them with any yachting experience.  And this alone allows people to dismiss the show as unrealistic, with real captain Lee Rosbach admitting in an interview with The Triton . "They pretty much acted like crew I would have fired- they were all in way over their heads. There were a couple that worked really hard and might have made good entry level crew.” Might have made good entry level crew?  Oh dear. 

Show co-producer Rebecca explained the casting choice by saying, “The original crew were perfect, but we had to bring in new crew that we’d screened, as we couldn’t be sure that the other crew weren’t convicted felons or wouldn’t punch the cameraman.  Oh, now this smacks of disingenuity. Yacht crew aren’t well known for punching people on board, and criminal records are, well, records. Not difficult to check. Of course, what she isn’t saying here is that most professional yacht crew wouldn’t touch this show with a boat hook and a sturdy pair of Marigolds.

This excuse allowed the introduction of a merry cast of TV-worthy characters running around in hilariously tight blue polos. The bios on the show’s website  are comedy gold, as it sounds like they have been written by either the cast themselves, a small child, or a shoddy dating website.  We have the chief stewardess Adrienne Gang,’ a veteran of the yacht industry’, who lives by the philosophy ‘work hard, play hard’. Original.  Other useful facts are that she once wanted to be a doctor and used to tour with rock bands.  The fake captain, who looks remarkably like he is made of plastic, has had a love of the water since a young age (jolly good), while CJ LeBeau (yes, that is his name) is an Eagle Scout and a philanthropist, but he has a rebellious side as well . He also, you might like to know,  “gets out of most sticky situations with his witty flirtation and likeable personality.”  Snort. We have the chef, who enjoys the bachelor lifestyle, and a stewardess called Kat who is a ‘jokester’ , ‘life of the party’ enjoys snowboarding and has been through the Panama Canal. Riveting.  Oh, Bravo TV, bravo for giving me a giggle.  And of course we have a gay ex-Marine. Openly gay crew members are increasingly seen on yachts, and rightly so.  But to imply that they are represented on each yacht is a fallacy. And then we also have Sam, the stewardess who has a degree in industrial engineering, a degree which apparently separates her from the typical “uneducated yachty (sic) drifter”.  She prides herself on her leadership abilities, which is a shame really as she’s not chief stew, and going by the episode descriptions this causes some drama.  I’ll stop now, but really, these bios are tremendous fun.

As for the guests, they actually are paying charter guests.  An ad was run by Bravo TV requesting people who might like to be on a show, but will have to pay for the privilege to cover the charter fee. 50 000 dollars each, according to the original ad.  Not your typical charter guest then, but Americans who want to be famous.  

“Oh, it wasn’t scripted,” said one guest on a forum. "We just did what we wanted and they filmed us.” For my part I believe it wasn’t scripted, simply because on the advertisement we have some woman lying on a deckchair waving languorously at one of the crew and saying in a strident American accent, “Can you remove this part of the ship for me?” The ship? The ship? No genuine charter guest, past, present or future, has called a yacht a ship. They never miss the opportunity to say the word yacht, (preferably in a very loud voice).  But while it may not have been scripted, it was most certainly directed, and by its very nature with a bunch of cameramen and fake cast, unreal.

This unrealistic portrayal is making some yacht crew nervous, and others angry. From what I can see, the objections fall into several categories.

1. A strange anger at the ‘real’ crew involved.   The forums are alive with jeers about them never getting hired again, and ‘how to kill your career 101.” Let’s dispense with this one quickly with a quick question: ‘Who cares if they get hired again?’ That’s not an objection to the show itself, it is of absolutely no consequence to anyone but the crew themselves, and they have made their beds.    

2. That these people make yachting look unprofessional to the outside world. One yacht chef wailed that the food looked terrible (despite the NYT saying otherwise), and felt that no-one would take his job as a superyacht chef seriously anymore.  Another sniffed that deck crew would never be allowed to have their hair so unruly on a real yacht, while another was unhappy that during the course of filming the crew were in the tender, shirtless. You know, there may be a few viewers out there in middle America who will base their view of yachting on this show, but anyone who watches reality TV thinking it is reality is a dimwit and for one, I don’t care what a dimwit thinks about yachting, or anything else, for that matter.

3. That the ‘secret is out!”  Ah, and ain’t that the truth. We may even be overrun by young people wanting to get into the industry.   This is not the end of the world. In fact it’s very good for crew houses, training schools and bars.  There are only so many jobs, and captains can pretty easily sort the wheat from the chav – I mean chaff.  

4. The most overwhelming objection is that yacht owners, charterers and potential charterers will be deterred from chartering a yacht because of this show.   Oh, poppycock.  As captain Rosbach says, “I don’t know why people are taking this show so seriously. I don’t think billionaires sit around watching Bravo TV.”  Even if they did, I’m certain they’re not thinking, Oh, I may not charter this year because a low-budget reality show was made about it where the guests were difficult and the crew ran around like monkeys trying to shag each other, crying and drinking. (Ok, so maybe there’s some truth to this show after all.)  Otherwise we’d all be watching ‘Airport’ and thinking, Oh, best not catch a plane again, as someone has made a show about difficult passengers, and then people will think that I am difficult, because I too, on occasion, catch planes.’ 

Anyway, even if the portrayal of difficult guests is spot-on, then real yacht owners and guests won’t recognise themselves in them, because the human ego is protected by a thick wall of self-delusion, making it difficult for us to recognise our own bad behaviour.  For example, I have had a very difficult guest look at me sympathetically and say with no trace of irony,  “Gosh, you must get some really difficult guests sometimes , not like us, hey.”

Anyone who has ever owned or chartered a yacht, or is seriously planning to, are already aware that this is an industry of professionals, working their buttocks off, being discrete, going the extra 40 miles for yak milk and creating an extraordinary experience for them.  Because that is the truth.  And that truth won’t change, no matter how many ‘reality’ TV shows are made on the subject.  People who treat their crew well will continue to do so, and those that don’t care at all what the crew, or world in general, think of them, will continue not to care. If it stops a single person from chartering, I would be very surprised.

5. That discretion is dead.   That the hallmark of the industry-that crew won’t talk- is in jeopardy.  The point is, most still won’t, but as the industry grows, and more issues are being discussed on forums such as these and in magazines, it is inevitable that some stories will come out.

So then, are there any positives? 

This show can’t be considered particularly harmful, but few would say it’s beneficial to the yachting industry.  But perhaps there are a few potential positives to this show being screened, other than stopping people back home asking us if we work on cruise ships.

1. If the show has a shred of credibility about it, it will deliver on its promise of showing the hard work and exhaustion that yachting requires. It may, just may, prepare a few wannabe stewardesses for the reality of the task ahead- the bed-making, the cleaning, the kow-towing.   Despite the wealth of information now available about what to expect, you still come across the oblivious hopefuls, like the young and shiny job-seeker I met last year who asked me, “There’s isn’t really much cleaning involved, is there? I know there’s a little bit, but it’s mostly service, isn’t it?  I really hate cleaning toilets, it’s gross, I hope I don’t have to do much of that.”(Evil old goat that I am, I really enjoyed bursting that bubble.)

2. On the small boat end of the scale, perhaps the greater exposure of yachts may lead to a few more charters.  Doubtful, but possible.

3. A portrayal of crew as actual people might lead the guests to realise they are being judged, and that they do not have complete carte blanche to act as they please.  I know that many yachties, perhaps the majority, would place this argument in the negatives, rather than positives section, but this leads to my next point.

Is there a place for  superyacht stories in the mainstream media, and how dangerous is it? 

There is perhaps a greater issue here. The secret is out. The media have the scent, and superyacht stories are selling papers. Last week, an article in The Guardian , about superyachts and training courses unleashed an absolute storm of rich-bashing in the online comments.  This is a concern, because when the media focus on the sensational, the reality is lost.  That is not to say that I don’t agree that the sheer excess of the industry is sometimes offensive, but as the entire industry is based on sheer excess, it is a difficult objection to rationally sustain as long as you work on, or around superyachts.  They are the ultimate unnecessary item, a floating testament to wealth and success. And hundreds of thousands of people are employed by them, and in the shipyards, the crew agencies, the machinery manufacturers…the list goes on.  They pump enormous amounts of money into economies, they pay our wages and buy us houses.  Looking at that, it is difficult to maintain the rage.

However, this is not to say that, in my opinion, some media attention is necessarily a bad thing, if handled with sensitivity.   There are issues in yachting that I think are worth discussing: violence, sexual harassment, and sexual depravity. I’m not talking here about rudeness of guests, or prostitution, but about abuse of power. 

The typical line of yacht crew tends to be that yacht guests charter a yacht with the sense that they have carte blanche, that this is a place where they can depend on privacy while they behave how  they like, and that yacht crew should indulge them, without judgement.  For the most part, this is true. But not always.

Many years ago, I quit my first yacht when the Madame split one of the Filipino’s noses open with a shoe because a dress fell off the hanger in her dressing room when we were at sea. The next day, the Madame grabbed the same girl by the throat, and in the year after I left, she put her in hospital with internal injuries after a beating.  According to a crew member, the captain had accompanied the Madame on a trip to the Philippines, where this girl and another had been bought off their families with a suitcase of money.  She couldn’t leave:  she was a 21 st century slave.

There is a story there, not about yachting per se but about vast wealth and the abuse of power.  I worked on a yacht where on one charter, the principal threw a prostitute down the stairs. Another friend tells me that on her old boat, young Indian boys were brought on for the boss’ pleasure. On another, the guest was Islam Gadaffi.  How do yacht crew handle serving a man politely who was allegedly responsible for massacres and torture?  In yachting, political ignorance is bliss.  But these issues- where our moral line is, and how often we move it, are things that yacht crew must consider.  And if a yacht guest holds back from awful behaviour because they feel that they may be judged or reported?  I say that’s a win. 

That is why I say the subjects must be handled with extreme sensitivity, by careful writers, who know that this is not common in yachting, but can and does happen.  But any fair commentary also includes the wonderful stuff- the nice owners, the extraordinary opportunities, the sheer adventure of it all. 

But the journalist in me, and the moralist, believes that stories need to be told that are bigger than yachting.  No place on earth is a moral vacuum, not even a superyacht, no matter how much money you pay for it.  Or no place I want to live in, anyway. 

So yes, the secret is out, and not all media coverage will be favourable.  Some of it will be written by hacks caring little for the consequences. If you want to be worried about something, be worried about that. 

But ‘Below Deck’? One thing is certain: there is no grave danger to the industry in this show. It is a show, and will not change our reality. 

The cover has been blown off the porthole. And now we wait for the waves.  ‘Below Deck’ may not bring them, but something will. 

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Comment by: Timothy Valentine - 8 Nov 2021, 23:31 (2 years ago)

Despite the demerits of the show, it hit me on good side, so I feel I wanna join the industry.

