yacht crew reality show

Below Deck Sailing Yacht

Editors' picks.

Daisy and Colin Reveal the Truth

Kandi Gets Real About Her Weight Loss Journey

Tour This Season's Gorgeous Sailing Yacht, Parsifal III

How Did Captain Glenn Get Into Yachting?

Get a Below Deck History Lesson

Watch Every Season of Below Deck Med

Latest episodes.

Man Buns It Has Been Fun

Boat Load of Throuples

She Loves Me Not

Hurricane Bonnie

T-Bone with Stakes

Let Them Eat Cake

Burnt Hands and Broken Hearts

Loose Lips Sink Friendships

Cheers to Boobies

Smoke on the Water

Clash and Burn

Daisy Kelliher Reveals Her Sister Suffered a Serious Accident: "Quite a Miracle She's Alive"

The Below Deck Sailing Yacht cast member shared how Bonnie Kelliher is doing after spending time in the ICU.

Here's What Daisy Kelliher Has Been Up to Since Season 4 of Below Deck Sailing Yacht

The chief stew is sharing some major life updates, including recent traveling adventures. 

Captain Glenn Shephard Shares a Surprising Throwback Photo (Hint: He "Had More Hair Back Then")

Captain glenn shares a surprising throwback photo: see the pic.

Our jaws dropped at this photo of the Below Deck Sailing Yacht captain from his "Bosun days." 

We Weren't Ready for Daisy Kelliher and Malia White's Jaw-Dropping Swimsuits (PICS)

We weren't ready for daisy and malia's jaw-dropping swimsuits.

The Below Deck Sailing Yacht and Below Deck Mediterranean ladies gave us serious swimwear envy with these looks. 

Latest Videos

Chase Lemacks Says Goodbye to the Below Deck Sailing Yacht Crew

Gary King to Chase Lemacks: "I've Never Worked with a Deckhand Like You"

Your First Look at the Below Deck Sailing Yacht Season 4 Reunion

There’s Trouble in Paradise for the Throuple Onboard

Gary King and Chase Lemacks Show Off Their New Speedos

Daisy Kelliher Tells Gary King They Need to Stop Flirting

Alex Propson and Mads Herrera Get a Surprise Personal Training Session

Ileisha Dell Is Short on Time as She Prepares a 10-Course Dinner

Glenn Shephard Is Noticing There's Something Going on with Daisy Kelliher

Gary King and Daisy Kelliher Escort the Guests on a French Shore Excursion

Chef Ileisha Dell Describes Herself as “Pretty Loyal” in Relationships

The Crew Struggles to Complete Their Work While Nursing Hangovers

Glenn Shephard

Daisy Kelliher

Colin MacRae

Ileisha Dell

Lucy Edmunds

Mads Herrera

Alex Propson

Chase Lemacks

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About below deck sailing yacht.

Capt. Glenn and his comeback team Daisy Kelliher, Gary King and Colin MacRae resume their responsibilities aboard Parsifal III, along with new, dynamic crew members, as they set sail in Sardinia, Italy.  

Capt. Glenn realizes that his laid-back leadership style has allowed his crew to become too comfortable and starts taking charge of quality control in the interior department, much to Daisy's dismay. In the galley, Chef Ilesha's cooking impresses the guests, but her indecisiveness and co-dependency lead to time-management issues between courses, which causes her to self-destruct. On deck, strong personalities collide, and a power struggle results in a near mutiny, as Gary clashes with his new overconfident deckhand, Chase. 

Two overlapping love triangles further complicate the dynamics on-board, and a shocking hookup puts Colin, Daisy and Gary’s friendship in jeopardy. 

With a near collision, fire, crew rebellion, gruesome guest injury and two different potentially season-ending engine failures, this is the most captivating and unpredictable season yet of Below Deck Sailing Yacht. 

Below Deck Sailing Yacht: Season Four; Bravo Reveals Reality Show’s Premiere Date and Cast

by Regina Avalos, March 20, 2023

Below Deck Sailing Yacht has been renewed for a fourth season, and Bravo has now announced the cast and premiere date for the reality series return. Captain Glenn Shephard, Daisy Kelliher, Gary King, and Colin MacRae are set to return in season four and will be joined by new crew members.

Bravo revealed more about the new series in a press release.

