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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.

Recommended

“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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All Eyes on Deck

How below deck, a reality show pitched as downton abbey on a luxury caribbean rent-a-yacht, became bravo’s new flagship..

When Ashton Pienaar fell overboard during the filming of Below Deck ’s sixth season, it almost ruined the party. A Sarasota real-estate agent named Brandy had chartered the 185-foot superyacht and its crew, which are the focal point of the Bravo reality show, so she and her “wild girlfriends” could celebrate their birthdays with “tequila in their hands at all times.” But enjoying those drinks had to be put on hold after a line tangled around Pienaar’s leg and yanked him off the boat.

The rope, towing a support boat called a tender, dragged Pienaar, a former bodybuilder and exotic dancer turned deckhand, by the ankle as he struggled to keep his head above water. Deckhand Rhylee Gerber called “Man overboard!” into her radio, Captain Lee Rosbach killed the propellers, and a cameraman stopped filming to loosen the line and help rescue him.

Three million people tuned in to the resulting episode, the 11th of the season, to see reality clash with “reality” and briefly be given real human stakes.

Below Deck stars a crew of young, good-looking men and women who work for Rosbach, their exacting boss, fighting and hooking up with each other while serving the needs of entitled, often drunk guests who’d paid tens of thousands of dollars to be indulged with foam parties, 12-course tasting menus, and ungodly amounts of green juice on a floating Mar-a-Lago. (In one episode, the family that inspired The Blind Side, the Tuohys, were aboard and requested a tailgate party.)

What differentiates Below Deck from a flotilla of other reality shows is the degree to which viewers are brought into an environment with its own vernacular and specialized skills, in which the stars have to actually work — and not in the manner of those on, say, Bravo’s Vanderpump Rules , where it doesn’t really matter if a patron gets his margarita on time.

That blend of setting and tension has quietly turned the show into a ratings dreadnought (by basic-cable standards). Season six was its most watched, averaging almost 2.6 million viewers per episode; among audiences under 50, it was the No. 5 reality show on all of cable. The show’s first spinoff, Below Deck Mediterranean , has done nearly as well: Its third season averaged 2.4 million viewers in 2018, and its fourth (currently airing) is on track for the largest Below Deck audience ever. A second spinoff, set on a fancy sailboat, was announced earlier this year.

The idea for Below Deck came from co–executive producer Rebecca Henning, who, back in the ’90s, had worked on a yacht owned by a wealthy New York family. Years later, when she and her husband were working in TV, she pitched the show to Courtland Cox, the producer behind Rock of Love With Bret Michaels and Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School. Cox brought it to his boss Mark Cronin at the production company 51 Minds; they made a sizzle reel at the Fort Lauderdale yacht show with the help of Below Deck ’s future chief stewardess Adrienne Gang.

Downton Abbey was popular at the time, and Cronin and Cox leaned in to the upstairs-downstairs culture of yachting. Crews give up their lives on land in exchange for adjacency to extreme wealth. It was a perfect fit for Bravo, a reality-TV haven that has long offered viewers the opportunity to be income-inequality voyeurs through programs like Real Housewives and Million Dollar Listing. Bravo exec and Watch What Happens Live host Andy Cohen was an early champion, and the network ordered the series in the spring of 2011.

“When Bravo suddenly said, ‘We love the show, let’s make the show,’ I had this moment of panic, of like, Oh dear God, I have no idea how we’re going to make this incredibly complex show, ” Cox admits.

The first hurdle, which almost sank the show, was the reluctance of yacht brokers to allow a production company to hire a group of aspiring reality-show stars to crew their very valuable boats and film the very possibly disastrous results. The owner of the boat used on season one — the 164-foot Cuor di Leone, renamed the far-easier-to-pronounce Honor for the screen — was the only one who agreed. The day Cox walked on deck for a scouting tour, Rosbach was the captain who showed him around. “When a new crew member walks on Captain Lee’s yacht on Below Deck and he gives them that sort of cockeyed, suspicious look, I know exactly what that is, because I had the exact same experience,” Cox says. “I was like, Oh, this guy’s not messing around. ”

And Rosbach admits to being skeptical. He could tell Cox had no idea what he was doing. Rosbach recalls thinking, “It’s going to be a painful learning experience if it continues.”