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Below Deck season nine: Everything you need to know about the superyacht charter show

With season nine of Bravo's superyacht charter TV Show, Below Deck , approaching its finale, BOAT breaks down everything you need to know about the new TV series, from filming locations to the crew serving as the season nine cast...

What is Below Deck ?

Below Deck is a reality TV series documenting the lives of superyacht crew members working on board a luxury charter yacht. From fires in the galley to demanding requests from guests, the hit TV show has pulled back the curtain on the private lives of superyacht charters and the crew that work on them. The series has also spawned a number of spin-off shows, including Below Deck Mediterranean , Below Deck Sailing Yacht and other new series set to premiere in 2022 .

Which yacht is in Below Deck season nine?

My Seanna , which has previously appeared in season six and season eight of Below Deck , has returned as the star of season nine. Following her sale earlier in 2021 , the Delta Marine superyacht has now been renamed Starship . The 56.4 metre motor yacht was delivered in 2000 to a design by Glade Johnson and can host up to 12 guests and 11 members of crew.

Where is Below Deck season nine filmed?

The idyllic island of St Kitts serves as the filming location for season nine of Below Deck . The larger of two islands that make up the Caribbean nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis , the island is located in the West Indies and is an up and coming winter hub for superyachts. In recent years, visitors to its warm waters have included 88 metre Maltese Falcon , 86 metre Aquijo sit and 74 metre Plvs Vltra .

Who are the crew on Below Deck season nine?

Season nine has seen a mix of returning cast members and new crew members on board My Seanna . In an unusual turn of events, this season features two captains, as beloved star Captain Lee Rosbach is temporarily replaced at the beginning of the season by Captain Sean Meagher.

Returning crew for this season include chef Rachel Hargrove and first mate Eddie Lucas, while the rest of the cast features new faces. The interior crew is made up of chief stew Heather Chase, stewardess Jessica Albert and steward Fraser Olender. Meanwhile Jake Foulger, Rayna Lindsay and Wes O'Dell are working as the deckhands on board.

How can I watch Below Deck season nine?

A new episode of Below Deck season nine airs on Bravo every Monday at 21:00 ET. Episodes can also be streamed the next day via Peacock TV and a variety of other services including Hayu, Hulu and Amazon Prime.

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In 'Below Deck,' life on a yacht meets reality TV

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Captain Sandy Yawn leads the crew on Below Deck Mediterranean. Laurent Basset/Bravo hide caption

Captain Sandy Yawn leads the crew on Below Deck Mediterranean.

If you've always wondered what it would be like to see the world while making espresso martinis for the super-rich, you might already be watching the Below Deck franchise. For the past eight years, the Bravo reality series and its many spinoffs have been showing viewers the world of deckhands and chefs, housekeeping and party planning, as young hot people work on luxury yachts chartered by people who have too much money.

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Below Deck Sailing Yacht Is the Future of Bravo's Ever-Expanding Franchise

In the 10 years since Below Deck set sail, the series has taken Bravo by storm, dominating the ratings and introducing millions of viewers to life on the high seas. What started as a single show set in the Caribbean has evolved into an empire with four spinoffs — Below Deck Mediterranean , Sailing Yacht , Down Under , and Adventure — each helmed by a different captain with their own unique leadership style.

By now, after 25 seasons spread across the franchise, fans know exactly what to expect: Captains will clash with their crew members; third stewards will disrespect the chain of command; people will get blackout drunk and make out in the hot tub; a chef will unleash hell upon the galley while preparing a 10-course tasting menu. And so it goes as Bravo's hit series expands to different corners of the globe, offering slight variations but never straying too far from the original format.

Below Deck has never been bigger, but with the show celebrating its 10th anniversary on July 1, it's only fair to ask what's in store for the franchise's next decade on Bravo and Peacock. For the first time in years, the flagship series and its many spinoffs are heading into uncharted waters. In a major shakeup, Below Deck proper will be moving on without Captain Lee Rosbach, who has been with the show for all 10 seasons, after he was forced out by the network. While Bravo's postseason "Ce-LEE-Bration" suggested he was retiring from yachting, Lee, who spent time away from Season 10 due to health issues, claims he was told executives want to "move in a new direction," though he's said he'll still "be doing some things for [Bravo] in the next year." Adventure 's Captain Kerry Titheradge is set to replace Captain Lee, but the game of musical chairs also leaves the fate of the cold-weather iteration, which has not yet been renewed for a second season, in jeopardy.

The first spinoff, Below Deck Mediterranean , has problems of its own. Of the franchise's current captains, Med 's Captain Sandy Yawn is by far the least popular (seemingly with fans and crew members alike): Her tendency to micromanage the interior team and play favorites with the deck crew has led to six seasons of intense conflict, culminating in the questionable firing of longtime chief stew Hannah Ferrier in Season 5. The show never quite recovered, and in the two seasons since, the cast has been made up of journeymen who do their jobs and deliver a little drama along the way (like the toxic relationship between chef David White and chief stew Natasha Webb last year), but fail to make a lasting impression.

Amid all this uncertainty, Below Deck Sailing Yacht has emerged as the future of the franchise. Much of the show's success stems from the continuity of its cast: While Below Deck and Med have featured a revolving door of crew members since the departure of their longtime chief stews, Hannah and Kate Chastain , respectively, Sailing Yacht 's core group has remained the same for three seasons. Captain Glenn Shephard first stepped aboard Parsifal III when the show debuted in 2020, but he really found his groove the following season, when chief stew Daisy Kelliher, first officer Gary King, and chief engineer Colin MacRae joined the team.

Like Down Under 's Captain Jason Chambers, Glenn is always willing to lend a hand, and though he sets high standards for his team, he's far more forgiving of their mistakes. (Glenn has only fired three people in four seasons; Sandy fired two in just nine episodes when she filled in for Lee.) As the years have passed, Daisy, Colin, and Gary have embraced Glenn's loosey-goosey attitude — some may say too much — giving the show a more relaxed energy than its motored counterparts, even at its most stressful moments.

At the same time, the stability among the crew heightens the drama. On other spinoffs, if a stew is trading jabs with the chef or two deckhands are feuding over the anchor watch schedule, it's difficult to get fully invested in the conflict, as it likely won't matter at the end of the charter season, when they'll wave goodbye from the dock and never be seen again. (And with Below Deck airing year-round, workplace clashes like these quickly blend together.) However, on Sailing Yacht , these disputes follow the cast from one season to the next, and each slight piles up like layers on a primary's birthday cake. That's been the case with Daisy and Gary, who began their tenure at each other's throats but have since developed a better working relationship. Still, they understand exactly how to get under the other's skin, and they wield that knowledge like a weapon, as when Gary insists he needs a stew to serve drinks on the tender, and Daisy responds by pretending she can't hear him, sending them fuming to opposite ends of the boat.

The Sailing Yacht crew's familiarity with one another — and viewers' familiarity with them — has led to one of the most exciting reality TV plotlines of the year: the Daisy-Gary-Colin love triangle. Daisy and Gary had a steamy makeout in the hot tub last season, but their fling ended there (or so viewers thought); this year, after the tender incident, Daisy turns to Colin as a sounding board, and the two share a long-awaited kiss of their own. They begin a casual relationship, but every night off, Gary, who isn't getting the attention he wants from junior stew Mads Herrera, throws himself at Daisy, creating a rift in his friendship with Colin. Halfway through the season, Gary drunkenly reveals something they agreed to keep secret: "Having sex with you was f*cking amazing," he says, as Daisy eyes the camera and tells him to "shut the f*ck up."

In order to fully understand what's going on — the continued flirting between Gary and Daisy, her friendship with the men, and Colin's reaction to his friend's betrayal — and why it's happening, viewers must be aware of their complicated history. Bravo helps out by offering a lengthy recap to open Season 4, Episode 9, "Love Boat," after Daisy and Colin's first kiss, but the two-minute montage doesn't come close to capturing 40 episodes worth of jealous looks and playful banter. As with Vanderpump Rules ' #Scandoval , fans must be well-versed in the ins and outs of Sailing Yacht to appreciate just how delicious the Daisy-Gary-Colin love triangle really is.

The sailing itself also poses problems that don't affect crews on the more traditional, motored vessels in the Below Deck fleet. Every charter, Daisy and her team have to quite literally batten down the hatches as Glenn turns off the engine, raises the genoa and mizzen, and allows the wind to do its thing. Almost always, their efforts are insufficient, and the 20-plus degree heel sends food and glassware flying. The stress caused by this activity, which delights the guests like nothing else, only compounds existing tensions, as it feeds into the narrative that the deck crew gets to have fun sailing while the stews are forced to clean up their mess inside. This interior vs. exterior battle is one of Below Deck 's most consistent themes, but here, it's baked into each charter, giving producers the ability to play up the drama elsewhere.

As Sailing Yacht Season 4 has shown, that drama doesn't have to be romantic; it can also be of the mechanical variety. Boat issues are nothing new for Below Deck — near-crashes and ringing alarms are a constant, no matter how skilled the captain — but Parsifal has been particularly finicky this season, leaving Colin to contend with a stalled engine, a clogged plumbing system, and leaky exhaust pipes. Because Colin, the franchise's lone engineer, is directly involved in the cast, his herculean effort to fix the boat becomes part of the season's narrative, rather than something that's resolved off-camera by a group of mysterious, unseen employees . Colin's work is unglamorous and often thankless, but it's essential: Not only does he keep the boat running in moments of crisis, but his time in the engine room offers a more complete look at what's really going on below decks.

It took some time for Below Deck Sailing Yacht to come into its own, but as the Season 4 finale approaches, it's apparent that the show is poised to carry on the franchise's legacy. With the original shows floundering, Sailing Yacht 's long-gestating conflicts and the goofy, mild-mannered captain at its center have proven to be the wind behind Below Deck 's sails. So long as this cast sticks around, fans can expect the reality series to sail toward even greater success in the future.

The two-episode Below Deck Sailing Yacht Season 4 finale airs Monday, July 10 at 8:00 PM ET on Bravo. Join the discussion about the show in our forums.

Claire Spellberg Lustig is the Senior Editor at Primetimer and a scholar of The View. Follow her on Twitter at @c_spellberg .

TOPICS: Below Deck Sailing Yacht , Bravo , Below Deck , Below Deck Adventure , Below Deck Down Under , Below Deck Mediterranean , Glenn Shephard , Lee Rosbach , Sandy Yawn

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• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Below Deck Down Under

Explores the complex, often explosive dynamics of the crew and a rotating group of demanding charter guests on a yacht in northeastern Australia. Explores the complex, often explosive dynamics of the crew and a rotating group of demanding charter guests on a yacht in northeastern Australia. Explores the complex, often explosive dynamics of the crew and a rotating group of demanding charter guests on a yacht in northeastern Australia.