“ Below Deck Sailing Yacht ” season four premieres on Monday, April 10 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo and is available to stream next day on Peacock. Returning this season are Capt. Glenn Shephard and veteran department heads Daisy Kelliher (Chief Stew), Gary King (First Mate) and Colin MacRae (Chief Engineer). New crew members include Chef Ileisha Dell, stews Lucy Edmunds and Mads Herrera and deckhands Chase Lemacks and Alex Propson. “Below Deck Sailing Yacht” is produced by 51 Minds with Mark Cronin, Courtland Cox, Vivian Kohon, Tania Hamidi, Christian Sarabia and Zachary Klein serving as executive producers. UPCOMING THIS SEASON Capt. Glenn and his comeback team Daisy Kelliher, Gary King and Colin MacRae resume their responsibilities aboard Parsifal III, along with new, dynamic crew members, as they set sail in Sardinia, Italy. Capt. Glenn realizes that his laid-back leadership style has allowed his crew to become too comfortable and starts taking charge of quality control in the interior department, much to Daisy’s dismay. In the galley, Chef Ileisha’s cooking impresses the guests, but her indecisiveness and co-dependency lead to time-management issues between courses, which causes her to self-destruct. On deck, strong personalities collide, and a power struggle results in a near mutiny, as Gary clashes with his new overconfident deckhand, Chase. Two overlapping love triangles further complicate the dynamics on-board, and a shocking hookup puts Colin, Daisy and Gary’s friendship in jeopardy. With a near collision, fire, crew rebellion, gruesome guest injury and two different potentially season-ending engine failures, this is the most captivating and unpredictable season yet of “Below Deck Sailing Yacht.”

Check out a sneak peek at this reality series below.

What do you think? Are you excited about the return of this Below Deck series on Bravo?

Check out our status sheets to track new TV series pickups, renewals, and cancellations. You can find lists of cancelled shows here .

The Untold Truth Of Below Deck

Since 2013, Bravo's Below Deck has been serving up as much drama as they serve up fancy, three course meals on the luxurious deck of their multi-million dollar mega yachts. Everyone wants to be a fly on the wall of a vacation they could never afford — but this is not that. In fact, it's one of Bravo's most exhausting (but fun to watch) shows.

The series follows the yacht's hard-working crew as close quarters battle against a lack of sleep and a high stress workplace to fuel fights so explosive, they put the Real Housewives of New Jersey to shame (and Teresa Giudice has served hard time , so you know it's serious). It's almost hard to believe that the drama — from the demanding guests to the myriad of co-worker hookups — is actually legitimate, but in reality, the world of professional yachting may be even more explosive than what's seen on the show. This is the untold truth of  Below Deck.

A boat by any other name is just as expensive

There's no doubt that the yachts on Below Deck are impressive, but the vessels and the crew may not be exactly what they seem. In 2013, when the series had just debuted on Bravo, co-executive producer Rebecca Taylor gave yachting news site The Triton the low down on Below Deck's lavish boats.

Taylor, who pitched the idea for Below Deck after spending "three summers working on yachts" during college, searched for a yacht and charter guests willing to appear on TV. According to The Triton, the boats were renamed for the series. Mustang Sally, which appeared in Season 3, was renamed Eros. Cuor di Leone, which appeared in Season 1, was dubbed Honor. Most of Cuor di Leone's real crew was given time off and replaced, barring the real captain, engineer and first officer, who each remained on board.

"The original crew was perfect, but in the television world, there's all kinds of reasons you can't do that," Taylor told The Triton. "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."

The film crew constantly get in the way

The mega yachts on Below Deck may be gigantic, but the crew is lodged in incredibly close quarters. This means that the cameramen tend to get in the way. According to Hannah Ferrier (above left), who served as chief stew in Below Deck Mediterranean, the boat crew generally tried to pretend the TV crew wasn't there, which was exceedingly difficult considering that meant 30 to 40 additional people rotation on and off the yacht a various times. Worse yet, the film crew allegedly left fingerprints everywhere — the horror!

Finding a vessel big enough for charter guests and a film and yacht crew is tricky. Space on the ship is reportedly so tight that the film crew sleeps on a seperate boat .

"You find yourself almost hoping you don't have a sexual harassment claim from a camera guy," Ferrier admitted to Forbes . "You're like, my butt is too big to squeeze by without touching him."

Beyond getting in the way, the film crew does have some drama of their own. In 2017, local St. Martin news outlet The Soualiga Post reported that one of Below Deck's production boats sank after breaking its propellor. Fortunately, no one was injured.

Vacationers get a hefty discount

Looking for a cheap, luxury vacation? The charters on Below Deck still aren't it, even with the hefty TV discount. In a Reddit AMA , Below Deck producer Mark Cronin, admitted that the rich guests who hire out the luxury charters on the series get a steep discount for allowing themselves to be filmed.

Charters typically last three days. For the week, Thought Catalog claims it costs around $150,000 to $200,000 . Cronin admitted that guests on the show get "about 50%" off their stay and free airfare. They're still expected "to tip about 15 to 20%" of the full price and don't make a cent for appearing on the program. At the end of each charter, the crew can expect $1,000 to $2,000 each in tips.

Unlike some of the crew, the guest who stay on board Below Deck's charters apparently aren't carefully chosen by Bravo in advance. Cronin admitted that while he wishes he could be "picky," in reality, "whoever's check clears the bank is on the show." Somehow, it's all worked out pretty well because they've never had a party "too boring" for an episode (though, the cast's drama certainly moves things along).

The Captain won't get physical (but that doesn't stop the guests from trying)

Captain Lee Rosbach (above) is Below Deck's resident silver fox, which is a descriptor he seems to have eagerly embraced. After all, this is a man who named his memoir Running Against the Tide: True Tales from the Stud of the Sea.  

Anyway, the yachting vet of more than two decades opened up to Fox News about his guests' wilder demands. According to Rosbach, almost all yacht captains have been "propositioned several times in their careers." But like a true professional, Rosbach generally tries to avoid any situation where passengers may attempt to get physical.

"Never be alone with a female guest in any situation that isn't public, specifically avoid their cabins. You always take someone with you when your presence is requested. That sort of thing is usually precipitated by a large quantity of alcohol so you monitor the situation and avoid the ones that can cause you grief," he said.

Apparently, the captain isn't the only one who gets propositioned. According to Rosbach, it's not uncommon for female guests to ask male crew members to do a little striptease (or as he put it "dance to what closely resembles a stripper pole"). Here's hoping they got a good tip. 

Getting propositioned by a mob member is just an average work day

It's not just the male crew members who get hit on by frisky female patrons. Apparently, the women on staff also get propositioned by some pretty powerful men. If you're into picking up mobsters, sugar daddies and famous actors, you might want to consider a career change.

In an episode of Watch What Happens Live , chief stew Hannah Ferrier (above) admitted, "I had a charter guest from the Russian Mafia once request a little bit more than a bed turned down." Later, she joked about how he could have been her sugar daddy, but she gave him up for a bosun (the supervisor of the deck crew): "What was I thinking?"

This isn't the first time a wealthy man made a pass at one of Below Deck's hard-working women. Stewardess Brooke Laughton, who appeared on Below Deck Mediterranean, admitted that a "super hot famous actor" asked her to throw on a swimsuit and get cozy in the hot tub. She told The Daily Mail that she declined "for some strange reason," because she wanted to remain professional and the charter didn't end for another month.

Bravo robbed us of a RHONY crossover episode

We know The Real Housewives of New York were left fearing for their lives after a traumatic boat ride in Colombia (at least, according to People ), but that doesn't mean the ladies don't enjoy a good yacht outing. And yet, Bravo had the audacity to rob us of a RHONY crossover episode!

Below Deck's chief stew, Kate Chastain (above left), was apparently working on a yacht parked in Sag Harbor (a RHONY hot spot) when Ramona Singer (above right) allegedly invited herself on board after a pinot grigio-filled day of filming. 

According to Chastain, who spoke to The Daily Dish , Singer started hanging out with boat's owner in the main salon. She was reportedly "feeling sassy" because she had "just gotten her short haircut" (or maybe it was the pinot). If only we could have be a fly on the wall, but you know those chief stews wouldn't tolerate insect stowaways.