• Jason Chambers
• Aesha Scott
• Culver Bradbury
• 14 User reviews

Episodes 36

• Self - Captain

• Self - Chief Steward

• Self - Deckhand

• Self - Chef

• Self - Steward

• Self - Bosun

• Self - 3rd Steward

• Self - 2nd Officer

• Self - 2nd Steward

• Self - Lead Deckhand
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

• Trivia Chef Ryan Mckeown didn't last season one after being rude to the chief stewardess and the charter guests. He also only made basic meals with little to no effort resulting in the captain firing him.
• Connections Spin-off from Below Deck (2013)

User reviews 14

• Jul 13, 2022
• How many seasons does Below Deck Down Under have? Powered by Alexa
• March 17, 2022 (United States)
• United States
• Official site (Australia)
• Below Deck Australia
• Whitsunday Islands, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia
• 51 Minds Entertainment
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 43 minutes
• 1080i (HDTV)
• 576i (SDTV)

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Get to know paris field, the new stew on below deck.

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Capt. Kerry trades the Nordic Sea for crystal blue waters and stunning waterfalls as he leads his crew in the rich, historical island of Grenada. A disciplined and fair leader, Capt. Kerry has 30 years of experience working on boats and has spent almost two decades in yachting. As he steps on to St. David for the first time, Capt. Kerry relies on returning crew members Chief Stew Fraser Olender and Ben Willoughby to help the new staff find their way around the massive 197 ft. vessel.  

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Below Deck Captain Lee Rosbach on how real Bravo’s show is

Most of Bravo’s programming has become versions of The Real Housewives , with rich people acting like assholes for our entertainment, and its series  Below Deck is no exception.

It’s  The Real Housewives on a yacht, with the same requisite drama. But there are two major differences: One is that this is an actual yacht and the cast members are actually working.

The other is Captain Lee Rosbach, who is about as far from a typical Bravo star as you can get and still be on Bravo.

I talked to him about the show’s third season and what it’s like to be the captain of a crew hired by a production company.

Rosbach became captain on the show because the yacht he captains was chartered by the production crew for the first season. It has changed his life, he told me. “I get recognized a lot more and I get asked to do a lot of things like we’re doing now. I’m having a lot of fun with it; I’m enjoying it. If I didn’t have the opportunity to do it, I would have missed out on something special.”

Although they chartered a real yacht with a respectable captain, production company 51 Minds is not making a documentary about yachting, they’re making a Bravo reality show, and that means they cast for both guests and crew members.

A yacht’s crew hired by reality show producers

Selection of his crew is entirely out of the captain’s hands: “that’s something that they handle,” he said of the producers. However, all crew members are required to be licensed and certified.

“Each of the crew members has to have an STCW, which is a standard set by the maritime industry for watch-keeping and just being on board—it’s basic first aid, firefighting,” he told me. “It’s a two-week course and a certification they have to have before they’re allowed to work on yachts.”

However, Rosbach can fire the crew once they’re on board.

“I can’t speak directly to if anybody gets fired or something to that effect, but I can tell you that I do have that authority, yes,” he said. Captain Lee also told me “any time you bring new crew on board, whether it’s for a TV series or whether you’ve lost some of your old crew—which happens quite frequently in yachting—you’re bound to go through some changes, and adaptations are going to be made.”

Three crew members are returning for season three, which debuts tonight:

• chief stew Kate Chastain
• second stew Amy Johnson
• bosun Eddie Lucas

They’ll be joined by a new group of Housewives—er, crew members:

• second engineer and deckhand Don Abenante
• deckhand Connie Arias
• third stew Raquel “Rocky” Dakota
• deckhand Emile Kotze
• chef Leon Walker

The production crew doesn’t live on board but stays near where the yacht is traveling. “They are centrally located,” Captain Lee said, “and we transport them back and forth every day. The only people that are allowed to sleep on the yacht are the crew and the guests.”

How many people are on board “varies,” he said, based on what’s happening that day; underwater filming, for example, would require additional crew. But it averages eight to 10 production crew members on board.

How real Below Deck’s drama is

Captain Lee Rosbach watches Below Deck at the same time everyone else does, and says that the edited version is “a pretty accurate snapshot, I really do,” he said. “What happens happens and it’s all caught on film.” But there are also things he’s seeing for the first time.

“Hell yes, I’m surprised,” he said. “I think one of the biggest lessons that I’ve learned since I started doing a series is that a captain who thinks they really, really knows what goes on with his crew all the time is fooling himself, because he doesn’t.”

When I asked for examples of what surprised him the most, he said things like “crew staying up later than they should, that sort of thing, or drinking more than they should. You can’t police everybody 100 percent of the time, and no captain’s going to stay awake 24 hours a day to make sure his crew does the right thing. There’s going to be some things they’re going to get away with, and you’re going to find out about later. You almost always find out, but a lot of the times it’s after the fact.”

Despite the surprises, he described Below Deck ‘s drama as “typical” of the yachting industry.

“Some people may disagree with that assessment, but you’ve always got drama on board a boat,” he said. “Any time you get people that are living and working together in that close proximity, you’re going to have issues and things are going to happen, and drama’s going to ensue. It’s been that way in yachting for years, long before the series came around.”

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About the writer

Andy Dehnart is the creator of reality blurred and a writer and teacher who obsessively and critically covers reality TV and unscripted entertainment, focusing on how it’s made and what it means.

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• Destinations

Below Deck Series: From Bravo’s Hit Show to Luxury Yacht Charter

Below Deck TV series is a popular reality show premiered on Bravo in 2013. The show follows the lives of crew members who work on luxury yachts as they cater to the demands of high-end clients. It provides a glimpse into the challenges and drama of running a charter yacht, from navigating the seas to managing crew relationships.

The show features a rotating cast of crew members who work on the yachts. The cast includes the captain, the chief stew, the chef, and the deckhands, among others. New crew members are introduced each season, and viewers get to know their personalities and dynamics with the rest of the crew.

The yachts featured on Below Deck are among the most luxurious and expensive in the world. They include a variety of vessels, from motor yachts to sailing yachts. Some of the most iconic yachts featured on the show include the Valor, the Ionian Princess, and the My Seanna.

One of the unique aspects of Below Deck is the focus on the interactions between the crew members. Viewers get an intimate look at the relationships between the crew members as they work together in close quarters for an extended period. Drama often arises from these relationships, and viewers are kept on their toes watching the various storylines unfold.

In addition to the relationships between the crew members, Below Deck also features interactions with the guests on the yacht. The guests often have high expectations and demands, and the crew must go above and beyond to ensure their satisfaction. These interactions provide a fascinating look into the world of luxury yachting and the demands that come with it.

Over the years, Below Deck has become a cultural phenomenon, with millions of viewers watching the latest episodes. The show has also spawned several spin-offs, including Below Deck Mediterranean and Below Deck Sailing Yacht , which have each garnered their loyal following.

A Guide to All Seasons, Yachts, and Cast of Bravo’s Hit Show “Below Deck”

“Below Deck” has overtaken the world with its high-octane drama and luxury yacht lifestyle. With multiple seasons and a revolving cast of characters, keeping track of all the yachts, crew members, and exotic locations can be challenging. In this article, we will deep dive into each season, the yachts featured, and the cast members who made them unforgettable. From the “Honor” to the “My Seanna,” we’ll cover all the yachts that have graced the show. Join us on this journey as we explore the “Below Deck” world and all its glory.

“Below Deck” is a popular reality television show on the Bravo network. The show follows the lives of crew members working on luxury yachts as they cater to the needs of high-end clients. Over the years, the show has featured various cast members, yachts, and exotic locations.

Season 1 – “Below Deck”

The first season of “Below Deck” premiered in 2013 and introduced viewers to the crew of the 164-foot luxury yacht, “Honor.” Lee Rosbach, including Kate Chastain as the chief stewardess, captained the yacht. Other notable cast members include Ben Robinson, Eddie Lucas, and David Bradberry. The season featured six episodes and focused on the relationships and drama between the crew members.

Season 2 – “Below Deck”

The second season of “Below Deck” aired in 2014 and introduced viewers to the crew of the 162-foot luxury yacht, “Ohana.” Captain Lee Rosbach returned for this season, as did Kate Chastain. Other notable cast members include Eddie Lucas, Kat Held, and Kelley Johnson. The season featured 13 episodes and was set in the British Virgin Islands .

Season 3 – “Below Deck”

The third season of “Below Deck” aired in 2015 and introduced viewers to the crew of the 161-foot luxury yacht, “Eros.” Captain Lee Rosbach and Kate Chastain returned for this season. Other notable cast members include Eddie Lucas, Amy Johnson, and Rocky Dakota. The season featured 14 episodes and was set in the Bahamas .

Season 4 – “Below Deck”

The fourth season of “Below Deck” aired in 2016 and introduced viewers to the crew of the 154-foot luxury yacht, “Valor.” Captain Lee Rosbach returned for this season, as did Kate Chastain. Other notable cast members include Nico Scholly, Lauren Burchell, and Kelley Johnson. The season featured 14 episodes and was set in the Virgin Islands.

Season 5 – “Below Deck”

The fifth season of “Below Deck” aired in 2017 and introduced viewers to the crew of the 154-foot luxury yacht, “Valor.” Captain Lee Rosbach and Kate Chastain returned for this season. Other notable cast members include Nico Scholly, Brianna Adekeye, and Matt Burns. The season featured 16 episodes and was set in the Virgin Islands.

Season 6 – “Below Deck”

The sixth season of “Below Deck” aired in 2018 and introduced viewers to the crew of the 150-foot luxury yacht, “My Seanna.” Captain Lee Rosbach returned for this season, as did Kate Chastain. Other notable cast members include Josiah Carter, Ross Inia, and Caroline Bedol. The season featured 18 episodes and was set in Tahiti.

Season 7 – “Below Deck”

The seventh season of “Below Deck” aired in 2019 and introduced viewers to the crew of the 177-foot luxury yacht, “Valor.” Captain Lee Rosbach returned for this season, as did Kate Chastain. Other notable cast members include Ashton Pienaar, Abbi Murphy, and Tanner Sterback. The season featured 20 episodes and was set in Thailand .

Season 8 – “Below Deck”

The eighth season of “Below Deck” aired in 2020 and introduced viewers to the crew of the 180-foot luxury yacht, “My Seanna.” Captain Lee Rosbach and Eddie Lucas returned for this season. Other notable cast members include Francesca Rubi, Rachel Hargrove, and Izzy Wouters. The season featured

Season 9 – “Below Deck”

The ninth series of “Below Deck” premiered on October 25th, 2021, and takes place on a 180-foot luxury yacht named “Lady Michelle” which sails around the Caribbean. The season features a mix of new and returning cast members, including Captain Lee Rosbach, who returns as the yacht’s captain. Other notable cast members include Chief Stewardess Heather Chase, Second Stewardess Jessica Albert, and Chef Reynold Hogg.