Though the RHONY crossover may have escaped us, there's still hope for another Bravo reality series . In August 2018, Southern Charm star Patricia Altschul hit up Captain Lee Rosbach on Twitter (via  The Daily Dish ) about chartering his boat. Lee agreed, and Chastain said she was "already planning the theme parties." Fans of  Real Housewives of Atlanta  got their  crossover episode in 2015.

The guest requests get even stranger than you think

Below Deck's charter guests pay exorbitant sums of money to hang out on a yacht for a long weekend, so it's not really surprising that sometimes their demands get out of hand. And even though everything supposedly has a price, that's only if the request is actually possible, right?

Case in point, stewardess Kasey Cohen (above right) told The Daily Mail that one of her strangest requests came from an "old rapper" who asked her to "fluff his marijuana." Though she didn't admit the demands came from Tupac, who's rumored to be hanging out in Cuba somewhere, she didn't say it wasn't Tupac.

"I can barely fluff a pillow and [this guest] wanted me to fluff marijuana," Cohen said. "What the h— does that even mean?"

Lead deckhand João Franco apparently had an even more annoying experience. He was asked to peel grapes for a guest who wouldn't eat the skin, something we've literally never thought about while eating grapes until now. Bosun Conrad Empson claimed a guest asked him to ride a camel, which seems pretty difficult in the ocean. Can camels swim?

Below Deck's singles are used to being swiped left

Though there are plenty of perks to being a yachtie, a glamorous dating life apparently isn't one of them. The constantly on-the-go lifestyle of the crew makes it exceedingly difficult to form lasting relationships, hence almost all of Below Deck's drama. But praise the reality gods that be for bringing the cast together, because if they didn't hook up with their fellow crew members, like chief stew Hannah Ferrier and bosun Conrad Empson did on Season Three of Below Deck Med (above right), they might not be able to find a date otherwise.

Outside of the so-called "boatmances" featured on the show, Ferrier (above left) told Forbes that it's easier for the male crew members, because girls "don't get scared off." Men in Europe are apparently totally different and think reality fame is "trashy." Needless to say, the women of Below Deck are used being swiped left — literally.

Ferrier and Kate Chastain spoke about their Tinder and Bumble habits on the latter's podcast,  After Deck with Kate Chastain . Though they're both avid users of dating apps, Ferrier admitted she's looking to "date people that are not [her] type," while Chastain copped to being a straight-up Catfish — her main photo is of Rachel Zoe.

"I put my first name and then I put photos that aren't me, but they could be!" Chastain admitted. Does this ever actually work out?

It's common to get fired or quit mid-season

The cast of Below Deck are not immune to getting fired, and no one wants to be on the receiving end of one of Captain Lee Rosbach's disappointed gazes . When it comes to handing out plane tickets to under-performing staff, Reality Blurred  reported that the captain definitely has some "authority" there (even if Bravo helped curate the crew). According to producer Mark Cronin, getting fired or quitting mid-season is pretty common in the industry.

"Yachties tend to jump ship if they're not happy. They are people who don't appreciate being tied down. Most of them don't even have a proper address on land," Cronin admitted during a Reddit AMA .

Still, that doesn't mean Below Deck's captains aren't a little bit lenient at times. Drama makes for good TV, and poorly performing staff make for good drama. Rosbach admitted that Season One's crew got a little more credit than they deserved.

"They pretty much acted like crew I would have fired," Rosbach told The Triton , later adding, "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."

Are the crew really qualified?

One of the biggest questions in reality TV is always: is it real? For Below Deck, the answer is a little yes and a little no. We've already established that Bravo reportedly picks the charter's crew members instead of the captain, but that certainly doesn't mean they're actors playing a role. Though some crew members are overwhelmingly qualified, like Hannah Ferrier (above right), who has put in  at least eight years  working on yachts, some of them lack experience. Co-executive producer Rebecca Taylor told The Triton there's typically "a mix of professional crew and young, transient people" on professionally run boats. On the other hand, Captain Lee Rosbach accused the network of hiring people who were "inept" — but could Bravo have been duped?

Apparently, lying on your resume isn't uncommon on  Below Deck. Stewardess Kasey Cohen reportedly lied on her resume as did deckhand Andrew Sturby (who was later fired ). Does coming clean for the cameras even matter if Bravo's the one who picked you in the first place? Regardless, the staff do have to train for safety prior to their stay on Below Deck's mega yacht. Captain Rosbach told Reality Blurred they must take "a two-week course" that includes "basic first aid" and "firefighting" to get their STCW certification, which is required to work on a yacht.

Six weeks can't contain the drama

Bravo has a knack for creating the most dramatic reality shows on TV — from Teresa Giudice's iconic attempt at flipping a table on The Real Housewives of New Jersey to the various cheating scandals among the cast of Vanderpump Rules . On Below Deck, the drama seems to write itself. It has everything that makes for good, nautical-themed TV: love triangles , boat flings , laundry room affairs , and a healthy dose of seasickness . What else do you expect from a group of adults who are essentially living in sardine can bunk beds while working a high-stress job?

Apparently, the drama we see on Below Deck doesn't hold a candle to what happens when Bravo packs up their things and heads home. Bobby Giancola, who appeared on Below Deck Mediterranean, told Forbes that the network should "film it for seven or eight weeks. That's when everything starts boiling over." Hannah Ferrier concurred that filming those weeks would be "the worst idea ever." Producer Mark Cronin  confirmed  a season is only six weeks long.

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 (3 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” — The Netflix Binge Cruisers Will Love

Doug Parker

• October 20, 2020

Netflix is known for introducing binge-worthy content to the platform.

And the latest has to be “Below Deck” — a reality series that came to Netflix in the form of two seasons in August 2020.

But the show itself was filmed way back in 2013 and has a total of 7 seasons and 105 episodes.

So why are people raving about the show? 

It’s a glimpse into a luxury escape — and the drama onboard

Below Deck follows the lives of crew members who live and work onboard a mega-yacht.

Season one follows the likes of Captain Lee Rosback, First Officer Aleks Taldykin, Chief Stewardess Adriene Gang, Second Engineer C.J. LeBeau, Chef Ben Robinson and Deckhand David Bradberry in their everyday working and personal lives onboard the 164-foot Honor .

The first release of the series averaged 1.4 million total viewers per episode.

All of the crew that is hired to be part of the show are licensed and certified, which involves a two-week course.

Captain Lee says: “ 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. It’s a two-week course and a certification they have to have before they’re allowed to work on yachts.”

The crew is filmed 24 hours a day , seven days a week working on the boat while being filmed by both hidden cameras and a crew. 

But what makes the show so addictive? 

For reality TV lovers, Below Deck is one of those shows with a brand that is instantly bingeable. This is because of the on-screen romances, drama, and professional and personal turmoils that are captured on screen.

Noah Samton, the senior vice president of the production for Bravo says that the yachting industry “attracts the kind of people that are good for TV. First of all, they’re a lot of young, attractive people. A lot of people that are sort of escaping their lives for some reason or have this adventurous streak in them. We’re really good at finding the people who are going to wear it on their sleeves.” 

And as with other reality TV shows, the cameras capture it all, sharing every aspect of their lives onboard.

The only place that they aren’t filmed is in the bathroom, but only one crew member can be in one at any given time.

Members have tried to get away with their personal antics being held in places without a camera — in one instance, a laundry room — but the crew quickly clocks on.

It’s this close look into their lives, combined with the personalities and the exotic locations, that make Below Deck so exciting to watch.

How is the show really filmed? Here are some of the secrets

When the show was first released there were some questions from fans about how ‘real’ the working lives were of those on screen. But the cast actually work as real-life stewards, sometimes up to 16+ hours a day, and sleep on tiny bunks.

T he charter company actually pays each cast member a base salary; the cast is also paid an appearance fee by the production company. And they’re allowed to take tips by guests. All their food is provided by the boat’s chef, as would be in the case if they were regular employees. 

The cast is not allowed to speak to, or interact with, the production team and cameraman in order to keep in line with the show’s guidelines. 

Captain Lee is actually in charge of the boat, including when and where they can sail and anything that needs to be considered in terms of the weather. He can also fire anyone at any time. Production is not allowed to have any influence on this.

The boat costs upwards of $300,000 per week to hire — which is why all filming is done during the six-week period. 

All cast members get three days off per season during the six weeks of filming on the boat. They can stay in a hotel room on those days, but they’re not allowed to communicate with each other. 

There are also advantages for the guests on the boat, as they are given a fifty percent discount on their journey — although they pay their own money to rent the boat and for their tips.