Season 10 – “Below Deck”

As for Season 10, there has been no official announcement or release date from Bravo TV yet. However, fans can expect another exciting season with a new yacht, cast members, and destinations to explore.

The Ultimate Guide to the Yachts Featured in Below Deck: Names, Specs, and More

Below Deck has featured a variety of luxury yachts over the years, each with its unique name and design. Here are some of the most notable yachts featured on the show:

• Season 1: “Honor” – a 164-foot luxury yacht built by Palmer Johnson in 2004.
• Season 2: “Ohana” – a 162-foot luxury yacht built by Fitzroy Yachts in 2004.
• Season 3: “Eros” – a 161-foot luxury yacht built by Feadship in 2008.
• Season 4: “Valor” – a 154-foot luxury yacht built by Delta Marine in 2013.
• Season 5: “Valor” – the same yacht used in Season 4.
• Season 6: “My Seanna” – a 185-foot luxury yacht built by Delta Marine in 2001.
• Season 7: “Valor” – the same yacht used in Seasons 4 and 5.
• Season 8: “My Seanna” – the same yacht used in Season 6.
• Season 9: “Lady Michelle” – a 180-foot luxury yacht built by Benetti in 2003.
• Season 10: “Elysium” – a 180-foot luxury yacht built by Richmond Yachts in 2010.

These yachts have all played a vital role in the drama and excitement that unfolds on Below Deck, and each one offers a unique backdrop for the show’s cast and crew. From sleek and modern designs to classic luxury styling, these yachts are truly a sight to behold. If you’re a fan of the show, you’ll want to keep an eye out for these great vessels as you watch the latest episodes!

How Much Does it Cost to Charter a Yacht on Below Deck?

Are you a fan of Below Deck and wondering how much it costs to charter one of those luxurious yachts for yourself? The cost can vary depending on a few factors, such as the location, yacht size, and charter length. The average price of chartering a yacht on Below Deck ranges from $140,000 to $220,000 per week, not including gratuity and expenses such as food, fuel, and docking fees.

Remember that some of the larger yachts featured on the show can cost upwards of $300,000 per week to charter. Additionally, some yachts may require a minimum charter length of two weeks or longer, increasing the cost.

Suppose you’re interested in experiencing the luxury of a Below Deck yacht charter. In that case, working with a reputable charter broker who can help you navigate the various options and find the best yacht for your needs and budget is essential. With some planning and research, you can turn your Below Deck dreams into a reality.

Below Deck Location: The Stunning Destinations of the Hit TV Show

If you’re a fan of the hit TV show Below Deck, you know that the yachts and crew aren’t the only things that make the show so captivating. The stunning locations in which the tv series is filmed are just as alluring, providing the perfect backdrop for drama and luxury. In this article, we’ll explore the different locations the show has been set in over the years and what makes them so unique.

Season 1 of Below Deck was set in the beautiful Caribbean islands of the British Virgin Islands, providing the perfect setting for the crew of the 164-foot luxury yacht Honor. The stunning turquoise waters and white sand beaches were a treat for viewers, setting the stage for the drama unfolding on board.

Season 2 took us to the breathtaking location of Tahiti in the South Pacific. The 150-foot luxury yacht Ohana crew navigated the stunning French Polynesian islands, taking in the sights and enjoying the crystal-clear waters.

For Season 3, the 161-foot luxury yacht Eros crew explored the beautiful waters of the Bahamas. With its colorful coral reefs, endless sunshine, and sandy beaches, the Bahamas provided a stunning location for the show.

The fourth season of Below Deck was set in the gorgeous Virgin Islands, with the 154-foot luxury yacht Valor crew navigating the stunning Caribbean seas. The Virgin Islands are known for their crystal-clear waters and idyllic beaches, making them the perfect location for the show.

Season 5 returned to the Virgin Islands, with the 154-foot luxury yacht Valor’s crew again taking center stage. The crew navigated the stunning Caribbean waters, taking in the sights and sounds of the tropical paradise.

Season 6 took us to the stunning location of Tahiti once again, with the 150-foot luxury yacht My Seanna crew navigating the idyllic French Polynesian islands .

Season 7 saw the crew of the 177-foot luxury yacht Valor explore the exotic location of Thailand, with its stunning beaches and bustling cities providing the perfect backdrop for the show.

Finally, Season 8 took us back to the stunning location of the Virgin Islands, with the crew of the 180-foot luxury yacht My Seanna again navigating the crystal-clear Caribbean seas.

As you can see, Below Deck has been set in some of the most stunning locations worldwide, providing the perfect backdrop for the drama and luxury for the show is known.

Below Deck Mediterranean Cast: A Complete Guide to the Crew Members, Yachts, and Seasons

Below Deck Mediterranean is a popular reality television show that follows the lives of the crew members working on luxury yachts as they cater to the needs of high-end clients in various exotic locations. Here’s a breakdown of the cast of Below Deck Mediterranean over the years:

• Season 1 (2016): The first season of Below Deck Mediterranean featured the crew of the 154-foot luxury yacht, Ionian Princess. Captain Mark Howard led the crew, which included chief stewardess Hannah Ferrier, deckhand Bobby Giancola, and chef Adam Glick, among others.
• Season 2 (2017): The second season of Below Deck Mediterranean took place on the 160-foot luxury yacht, Sirocco. Captain Sandy Yawn led the crew, which included chief stewardess Hannah Ferrier, deckhand Bobby Giancola (returning from the previous season), and new crew members like chef Adam Glick and bosun Wesley Walton.
• Season 3 (2018): The third season of Below Deck Mediterranean featured the crew of the 178-foot luxury yacht Talisman Maiton. Captain Sandy Yawn returned to lead the crew, which included chief stewardess Hannah Ferrier (also producing), deckhand João Franco, and new members like chef Adam Glick and second stew Brooke Laughton.
• Season 4 (2019): The fourth season of Below Deck Mediterranean occurred on the 184-foot luxury yacht, Sirocco (returning from Season 2). Captain Sandy Yawn led the crew, which included returning chief stewardess Hannah Ferrier, new deckhand Travis Michalzik, and unique chef Mila Kolomeitseva (who was replaced mid-season by Ben Robinson).
• Season 5 (2020): The fifth season of Below Deck Mediterranean featured the crew of the 177-foot luxury yacht, The Wellington. Captain Sandy Yawn returned to lead the crew, which included returning chief stewardess Hannah Ferrier (who was replaced mid-season by Bugsy Drake), deckhand Alex Radcliffe, and new chef Kiko Lorran (who was replaced mid-season by Tom Checketts).
• Season 6 (2021): The sixth season of Below Deck Mediterranean occurred on the 180-foot luxury yacht, Lady Michelle. Captain Sandy Yawn returned to lead the crew, which included new chief stewardess Katie Flood, deckhand David Pascoe, and new chef Mathew Shea.

Meet the Cast of Below Deck Sailing Yacht Season 3: Captain, Chef, Stewardess, First Mate, and Deckhands

Below Deck Sailing Yacht is a spinoff of the popular reality TV show. It features a new cast and takes place on a sailing yacht instead of a motor yacht. The show premiered in 2020 and has since gained a large following. In this article, we will introduce you to the cast of Below Deck Sailing Yacht Season 3 and give you a sneak peek into their lives on the high seas.

Captain Glenn Shephard is the captain of the sailing yacht and has been with the show since the beginning. He has extensive experience sailing and has worked in the yachting industry for over 20 years. Captain Glenn is known for his calm, collected demeanor and safety dedication.

Chef Natasha De Bourg is a newcomer to the Below Deck franchise and head chef on the sailing yacht. She has worked in the culinary industry for over 20 years and has trained in some of the best kitchens in the world. Natasha is known for her fiery personality and dedication to creating delicious and innovative meals for guests.

Chief Stewardess Daisy Kelliher is the chief stewardess on the sailing yacht and has been in the yachting industry for over ten years. She is known for her organizational skills and ability to manage the yacht’s interior while keeping the guests happy.

First Mate Colin Macrae is the first mate on the sailing yacht and has been with the show since Season 1. He is known for his positive attitude and willingness to go above and beyond for the guests. Colin has extensive experience sailing and has worked in the yachting industry for over ten years.

Deckhand Gary King is a deckhand on the sailing yacht and is new to the Below Deck franchise. He has experience in the yachting industry and is known for his sense of humor and easy-going personality.

Deckhand Sydney Zaruba is a deckhand on the sailing yacht and is also new to the Below Deck franchise. She has a background in dance and is known for her energy and enthusiasm.

Deckhand Jean-Luc Cerza Lanaux is a deckhand on the sailing yacht and is new to the Below Deck franchise. He has a background in modeling and is known for his good looks and charming personality.

The cast of Below Deck Sailing Yacht Season 3 promises to bring viewers drama, excitement, and entertainment. With their extensive experience in the yachting industry and their unique personalities, they are sure to make for an unforgettable season.

How Much Money Do Below Deck Crew Members Make? Revealing the Salaries and Tips of the Cast

Revealing the Truth Behind Below Deck Salaries: How Much Do the Crew Members Make?

Below Deck is a popular reality TV show that follows the lives of crew members working on luxury yachts as they cater to the needs of high-end clients. Viewers often wonder about the salaries earned by the crew members, especially considering the demanding nature of the job. In this article, we’ll dive into the details of the Below Deck salaries and reveal how much the crew members make.

The cast of Below Deck typically consists of a captain, chief stew, deckhands, and a chef. According to various sources, the salaries for crew members can range from $1,500 to $3,500 per week, depending on their position and level of experience. The captain is typically the highest-paid crew member, with an average salary of $210,000 annually. The chief stew and chef are also well-compensated, with salaries ranging from $62,000 to $75,000 annually.

Deckhands, on the other hand, are typically paid less than other crew members, with salaries ranging from $40,000 to $52,000 per year. However, some deckhands may earn more based on their experience and expertise in specific areas such as watersports or navigation.

It’s important to note that crew members on Below Deck also receive tips from the charter guests, which can significantly increase their earnings. Typically, tips can range from $15,000 to $30,000 per charter, with the captain and chief stew receiving a larger share than other crew members.

In addition to their salaries and tips, crew members on Below Deck also enjoy the perks of living and working on a luxury yacht, such as free accommodation, food, and travel to exotic locations.

Overall, the salaries earned by crew members on Below Deck may vary depending on various factors such as experience, job position, and tip amounts. However, it’s safe to say that working on a luxury yacht can be a lucrative career for those who are dedicated and hardworking.

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'Below Deck’ on Honor Yacht - New Bravo Superyacht Crew Reality Show

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By Editorial Team   1 July 2013

The 50m (164’) luxury charter yacht ‘Honor’ is the setting of new Bravo reality series ‘Below Deck’ that follows the lives of crew and guests on board a five-week charter of the Caribbean.

The show has already been subject to some criticism, with many in the industry claiming it does not offer a true insight into luxury yacht chartering. The fact that the yacht was renamed ‘ Honor ’ (previously ‘ Cuor di Leone ’) and the crew of eight were given time off to be replaced by an all-American crew chosen by the executives goes some way to proving this.

Her Captain Rosbach and engineer are real however and remained on board to safely operate the charter yacht throughout the duration of filming. Many in the industry have questioned why they would have taken part in the show when it risks the reputation of ‘Honor’ as a charter yacht as well as exposing unprofessional behaviour of the crew. Yet with a reported $1,000,000 paid by Bravo, treated as a normal charter the Captain would have had to have made it work as he usually would.

‘Below Deck’ is the brain child of co-executive producer, Rebecca Taylor, who has been carrying around the idea since spending three summers working on charter yachts in New England during her college years. She describes the show as documenting when ‘upstairs and downstairs worlds collide’, revealing a young crew who live in a confined space not just with each-other but with their ‘wealthy, demanding charter guests’. 

Obviously, much of the drama and antics have been amplified for entertainment value but one thing that can be highlighted through the show is the long working hours of charter crew and the challenges they face in providing a personalised five-star service to each guest. Every episode features different charter guests, from millionaires, to entertainers to hard-partying well-heeled friends, each presenting their own specific demands for the crew to deal with.

By its very nature, the work that goes into preparing a luxury yacht like ‘Honor’ for charter, from doing laundry, cleaning bathrooms, scrubbing floors and washing the exterior to serving gourmet food and champagne is rarely seen in action. The yacht’s formidable chief stewardess Adrienne Gang, said she was glad viewers would get some insight into the yacht lifestyle and also realise how much work it is to be part of the yacht crew. Others members of the crew include Captain Aleks Taldykin, Chef Ben Robinson, David Bradberry, C.J. Lebeau, Eddie Lucas, Samantha Orme and Kat Hela.

For those who haven’t experienced and luxury yacht charter for themselves, it is advised that ‘Below Deck’ be taken with a pinch of salt. Unlike most luxury charter yachts, only three of the eight crew that took part in the documentary had previous experience and were no doubt chosen for their particularly extrovert personalities. All in all ‘Below Deck’ is just another reality show and while it may represent some situations negatively, should not be taken too seriously. If you are interested in chartering a luxury yacht similar to ‘Honor’ contact your nearest yacht charter broker .

Take a look at all the luxury yachts for charter  , including the world's largest charter yacht Eclipse.

one thing that can be highlighted through the show is the long working hours of charter crew and the challenges they face

More Yacht Information

50m Benetti 1999 / 2021

• READ MORE ABOUT:
• Cuor di Leone
• Rebecca Taylor
• Adrienne Gang
• Captain Rosbach
• Aleks Taldykin
• Ben Robinson
• David Bradberry
• C.J. Lebeau
• Eddie Lucas
• Samantha Orme

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What Happened To Reid Jenkins After Mediterranean Season 7?

• Reid Jenkins joined Below Deck Med season7 late but made a lasting impact, bonding with the crew and embracing the challenges of yachting life.
• Reid Jenkins' Instagram reveals a loving relationship with his girlfriend Kassidy McGhee, showcasing their adventures and special moments together.
• Despite his successful stint on Below Deck Med S7, Reid Jenkins did not return for season 8, keeping his life private and away from the cameras.

Below Deck Mediterranean season 7 deckhand Reid Jenkins has kept a low profile since his time on the show. With Captain Sandy Yawn at the helm, the crew was focused on their job, albeit with the usual drama and romantic storylines of a Below Deck season. However, things went slightly off course when a feud between deckhand Jason Gaskell and new Bosun Storm Smith threatened to derail the season. Jason also struggled to get along with fellow deckhands Mzi Dempers and Courtney Veale before he decided to leave after Storm had a tough discussion.

After Jason's shocking exit, Reid was brought in as his replacement. With the crew already preparing for another charter, Reid had to shoulder the responsibility of quickly adapting to an already-flowing season and gelling with crewmates . Reid, born in Decatur, Alabama, graduated from the University of Alabama in 2019. Although Reid's family operates a towing company, he developed a love for yachting and gained experience working on tug boats. Nonetheless, after a lukewarm start to his reality TV debut, Reid stepped up to the plate and ended Below Deck Mediterranean season 7 impressively.

20 Best Reality TV Shows Right Now

Reid is now in a relationship.

Reid joined the Below Deck Mediterranean season 7 crew and quickly became eye candy for some of the ladies on board. He and new stew Elena Dubaich had a very short romance toward the end of the season; however, it never went anywhere due to Elena joining the show for the last two episodes. Now, Reid is in a relationship with a woman named Kassidy McGhee. Reid recently shared his first post on Instagram with his girlfriend. Meanwhile, the couple's friends often teased them by leaving cheeky comments on their photos, including someone who said " looking good ."

Reid and Kassidy recently appeared together at a friend's wedding, looking loved-up themselves.

Reid and Kassidy had dated before Reid filmed Below Deck Med and seemingly got back together recently. Reid and Kassidy recently appeared together at a friend's wedding, looking loved-up. Although Reid and Kassidy haven't appeared in the news lately, they still follow each other on Instagram and appear in each other's pictures. Kassidy first appeared on Reid's Instagram in January 2022, months before his Below Deck Med debut. Since then, Kassidy has shared images of her kissing Reid and of the couple's various trips together, including one to George Island.

Reid Posted To Instagram For The First Time In Years

Before April 8, Reid had gone more than two years without any activity on his Instagram page. Reid 's last post on the page was of an image of himself donning a blue suit on November 22, 2022, where he encouraged fans to tune in for the Below Deck Med season 7 reunion. However, after a long hiatus, Reid surprisingly returned to Instagram on Monday, April 8, to celebrate his friend Steve getting married. Reid shared several pictures on his Instagram, including one of himself with his arms around his girlfriend, Kassidy.

Reid also shared group pictures of himself and other mutual friends who attended the wedding. Despite his extensive career in the yachting industry and his reality TV stint, Reid isn't very active on social media. Judging by the first picture on his Instagram, Reid appeared to have started the account in 2016; however, he only has about 61 posts and 5,399 followers.

What Happened To Bosun Storm Smith From Below Deck Med Season 7?

Does reid still work in yachting.

Although there hasn't been any new information about Reid's career since his Below Deck Med stint, it is highly plausible to believe he still works in the yachting industry . Before joining the Below Deck Med season 7 crew, Reid was already an established professional in the yachting industry. Reid worked as a captain for small yacht deliveries and also freelanced for deckhand gigs. After changing his major multiple times in college, Reid found himself drawn to the adventure of yachting, and he became a deckhand on Below Deck Med , dreaming of running his yacht surveying firm with his father.

Reid's Journey On Below Deck Med

Reid joined Below Deck Mediterranean season 7 very late, with little time to impact the season. During his first few episodes on the show, Reid spoke a bit about himself and how he tends to say the wrong thing when he's nervous. According to Reid, a female friend warned him to say as little as possible once onboard, noting, " For whatever reason, I'm just really good at shoving my foot in my mouth. Sometimes I say or do something, I just feel nervous, I feel like I need to fit in (via Distractify )."

Unsurprisingly, Reid struggled to get along with his co-stars after arriving on deck. The rest of the crew members already had established relationships before Reid joined, and it took a lot of work for him to infuse himself. Nonetheless, Reid still found himself involved in one of the season's dramas after he joked that lead deckhand Courtney had " an undiagnosed case of narcissism. " Courtney took Reid's joke personally , explaining that it triggered something in her during the Below Deck Mediterranean season 7 reunion. Nonetheless, Reid apologized to Courtney for the joke, and the two made up by the end of the season .

Will Reid Ever Return To Below Deck Med?

Reid joined Below Deck Med season 7 with just five episodes to go and made as much impact as possible during his short stint. Despite Reid's tough start to the season, he was eventually able to get along with his co-stars, and during the season finale and reunion episodes, Reid was a bonafide team member. However, even with his impressive skills, Reid didn't reprise his role in Below Deck Med season 8 , unlike Captain Sandy, second stew Kyle Viljoen, and stew Natalya Scudder.

With Below Deck Med season 9 still months away, there have been no rumors of Reid joining the team. Reid hasn't appeared at any Bravo event since the reunion, instead choosing to keep his life private. While Reid certainly enjoyed his time on Below Deck Med season 7, it doesn't look like fans will see him on the screens again anytime soon .

Below Deck airs Mondays at 8 p.m. EDT on Bravo.

Sources: Reality Titbit , Distractify

Below Deck Mediterranean

Below Deck Mediterranean is a Bravo reality television series that follows a crew that works aboard a gigantic superyacht during the busy season. The show highlights the challenges of the crew as they serve their high-end clientele. Each season tackles new locations, such as Greece, Croatia, Italy, and France, with some repeating.

Release Date May 3, 2016

Network Bravo

Genres Reality

Franchise(s) Below Deck

Showrunner Nadine Rajabi, Courtland Cox, Mark Cronin

Rating TV-14

The reality of Below Deck on Bravo

By Lucy Chabot Reed

Yacht crew finally have their own reality show. Well, sort of.

  Considering “reality” as a genre of television shows, Bravo TV’s “Below Deck” does indeed follow the crew of a 164-foot (50m) megayacht for five unscripted weeks of charters.

  But if we use the dictionary definition of the word reality, “Below Deck” might be a stretch. Sure, in general, crew argue, captains can be tough, stews cry. But a lot of what we’ll see on TV beginning July 1 likely would never happen on a 50m charter yacht.

  “They pretty much acted like crew I would have fired,” said Capt. Lee Rosbach, the real-life captain of M/Y Cuor di Leone , the yacht that was used as the set for “Below Deck” and known as M/Y Honor on TV.

  Though not profiled on Bravo’s Web site, Capt. Rosbach, the yacht’s real first officer and the yacht’s real engineer remained on board to safely operate the vessel. They do appear in the shows, however, Rosbach being that tough guy with the gray hair.

The show is the brain child of Rebecca Taylor, the show’s co-executive producer who spent three summers working on yachts in New England during college. After getting her degree in film and television, she still carried around the idea to show what life as a yacht crew member was like. She pitched the idea to Bravo, which took it on.

“This life is fascinating,” she said. “There are both professionally run boats, and I worked on them, but I was around enough boats to know that there’s another side. There’s a mix of professional crew and young, transient people. … It’s a really interesting subculture and when you learn about it, you wonder, ‘how does everybody not do this?’”