What’s the future for Below Deck?

So far, Netflix has releases only two series of the show, but we can expect more. For the ones that can’t get the show’s pristine sceneries out of their mind, sites like borrowaboat.com have boats and yachts for every taste available to rent, perfect to recreate the sailing lifestyle.

While there are only two series so far released by Netflix, we can expect more. And the new Below Deck season eight will likely premiere sometime in the fall of 2020.

With eight seasons now, it’s likely that there could be more in the future and that audiences will be able to continue to enjoy the drama-filled lives of those who work below deck and onboard the ship.

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

Linda Holmes

Ronald Young Jr.

Jared M. Gair

Mike Katzif

Jessica Reedy

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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The Untold Truth Of Below Deck Sailing Yacht

Bravo TV 's second season of the reality show Below Deck Sailing Yacht debuted on March 1, and fans are already rabid to dive back into the world of chartered sea vessels. The series follows the highs and lows of a crew who sail charter boats in Croatia's Ionoian Sea.

The show is part of a series of spin-offs based on Below Deck , which has proven to be massively successful for the network. After 23 seasons, it's no surprise that two spin-offs were born: Mediterranean and Sailing Yacht . As Joshua Ocampo of Men's Health explains, people love all three shows because "the series has exposed the underbelly of [the] ultra-luxurious yachting industry."

Season two of Sailing Yacht features a lot of new names, including Daisy Kelliher , Dani Soares, Alli Dore, Natasha de Bourg , Colin Macrae , Gary King , Jean-Luc Cerza Lanaux, and, of course, a familiar face: Captain Glenn Shephard (via Bravo ).

First mate Gary King did not get along with Jean-Luc Cerza Lanaux in season 2

As said, this year's BDSY team is full of brand new faces, which a lot of the series' fans think was the right move. The new cast is definitely expected to shake things up. Captain Glenn Shephard told Us Weekly that he believes Gary King is "a bit of a party animal," but added that he appreciates King's sailing skills. "He's a good sailor. I could relax a little bit with a right-hand man there. I didn't have to explain to him, he understands."

Captain Shephard also offered a little bit of dirt on the season. Turns out  Jean-Luc Cerza Lanaux , the youngest crew member, and first mate Gary King aren't really good friends, but luckily they were still able to work well together. "I don't know that he and Gary got on perfectly, but I think they manage the season and their department quite well" (via Us Weekly ).

It turns out the real story is a little deeper than that. Meaww writes that Lanaux and King had a huge fight over how to clean the ship. Lanaux and fellow crewmate Colin Macrae were mopping when they decided to use a cleaning solvent instead of soap... but then discovered that the solvent was really diesel fuel. The publication notes, "You could see Jean was apologetic and first mate Gary King was fuming but a little quick-thinking helped the crew manage the crisis."

There's also a scary accident in season 2 of Below Deck Sailing Yacht

Interpersonal drama isn't the only thing that will keep season 2 of Below Deck Sailing Yacht exciting for viewers. It turns out that Captain Shephard has now become the first captain in series history to crash a yacht.

Shephard explained to Showbiz Cheat Sheet that the accident was pretty rough. "That particular [accident], I felt it. And when I'm feeling the impact I'm fearing the worst and thinking 'Oh my God this is really, really bad.' In the end, it's not quite as bad as I feared. So I may have overreacted a little bit. But yeah, it's pretty serious."

It also sounds like the accident happened due to error on Captain Shephard's part and technical issues he dealt with. "I've never had an issue with the result like we had. And you can tell I was quite upset about it. I've never had that kind of result, but I've definitely had issues before where I've lost everything. The engines shut down. I have no thrusters, nothing. And that can be a little nerve-wracking. That's something that can be a showstopper, like an 'end the season' and kind of thing. It's something that can be very, very serious. People can get injured, it can be very serious."

Guests get a whopping 50% off if they book a trip on the yacht

If sailing around as a guest on Below Deck Sailing Yacht is your idea of a dream vacation , you're in luck: with the right amount of money, it's really easy to hop aboard the Parsifal III ! The show's producer, Mark Cronin, participated in an Ask Me Anything forum on Reddit four years ago and revealed quite a lot about what it takes to be on the show.