And though others had similar ideas, Taylor had connections from her time working on yachts. Working with producers, she contacted charter agencies to find a yacht and charter guests who were willing to be filmed. Then they booked a five-week Caribbean charter on M/Y Cuor di Leone , renamed it M/Y Honor , and gave the real crew (except the captain, mate and engineer) time off.

The eight hired crew came on for the charter and when it was over, the real crew returned and finished the season.

Captains, crew and industry people are already critical of the show, after having only seen the trailer. But there’s enough in there to give them pause including tears, a mean captain, and drama. Of course, all that really does happen in yachting, so who’s to say it won’t be an authentic portrayal?

When critics wonder how the crew could do it, why they sold themselves out, I ask them, what would you do? If you are the captain of a 50m charter yacht and someone books a million-dollar charter, what do you do? Seriously, what do you do? Do you decline the charter? I suppose you could. But that won’t kill the show; they’ll just go someplace else? What if the boss has already accepted the charter? Do you talk him out of it? Five weeks?

Do you quit in protest? That won’t stop the show either, as your position likely will be filled by day’s end and the show will go on regardless.

Rosbach did his job. Bravo was his charter client and he went out of his way to make everything work, as a good charter captain should, Taylor said.

“He didn’t say no,” she said. “He tried hard to say yes to everything to make it all happen.”

I would guess that most charter captains would do the same. They might not like it, but they would do their jobs. Rosbach set a few ground rules (chief among them that his first officer and engineer remain onboard) and played along as best he could with an impromptu crew that really didn’t have the experience to be successful.

“The producers of the show wanted to show the long hours and the stress of yachting, but most of that was caused by the crew being inept,” Rosbach said. “On a 50m charter boat, they were all way over their heads. A couple of them tried really hard and they might have made good entry-level crew. I’m worried people will think this is what happens on a 50m charter yacht.

“But it’s TV,” he said. “You can put as much lipstick on it as you want and you can call it a reality show, but it’s entertainment. It’s not made in a documentary fashion to reflect what it’s really like. Why everyone takes it so seriously is beyond me.”

Taylor said she wanted the show to be as authentic as possible, and that includes the good, the bad and the ugly.

“People on big boats might look at this and say ‘who are these kids? They don’t have enough experience to be on this boat’,” she said. “But that fish-out-of-water element was massively important to me. It’s the middle of summer with guests on board and you’re working all the time. Sometimes, you don’t have time to hire who you want and you get a newbie who’s in over her head. It does happen.”

Well, that part is true

“Below Deck” follows a group of crew members living and working aboard M/Y Honor , the TV name for M/Y Cuor di Leone . Here’s what Bravo says about the show.

“The upstairs and downstairs worlds collide when this young and single crew, known as ‘yachties,’ live, love and work together on-board the luxurious, privately owned yacht while tending to the ever-changing needs of their wealthy, demanding charter guests.”

Well, that much is true.

“While each crew member brings a different level of experience, they all share a love for this lifestyle that enables them to travel to some of the most beautiful and exotic locales in the world.”

Not sure about that bit about “a love for this lifestyle.” Most of them don’t know what this lifestyle is. Three of the eight cast members have worked on yachts before, though: Chief Stew Adrienne Gang, Chef Ben Robinson and Stew Kat Held. Where, when and how long is unclear.

The show couldn’t have happened with the “real” crew because of all the logistics involved in the show. All the crew had to be American so there would be no visa issues with being paid by Bravo, and they all had to be screened and checked.

“The original crew was perfect, but in the television world, there’s all kinds of reasons you can’t do that,” Taylor said. “It’s almost impossible to find a real functioning crew and step on with cameras and say go. Just because you have the perfect crew doesn’t mean you don’t have a convicted felon or someone with anger issues who’s going to punch the cameraman. All that matters to us in TV.”

Choosing the yacht was challenging, too. It needed to be big enough to handle not only the crew (11 in this case) and charter guests, but also about 15 camera, light and sound crew during shooting. The TV people slept aboard another vessel as the charter cruised around Anguilla, St. Barts, St. Maarten, and Saba, Rosbach said. The charter guests were real charterers who knew what they were getting into and agreed to be filmed. “Some of them were fun; all of them were entertaining,” Rosbach said.

Eleven cameras caught all the action on the yacht, six stationary cameras set up in various parts of the vessel, including the crew quarters, and five hand-held cameras following crew.

“In some ways, they’re showing basic human nature, which is not necessarily indicative of yacht crew,” Rosbach said. “You are going to have that dynamic when you put any 12 people together to work and live. “And you do forget the cameras are on,” he said. “It’ll be interesting to see what comes out. They can portray you any way they want.”

Some yachties are already worried.

“I don’t want guys looking to buy a boat watch this and go, ‘sheesh, is this what I’ve got to deal with? Forget that,’” said Capt. Moe Moses, who was running a yacht in St. Maarten while filming was going on. “Anyone who knows better knows it’s nonsense. I just hope negative things don’t come out of it.”

  He was bothered by some of the behavior he saw in the islands during shooting, including the crew zipping around Simpson Bay in the tender, shirtless.

 “ It just infuriated a lot of us down there,” Moses said. “It’s going to make us look like a bunch of meatballs.” When filming spilled over to Toppers to catch the crew drinking, Moses and his crew left the bar.

“I didn’t want to be seen in the background,” he said. “Sure [drinking] happens, but when charter guests are on the boat, crew are not at the bar getting drunk. It doesn’t happen. This is not reality.”

Nor is it really meant to be. It is television, after all.

“I didn’t get a sense that they were out to make yachting look bad,” Rosbach said. “It was TV for entertainment purposes. It was like a soap opera.”  

“I worked on yachts for three years; I know exactly what happens on yachts,” Taylor said. “We wanted the show to be the most authentic it could be. The negative reaction is that we’re going to expose that unprofessional side of yachting. Hopefully that’s not the case, but if it is, it’s still authentic. That does happen in yachting.”

An authentic show might include hours of ironing and changing oil filters, but that wouldn’t make interesting television. At the end of the day, Taylor said she was trying to show the two worlds yacht crew live: the life above deck that is composed and professional, and a completely different world two stories below.

“TV is TV,” Rosbach said. “The ‘reality’ in reality TV is a relative term and should be loosely interpreted.” But no one has watched the show yet, not even Taylor. She has the episodes; she just hasn’t sat down to watch them.

“It’s like giving your kid up for adoption,” she said. “You get pictures but you can’t say anything now about what he’s wearing or how his hair is cut. It’s not your child anymore.”  

A charter to remember

For Rosbach, it was a memorable charter. He learned a lot about how television works, and found another industry where money is often no object.

  After the second episode, an executive from Bravo came to see the set. Then the budget increased. The set designer built a golf green. They added a remote helicopter with cameras and hired drone guys to fly them.

“I though we spent a lot of money on yachts,” he said. “They rival that. But it was interesting to see the whole process and how intricate and complicated it is. It was an experience and 90 percent of it was good. The camera/sound guys are great. I really enjoyed the crew.

  “Anybody who thinks that this really is going to have an impact on the yachting industry is overreacting,” he said. “I have a hard time believing billionaires sit around watching Bravo reality TV.”

Taylor, too, wants yachties to give the show a chance.

“The most important thing for yachties to understand is that the show came from a really good, authentic place,” she said. “I want this to be a proper telling of what really happens. That said, you know it’s a television show.

“I want yachties to give it a chance and appreciate it for what it is.”

I was skeptical when I heard about the show, but after talking to Rosbach and Taylor, I feel a little better. Hopefully, some fresh-faced kids in middle America will see the show and be introduced to the yachting industry. If that happens, it’ll all be worth it, the good, the bad and the ugly.  

Click this link for  promo video  for ‘Below Deck’.

Lucy Chabot Reed is editor of The Triton. Comments on this column are welcome below.

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About Lucy Chabot Reed

Lucy Chabot Reed is publisher and founding editor of The Triton.

View all posts by Lucy Chabot Reed →

“Below Deck” Is The Perfect Reality Show For The Age Of Millennial Burnout

Below Deck stars hot, relatable service workers subjected to the whims of the 1 percent. Is it any wonder it’s become Bravo's underdog hit?

Culture Writer

Chief Stew Kate Chastain sets a table during Season 6 of Below Deck .

The cable TV network Bravo is best known as the reality powerhouse that brought us the infamous Real Housewives , a global TV franchise about rich (and pretend-rich) ladies fighting about who gets the biggest room on their cast vacations. (The Marvel Universe could never.) But in 2013, the network went slightly off brand, creating their version of a grittier view from below, with the unscripted series Below Deck .

While Below Deck does feature rich (and pretend-rich) passengers on luxury yachts — everyone from the Real Housewives of Atlanta and the so-called Queen of Versailles Jackie Siegel to baseballer Johnny Damon have been guests — the show focuses on the behind-the-scenes trials of the crew tasked with keeping them happy.

The crew’s work drama and boatmances have been consistently gripping enough to elevate the show, alongside its 2016 spinoff Below Deck Mediterranean , into the upper tier of cable TV ratings. Still, it’s easy to overlook Below Deck — I did for years — because the promotion for it has been oddly unenticing. Bravo’s ads often focus on the boat’s captain, “stud of the sea” Lee Rosbach, who also gets routinely interviewed on Bravo kingmaker Andy Cohen ’s late-night talk show Watch What Happens Live . That’s probably because gruff-but-golden-hearted Captain Lee has a way with funny, exasperated one-liners, often involving phallic or sexual metaphors like “We screwed the pooch so many times we should have a litter of puppies running around” or “I would rather drag my dick through 10 miles of whiskey bottles than see these people again.”

But a few salty phrases could hardly fill an entire season. What keeps viewers coming back is the tribulations of the younger crew’s work and love entanglements. Unlike most reality shows that throw strangers together in close quarters — a common strategy since The Real World — the crew is both working and living together. The show is both relatable (we all deal with annoying bosses and clients, or crushes on coworkers) and delightfully heightened (most of us don’t experience those things while trapped on a boat for months at a time). But the thing that might set Below Deck apart from a crowded field the most is its emphasis on making art out of the least glamorous (and often feminine-coded) behind-the-scenes grunt work, including not just the physical but also the emotional labor demanded of service workers.

Captain Lee Rosbach addresses the Season 6 crew on Below Deck .

Part of the appeal of Below Deck is that it introduces viewers to the whole “yachtie” subculture and the real mechanics of what it takes to put together a seamless luxury charter season. The interior crew — or stews, led by the chief stew — takes care of keeping the cabins clean and waiting on the guests. The exterior crew — or deckhands, led by the bosun — takes care of the boat mechanics and the deck. Each episode, or sometimes two-episode arc, revolves around a particular group of guests — from annoyingly image-obsessed influencers to fortysomething women having a girls weekend — and ends with the crew getting together to have the captain assess their performance and unveil their big (or sometimes small) tip.

Because crew jobs on a yacht require actual skills for safety reasons (especially the outer deck crew), the casting choices on Below Deck are more limited than in most reality television . (Bravo makes the hiring decisions , but the captains reserve the right to fire crew members.) Still, as in all reality shows, the people performing these tasks are very hot; the cast has featured an especially high ratio of sexy guys with South African and Australian accents. And throwing hot people together inevitably results in some onboard romances, which are a big source of the drama, as the show chronicles what happens when heterosexuality takes to sea.

{ "id": 123298859 } As in all reality shows, the people performing these tasks are very hot. 

In Season 3, for instance, bosun Eddie Lucas (widely believed to be a good guy, thanks in part to his altar boy haircut) tried to hide his affair with the zany third stew Raquel “Rocky” Dakota from an on-land girlfriend. Rocky inaugurated the recurring trope of the loose-cannon stew that the chief stew has to try to train. (Chief stew Kate Chastain made her play a dreamy mermaid for the guests during one of her theme parties.) Eddie denied their relationship to the rest of the crew, which prompted Rocky at one point to literally jump ship .

Another scandalous example: Marine veteran Kelley Johnson, who came onboard in the second season. After seducing fellow deckhand Jennice Ontiveros, pretending he wanted a real relationship, he then unceremoniously dumped her. Johnson’s substantial johnson became a part of the show’s lore when his dick pics leaked after the season ended, and in the reunion episode he then claimed (with no evidence) that chief stew Kate or Jennice had been the ones who leaked them.

The most dramatic romantic storylines are the ones involving multiple crew members. Personally, I first got into the show with the second season of the spinoff, Below Deck Mediterranean , because it unveiled what has to be one of the most riveting love triangles in the history of pop culture — or at least since Bridget Jones’s Diary ’s clash of masculinities between reserved Mark Darcy and playboy Daniel Cleaver.

Deckhands Tyler Rowland (left) and Ashton Pienaar in the kitchen of Below Deck 's Season 6 yacht My Seanna .

The triangle hinges on Malia White, a bronzed Floridian deckhand trying to move up the ranks, and her two paler suitors. On the one side is bosun Wes Walton, a square-jawed South African (as mentioned, the show loves men with accents) who looks like a mean lacrosse jock but is actually a shyer Darcy type (and technically Malia’s boss). On the other side is Adam Glick, a more rascally, worldly chef who, when not at sea, lives in a camper van.

Throughout the season Adam is clearly falling in love with Malia, who likes Adam but is also falling for Wes. When Adam discovers that Malia had made out with Wes, he confronts her about her divided loyalties (“Malia, why would you lead me on?”). While the crew is out for an evening of partying while the boat is docked, Adam aggressively pantses Wes, and it all escalates into a big, ridiculous homosocial blowout that makes clear how much of men’s feelings of possessiveness over women are about their own egos. At some moments, it seemed like the narrative verged on slut-shaming Malia, but the plotline ultimately highlighted how tricky navigating these boatmances is for the women on the show, who have to deal with injured male egos in close quarters for the rest of the season.

Exposing cads is just one of the pleasures of Below Deck . It also puts a refreshing twist on the more familiar cultural script of having women perform sexiness as part of their service jobs. Instead, the chief stews aren’t afraid to emphasize the (male) crew’s hotness, especially when the guests are overtly horny (or gay). In one episode in Season 3, Kate enlists buff crew member Emile Kotze as entertainment for the guests when she has to host a Greek-themed party. “He's got a great body, chiseled features, and a brain made of stone," Kate says. "I would recommend taking your shirt off,” she instructs Emile, handing him a white sheet, “and using this to cover the parts you don't want exposed.” Then she adds, in trademark form, “Feel free to express yourself.”

The show isn’t always so lighthearted about this aspect of the job. In the current season of Below Deck: Mediterranean , Captain Sandy Yawn admonished a crew of overly excited women guests not to “molest” deckhand Jack Stirrup. But in general, Below Deck makes great drama out of the nuances of the kind of “interior” service labor often deemed too feminine (and boring) to anchor pop culture narratives: event planning, waitressing, laundering, and cooking. Which brings us to the show’s most prominent, recurring characters: the chief stews.

Below Deck: Mediterranean 's Season 4 crew. From left: Captain Sandy Yawn, Chief Stew Hannah Ferrier, and Second Stew Aesha Scott.

In many ways, the stars to root for on Below Deck and Below Deck: Mediterranean , as far as I’m concerned, are not the captains, or even, for the most part, the men. They’re the chief stews: Kate Chastain and Mediterranean ’s Hannah Ferrier (my favorite). These women shine within the Bravo pantheon as no-nonsense anti-Housewives, who must stay resolutely calm while dealing with all the divas around them.

The crew, including the chefs, have constantly changed from season to season — except for the captains and chief stews. In fact, the flagship show didn’t quite find its footing until Season 2, when Kate replaced a more dour original chief stew, Adrienne Gang, who antagonized her resentful underlings. Kate does too, but she’s more artfully shady in her dealings with crew members and guests. Just one of her calm, thoughtful articulations of the word “huh” can mean a thousand things, from “I hate you” to “please leave the boat.”

During Kate’s debut season, guest Dean Slover, a demanding restaurateur, admonished the chief stew for not being cheerful enough. “You don’t seem happy, you’re not smiling, you’re coming off kind of bitchy,” he said. She remained completely calm and apologized, but when she cleaned his room, she shaped his blanket into a penis as a way of giving him the finger.

{ "id": 123298856 } These women shine within the Bravo pantheon as no-nonsense anti-Housewives, who must stay resolutely calm while dealing with all the divas around them.

The episode turned into a heated debate among the crew over whether her “bad attitude” was going to be worth them not getting a good tip, and whether she should apologize to the guest. When Kate finally took one for the team and vaguely apologized, annoyed that the other crew members didn’t have her back, it was a poignant reminder of the way service jobs often demand a certain brand of likability, especially from women.

The recurring theme of guests’ random food demands also highlights the kind of emotional work that the chief stews perform. These requests (like no onions or no olives, or food allergies) drive the chefs (often depicted as tortured artists) nuts. Mediterranean ’s Sydney-born Hannah (whose exasperated honay s —“honey” in Australian — are deeply communicative) skillfully handles these tantrum-throwing male chefs, who tend to take out insecurities about their food on the chief stew.

The chief stews (like the captains) are often older than the rest of the crew, and they tend to maintain professionalism in a different way. They aren’t usually involved in the crew love triangles. (Kate’s Season 5 hookup with a long-haired Swedish sailor named Morton, whom she nicknamed “hot Jesus ,” became iconic for its rarity.)

But one of the most affecting — and real — moments of the entire series is when Hannah falls for the head of the deck crew in Season 3, twentysomething Conrad Empson. The combination of her intense work ethic and her confusion about her feelings led to a panic attack on camera, and she was forced to confess her intense crush — and her anxiety about it — to Captain Sandy. The show’s nonjudgmental representation of that made it a relatable moment, and a rarity in a reality landscape where such experiences, especially for women, are often just pathologized for entertainment.

Chief Stew Hannah Ferrier chats with deckhand Colin Macy-O'Toole on Below Deck: Mediterranean .

As Below Deck has become an established hit, and even spawned a growing franchise of spinoffs, Bravo producers seem to be leaning more and more into conventional reality stunts, like dramatic mid-season firings and crew defections , and a big “man overboard” moment last year.

The promotional run for the most recent season of the original show, which aired in fall 2018, really played up deck hand (and former stripper) Ashton Pienaar’s accident. A misstep caused a taut rope on the boat to wrap around his ankle, yanking him off the deck and into the water. Given the boat’s speed, he could have lost his leg. Bravo even vaguely broke the fourth wall and highlighted the fact that it was one of the show’s camera operators who jumped in to save him.

The incident unintentionally highlighted the precarious working conditions of deck hands — an issue that, despite the show being (at least theoretically) about the crew’s work, rarely makes it onscreen. It also gave Below Deck one of the highest-rated episodes in its history, and seemingly helped make a fan out of esteemed auteur (and camp connoisseur ) Steven Soderbergh, who tweeted shortly after the episode: “If Stanley Milgram had an unlimited budget, no ethical guidelines, and took acid every day for a month, he would have created BELOW DECK. WHICH IS WHY I CAN’T STOP WATCHING IT.”

Bravo actually doesn’t seem to invest a lot of money in the show’s promotion or production, but maybe that’s part of its appeal. The show still hasn’t produced any table-flipping viral moments or breakout stars to send to Dancing With the Stars . It’s still the workplace microcosm of petty rivalries and fleeting love stories that makes it so relatable.

Every episode of Below Deck ends with the crew coming together, and we wait anxiously to hear the size of their tip. Especially in the age of millennial burnout — and especially for the channel’s younger-skewing audience — it’s easy to identify with performing work under constant pressure, hoping to reap rewards subject to the whims of the 1 percent. Is it any wonder we’re rooting for Bravo’s underdog show that could? ●

Topics in this article

• Mental Health

Below Deck spoilers: Ben upsets Sunny, Fraser’s had it with Barbie, and more crew night out drama

The Below Deck drama keeps heating up as Season 11 of the hit yachting show barrels toward the end.

We are past the halfway point for Below Deck Season 11, and it seems the best is still to come.

This week’s episode ended with Fraser Olender unleashing on Barbie Pascual at the beach, leaving her in tears.

Not much changes in the preview as the group gets ready to head to dinner with only Chef Anthony Iracane showing concern for a crying Barbie.

It should surprise no one that things go from bad to worse at dinner.

Sunny Marquis and Ben Willoughby hit another rough patch

Ben Willoughby does what he does best on Below Deck and flirts with Paris Fields. In the preview video, Ben gets handsy with Paris, hugging her, grabbing her behind, and more, all while Sunny Marquis watches.

Sunny gets angry when Ben sits with Paris and touches her leg. The hug becomes too much for Sunny, who moves away from Ben at dinner as he focuses on Paris.

Via his confessional, Ben is, of course, confused by what’s going on, while Sunny goes off about Ben disrespecting her. Sunny pulls Ben for a chat, but that only worsens when Ben declares they are not dating.

The bosun simply wants to sleep with her for the rest of the charter season to see if it leads to something else. This doesn’t fly with Sunny, who stands her ground and doesn’t give in to hooking up Ben that night.

Instead, Sunny breaks down crying on Barbie’s shoulder in their bunk.

Tension mounts between Barbie Pascual and Fraser Olender on Below Deck

Fraser makes his feelings toward Barbie crystal clear to anyone who says anything about her. The chief stew is done with Barbie, and that only sets her off.

Barbie makes a toast to the crew, apologizing for the drama between her and Fraser. It’s beyond awkward as she airs some of their dirty laundry, shocking the group.