For starters, Cronin said that while he wishes he could be more selective, he simply can't; whoever can afford to sail on the boat is welcome. "Whoever's check clears the bank is on the show! I wish I could be picky" (via Reddit). Luckily, guests don't have to pay the full $150,000 fee to charter such a yacht. "The guests pay their own real money to charter the boat. But we do give them a discount (about 50%) from the real cost of the vessel for three days. We ask them to tip about 15% to 20% of the full cost though. The tip amount is up to them as well. They are not compensated, but we pay their airfare" (via Reddit).

Guests on Below Deck Sailing Yacht can be super rude

Mark Cronin fielded quite a few questions about the passengers that come on board the yacht throughout filming. It turns out that most of them have the same complaint: they don't like how they appear on the show. But Cronin adds that typically, if someone appears to be rude on the show, they're that way in real life. While speaking about the passengers who have come on board, he noted, "I think they are actually rude sometimes. Rich people can be rude to people they consider 'servants.' Some get a rush out of it I guess. They're hungry for 'amusement' and sometimes abusing the staff [is] amusement" (via Reddit).

Fans who watched the first season of BDSL likely remember one guest who caused a lot of problems. As Decider recounts, two men behaved as if chartering the boat meant they had the right to behave however they saw fit. The pair wanted the crew to drop them off at a beach bar to find women to spend time with, but worried aloud about what they were wearing, with one of them demanding, "Pull right on the f****** beach. I don't want to get the f****** linens dirty."

Cast members get paid way more than you might think

Jill Goslicky, the show's executive producer, recently participated in her own Ask Me Anything forum on Reddit and addressed a few key questions: how do people become yachties on the show, and how do they get paid?

Goslicky says that the crew is paid in a multitude of ways, "They do get a salary for being hired as part of the yacht crew, they do get to keep their tips, and they do get a production fee" (via Reddit). Refinery29 also reports that crew salaries range from $5,000 to $10,000 a month, depending on the position and in the case of the chef , experience and training.

A second and third stewardess starts the monthly salary scale at $5,000, followed by the chief stew, who can earn up to $1,000 more. The salary of the chef, meanwhile, starts out at $7,000, with the potential of earning up to $10,000.  And most importantly? That's all before they get anything extra: "This is before tip, which across the Below Deck seasons averages $15,000 a person for about six weeks of work" (via  Refinery ).

People who want to be on a  Below Deck  show have to follow a few key steps before they can get the gig. Men's Health   explains that the first step is filling out the application online. Yachtie applicants also have to be at least 21 years old, have a visa for the filming location, and be qualified to work on a yacht in the first place.

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The life of a yachtie as depicted on  Below Deck   is a bit different than what a yacht crew experiences in real life. The  Below Deck  series is all about drama , whether it is partying too hard or catching feelings too quickly. The yachties onboard know how to keep things interesting and even make the idea of working on a multimillion-dollar boat appealing. However, the yachting reality series isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. According to the crew, it's not even the same as working on a yacht in real life.

Below Deck  follows a yacht crew and its captain as they sail the open waters whilst trying to give charter guests a memorable experience. Such experiences include five-star service from both the chef and the crew and entertainment, including the water toys. When someone’s every move is being filmed, certain things are added to make the show more entertaining. In the case of the crews featured on Below Deck , certain moments are made slightly more dramatic on both the guest and employee side. So, no, yacht crews aren’t always incredibly attractive. 

Related:  Below Deck: Why Chef Ben Robinson Will Never Return To The Show

As far as the crew goes, the show differs from real life in that Bravo doesn’t create a show out of a pre-existing ship and crew (well, sort of). When the owner of a yacht agrees to take part in the series, the producers get to decide who gets to come aboard, excluding the captain, engineer, and first officer. Captain Lee of Below Deck has accused the network in the past of selecting people who are inept when it comes to this type of work, thus shading the realism of who’s really qualified when watching the series. 

Some things that appear one way onscreen are actually an illusion. For example, when the chief stew is showing charter guests their living quarters, she doesn't show them the true master suite. An interview with  The New York Times   revealed that the executive producers of the show take control of that master suite, making it their control room. Guests are also given a discount on the price of their trip for agreeing to be on the show since they really are going on a vacation. In addition, the charter season on  Below Deck  is much shorter than a real-life yachting season (via  Cheat Sheet ).  While a normal charter season lasts about six months,  a  Below Deck  season only lasts around six weeks. 