Xandi Olivier has no problem telling Barbie the toast sucked. The toast gets Fraser even more riled up as he indicates Barbie’s time on the yacht is up tomorrow.

Only time will tell what happens next with Barbie and Fraser, but we know he runs to Captain Kerry Titheradge, calling out Barbie’s insubordination.

As Monsters and Critics previously reported, the way Fraser treats Barbie has Below Deck fans putting him on blast.

Make sure to keep watching to find out if Sunny forgives Ben and if Captain Kerry grants Fraser his wish for Barbie to be fired.

Below Deck airs Mondays at 9/8c on Bravo. Seasons 1-11 are streaming on Peacock.

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Jill Zarin Blames Below Deck’s Fraser Olender for Making Her Season 11 Trip a ‘Total Disaster’

The Below Deck cast passed judgment on Jill Zarin — and now it’s her turn to return the favor.

“I went into it with the attitude that I want to make a good show. I was me, I literally was me. I was me the way I am in my real life,” Jill, 60, explained on the Tuesday, April 9, episode of the “Juicy Scoop” podcast .

After watching her scenes from season 11, Jill appeared to have no regrets, adding, “If I like my Diet Coke then I want another. If I don’t like it then I will send it back. If I don’t like my food then I send it back. Most people do.”

The former Real Housewives of New York City star said St. David being a megayacht meant she expected a higher level of service.

Related: The Best Housewife Cameos on 'Below Deck' Over the Years

“It was $45,000 for two nights. You get on the boat at 12 and right away you get lunch,” she continued. “You get an explanation — which I actually taped on my phone that I am going to post — of [chief steward] Fraser [Olender] explaining the layout of the next two days.”

Jill made her debut on Below Deck earlier this month when she was a guest on a two-day charter. Her demands, however, quickly became too much for the crew .

“Jill is the primary in her head. She’s overwhelming,” stew Barbie Pascual said in a confessional before apologizing via social media after the episode aired. “I think she’s annoying and I think it is too much. You are a freeloading guest who is extremely demanding. This is too much for me. I need another stew just for Jill.”

Throughout the charter, Jill brought up certain issues, such as food service , directly to Fraser. “Can I give you another recommendation for the yacht? I had this on mine,” she added. “A button for the primary, and it is like a doorbell. I used to have a doorbell and it would go up to the kitchen.”

Related: 'Below Deck' Cast's Most Candid Quotes About Their Salary Through the Years

Fraser said the demands made him feel as if Jill was “crawling into” his brain and “eating away” at his soul. In response, Jill claimed it was Fraser’s fault that she and her friends weren’t thrilled with their time on the yacht.

“In fact, one of the things he emphasized which is ironic is that there would be snacks and food all the time everywhere. He actually emphasized and completely didn’t deliver,” she noted on Tuesday. “When I think about the trip, it was the head stew’s job to make sure things went seamlessly, and I kind of blame him for the trip being a total disaster.”

Jill “felt terrible” for her fellow guests, adding, “They spent an enormous amount of money. I wanted them to have an amazing experience. … I did this show because my friends wanted to go on TV — I don’t blame them. I didn’t mind doing it with them because as long as I am me, I am good.”

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Related: A Guide to Below Deck's Chief Stews: From Kate Chastain to Hannah Ferrier

Before Jill’s onscreen appearance on Below Deck, Fraser teased the challenging charter . “She’s sweet. She’s very lovely and very funny — but demanding,” Fraser exclusively told Us Weekly in February. “[But] all guests are demanding. They’re charter guests and they’ve got their preferences and sometimes they can be frustrating.”

Fraser also commented on Jill’s craziest request, sharing, “It’s going to be the ice. She didn’t like any of the ice apart from a specific one. From a specific freezer. So we had to have a specific ice box that kind of followed wherever she went. I love it. If that’s the biggest concern, then we should [be good].”

Below Deck season 11 airs on Bravo Mondays at 9 p.m. ET. New episodes stream the next day on Peacock.

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Jill zarin slams below deck's fraser olender for making her charter trip a "total disaster".

Former Real Housewife of New York City star Jill Zarin blames Below Deck's Fraser Olender for dropping the ball and rendering her trip a disaster.

• It's the head stew's job on Below Deck to ensure things go smoothly, which is why Jill Zarin blames Fraser Olender for her disastrous trip.
• Jill expects high-class service, claiming that her friends paid $45,000, so their demands shouldn't be an issue.
• When asked if she would ever want a do-over, Jill admits she will likely not return to Below Deck.

After receiving backlash for her behavior on the hit Bravo TV show Below Deck , Jill Zarin accused Fraser Olender of making her charter trip a " complete disaster. " Jill is a popular former star of The Real Housewives of New York City , and Jill has always been known for her picky and quirky personality, which can often lead to demanding behavior that she calls " helpful ." She recently became a guest star in Below Deck season 11 , which follows the indoor and outdoor crew of luxurious mega yachts as they give their charter guests the trip of a lifetime.

"It was the head stew’s job to make sure things went seamlessly, and I kind of blame him."

During her time on the St . David, Jill made quite an impression on not only the interior and exterior crews but also the chef, who she distracted from taking care of the actual primary guest. Jill, however, is not willing to take the blame for her constant complaining , claiming that she likes what she likes and has no problem with that.

During an episode of Juicy Scoop with Heather McDonald, Jill said, "It was the head stew’s job to make sure things went seamlessly, and I kind of blame him for the trip being kind of a total disaster for my friends. "

Jill Zarin Admits Her Friends Wanted To Be On TV

Jill zarin does not think she will return to below deck.

Jill received negative reactions for her behavior on the mega yacht, with the common perception being that she " hijacked " the trip from the true primary charter guests. Jill claimed that for her friends to charter this yacht for two days, they had to pay a staggering $45,000 , which is why she expected high-class service. When she was asked why she went on Below Deck , Jill responded, " I did because my friends wanted to be on television. I don’t blame them. A lot of people do. And I didn’t mind doing it with them because as long as I am me, I am good. ”

"I don't know anyone who should spend that kind of money and put their reputation at risk."

Jill claimed that the attitudes of the Below Deck season 11 crew made her seem awful , and if they had had a different attitude, things might have come across differently. Jill explained, " I thought they would make me funny, " she said, " because I was giving them so many funny things with the Diet Coke and other things; they cut the rest of it. " When asked if this was an experience she would repeat, Jill replied, " I would not do it again, " she continued. " I don't know anyone who should spend that kind of money and put their reputation at risk. "

20 Best Reality TV Shows Right Now

However, not every yacht crew member had an issue with Jill , even though her demands may have seemed " extra ." Interior crew member Barbie Pascual and former Below Deck cast member Kyle Viljoen have both come to Jill's defense. Kyle has said that Jill cannot be called a freeloader because she paid to be on the charter and that asking for snacks is actually a helpful thing to do for the interior crew. Barbie has gone on record to defend Jill , saying she was really fun and went on to say that Jill’s demands made sense.

In the end, it appears that Jill has a point when it comes to the treatment and service she should be able to expect on an expensive yachting trip. While Jill was not, in fact, the primary guest, the items she requested were things that would have benefited the primary charter guests. When someone spends an absurd amount of money on a luxury vacation, there are standards they expect , including specific preferences if that is what they want. Either way, Jill is not likely to be the most demanding or picky guest aboard the yacht this season.

Below Deck season 11 airs Mondays at 9 p.m. EDT on Bravo and is available to stream the next day on Peacock.

Source: Juicy Scoop with Heath McDonald /YouTube

Below Deck is a popular reality TV franchise that focuses on a group of crew members as they work on luxurious yachts and cater to their client's needs. After the original series proved to be a success, Bravo developed a handful of spinoff shows including Below Deck Selling Yacht, Below Deck Adventure, Below Deck Down Under, and Below Deck Mediterranean.

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Jill Zarin blames ‘Below Deck’ star Fraser Olender for ‘disaster’ yacht trip

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Jill Zarin blamed “Below Deck” head steward Fraser Olender for her “disaster” megayacht outing, which was documented on an episode of the Bravo series last week.

The “Real Housewives of New York City” alum said she didn’t have any regrets about her behavior, which included taking issue with the food service, requesting a specific type of ice and even suggesting guests be given a bell to summon crew members.

“I went into it with the attitude that I want to make a good show. I was me, I literally was me. I was me the way I am in my real life,” Zarin, 60, told Heather McDonald on Tuesday’s episode of her  “Juicy Scoop” podcast .

“If I like my Diet Coke then I want another. If I don’t like it then I will send it back. If I don’t like my food then I send it back. Most people do,” she continued.

“I think if the crew had a different attitude toward me and said ‘Jill, she’s a little pushy, she’s a Jewish mother, she’s a little bit of a know it all’ I think everybody would have leaned into it.”

The reality TV star went on to detail the two-day stay, which cost her pal an eye-watering $45,000 for “five meals” along with lodging.

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“You get on the boat at 12 and right away you get lunch,” she said. “You get an explanation — which I actually taped on my phone that I am going to post — of Fraser [Olender] explaining the layout of the next two days.”

Zarin continued, “In fact, one of the things he emphasized which is ironic is that there would be snacks and food all the time everywhere. He actually emphasized and completely didn’t deliver. When I think about the trip, it was the head stew’s job to make sure things went seamlessly, and I kind of blame him for the trip being a total disaster.”

The Bravolebrity noted that she “felt terrible” for her friends who paid for the trip.

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“They spent an enormous amount of money [and] I wanted them to have an amazing experience,” she said.

“I did this show because my friends wanted to go on TV. I don’t blame them, a lot of people do. [But] I didn’t mind doing it with them because as long as I am me, I am good.”

“Below Deck” cast member and stewardess, Barbara “Barbie” Pascual, later admitted Zarin “was right” about some of her seemingly outlandish requests on the show.

“You guys, I watched the show back, and I don’t think that Jill was as bad as it looked, and I just wanna also say that there were so many other moments where she was super fun and sweet and nice,” Pascual said on her Instagram Story last week.

She acknowledged that the former “Housewife” was “demanding,” but she was “not rude” and was making requests that were “actually normal yacht requirements” and “pretty logical.”

“She was right. She just wanted nugget ice in her Diet Coke, that’s not a big deal,” the stewardess added.

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However, during the episode, Pascual said Zarin was “too much” to handle.

“I think she’s annoying. You’re a freeloading guest who’s extremely demanding. This is too much for me. I need another stew just for Jill,” she said in a confessional.

Meanwhile, Olender quipped, “Jill is crawling into my brain and eating away at my soul.” 

Chef Anthony Iracane also took a swipe at the Jill & Ally founder in his confessional.

“I think the primary, she’s OK, but her friend taking over the boat, it’s like she’s a f–king captain. Like taking over the ship,” he said.

“Below Deck” airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo

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