There are things that aren’t scripted for the show. Working on a yacht really is a 24/7 job of constant upkeep and cleaning. The crew will often take advantage of their nights to explore and party off the boat. Everyone is also hooking up, regardless of if they’re a guest or not. As long as the captain doesn’t find out, it’s fair game. Finally, when viewers watch a crewmate walk off the boat, they’re allowed. Unlike a typical contract job, this job comes with a daily rate pay that is invoiced, meaning there’s no obligation to stay. While  Below Deck  might not perfectly portray real-life yachting, it gets pretty close.

Next:  Every Season Of Below Deck, Ranked From Worst To Best

Source:  The New York Times ,  Cheat Sheet

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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 .

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

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How Much Does It Cost to Rent a Yacht on 'Below Deck'? The Answer, Plus More Fun Facts

Who else can't get enough of the Bravo show?

If you’re a Bravo fan, then you’ve certainly caught an episode or two of Below Deck .

Below Deck has been on since 2013, but whether you're a longtime fan or a new one, you likely have some questions. Like, who pays for the charters? Is Kate Chastain ever going to come back? And uh….how much does renting the yacht cost? Asking for a friend.

The answers to all of that, plus more fun facts below!

Soo, how much does it cost to rent the "Below Deck" yacht?

Longtime star Kate admitted to Entertainment Tonight in 2017 that it costs a pretty penny to charter a Below Deck yacht.

“Generally a boat that size, 150 foot...for seven days, is around $150,000,” she said. “But that does not include airfare, fuel, food, wine, docking, tip. So, I would say for a boat like Valor, for a week vacation, it would be around a quarter of a million dollars.” 😱

Anyone want to split it a few ways or...?

And yes, the guests do actually pay to charter the yacht.

Bravo's not handing out free ocean adventures! (Bummer.) The guests you see on the show pay their way—tip included.

“They spend their real money to be on the show,” producer Mark Cronin said . “And then the tip they leave, they decide what it is.”

Fellow producer Courtland Cox also mentioned that most people aren’t doing this just to get on TV. “This is a great experience for them to charter a very large yacht with a very experienced and fun crew and have an amazing three-day charter in an amazing location,” he said.

Apparently it wasn’t easy to get a "Below Deck" cast together.

According to Mark and Courtland, it was difficult to scrounge together the cast for season 1. “Initially, it was very hard to get yacht crew members to commit to doing the show because it was an unknown entity,” Courtland told Bravo . People (understandably) didn’t want to “jeopardize their future employment potential.”

But once it got going, it was easy to attract more interested folks. "The vast majority of people that do the show, they always say, 'I want to do the show because I want my friends and family to understand what my job is,'" Courtland said. "And they’re like, 'If I go on Below Deck , I will have a tangible, visible thing for my family and friends to understand what my job is.'"

Kate Chastain *might* be coming back.

Kate left Below Deck in 2020 after serving as the chief stew since season 2. She told Bravo , “I just feel like I’m 37 and a half—and I don’t think a girl should be wearing a skort at 38.” Fair! 😂

But now, there are whispers that Kate might return. She recently parted ways with Bravo’s Chat Room , and some fans think it's because she’s making space for Below Deck . Regardless of if she returns to the original show, she will definitely be appearing on the upcoming spinoff, Below Deck: Galley Talk , according to ET .

The show—and the drama—is real.

Fans always wonder if reality shows are scripted or not, but the producers say Below Deck is the real deal.

“I think people are so jaded by reality TV, they think that everything is thought ahead five steps or eight steps, and we are really genuinely filming what’s happening on a working charter yacht with people that are working on the yacht,” Courtland said. “I wish that I had the imagination and creativity to come up with the things that actually happen on the show because the things that happen on the show I could never in a million years come up with, could never imagine them.”

Interesting! Now, who's ready for a Below Deck marathon?

Megan Stein is the executive editor for The Pioneer Woman, and oversees entertainment, features, and news for the website. Whether it's catching up on the latest true crime podcast, or re-watching the best '80s movies for the zillionth time, she's always here to talk about anything and everything relating to pop culture.

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