As Cox toured the boat, taking in the engine room, the spotless teak decks, and the Jet Skis, he realized his biggest challenge would be casting. Reality producers often fish for contestants by looking for people who behave outrageously at nightclubs or music festivals, but because the crew actually had to operate a boat, Below Deck ’s producers couldn’t just hire any unhinged extrovert eager for fame. “You can’t fake being a yachtie, because it’s a tough job,” says Cronin. The cast would also need proper safety certifications and training. So with Gang’s help, Cox and his team found people by going to crew houses, where workers stay between jobs, and spreading the word in Fort Lauderdale while shooting the sizzle reel.

Producers had initially wanted the show’s captain to be young and handsome. They thought they’d found their man in Aleks Taldykin, a yachting pro who auditioned because the economy was still in a postrecession slump and he needed a job. But according to Simon Tusha, who owned the charter company that rented the boat to 51 Minds, the yacht’s owner was uncomfortable with Taldykin taking the helm, even though he was technically qualified. Right before filming began in St. Martin, producers and the owner asked Rosbach. He agreed because his boss asked him to.

“Lee was really pissed, which was really funny because now he loves it,” says Taldykin, who thought about quitting the show before producers persuaded him to stay on as Rosbach’s onscreen No. 2. (Taldykin left after one season and now runs his own yacht-charter company.) The switch ended up being a brilliant decision. After Below Deck ’s 2013 debut, Captain Lee immediately became its biggest star when he kicked the show’s first charter guests off the boat after a crew member discovered a white powder and rolled-up bill in one of their cabins. Rosbach was exactly what audiences wanted a captain to be: a no-nonsense authority figure who could puncture anybody’s sense of entitlement, no matter their tax bracket. His white hair and chunky gold dolphin jewelry glittering with diamonds certainly help too. (Last year he published a memoir, Running Against the Tide: True Tales From the Stud of the Sea , and has 224,000 Instagram followers.)

“Yachting isn’t for everybody, and there’s a lot of pressure because you’ve got a lot to do and a very short time to get it done,” Rosbach says. “Some people can handle it, some people can’t.”

Reality-show star overboard! Ashton Pienaar being dragged into the sea, as captured by one of Below Deck ’s many cameras. Click or swipe to see.

Photo: Courtesy of Bravo

Rosbach doesn’t pick the crew, but he fires them at his discretion and says he runs the boat on the show the same way he always has in his 30 years on the job. Most cast members don’t last more than one season, two if they’re lucky. Each season, some seem less concerned with running the boat well than getting screen time. That said, while most are at the very least competent, producers do seem to try to find one or two completely incompetent people every season, and viewers wonder if those people will get fired, which they sometimes do.

Obviously there’s a great deal of sex in confined spaces. Many yachts in real life forbid intra-crew relationships, but that wouldn’t make for much of a reality-TV show. Cabin cams regularly capture the cast changing and hooking up. But relationships almost never work out, because they’re on a boat on a reality show and you really can’t escape the person or the terribleness of being on-camera.

Part of the show’s alchemy lies in the way it portrays how proximity to wealth can change people. “When you first get into yachting, your taste kind of elevates because you’re around such wealthy people,” says the show’s chief stewardess, Kate Chastain. “You get a tip and you’re like, I earned this. You would never usually splurge on that, but you become much more comfortable with splurging.” This is why deckhands don’t think twice about throwing down their tip money for $12,000 bottle service on their nights off or for a “starter watch.” Chastain says she can spot yachties from afar, whether they’re in uniform or not. “If it’s a guy, and he’s got a kind of new, kind of nice watch and kind of nice sunglasses — we’re not going to push full-on Rolex, that’s a captain,” she says. (“I was wearing a Rolex,” says Rosbach, recalling the first time he and Chastain met. Boat captains make on average $1,000 per foot of boat length per year, he tells me; the boat in Below Deck ’s first season was 164 feet.)

One thing that isn’t quite real about the show: While the people who charter the boats on Below Deck pay for their passage, they receive around half off the boat’s usual price and don’t get to stay aboard for more than a couple nights at a time. It’s still an eye-popping amount of money — guests who stayed two nights on the boat used for season six would have spent around $42,000 plus a cash tip — but much less than the industry norm. Chastain says most regular charter customers would never appear on the show (they can do without the exhibitionism discount), which means fans don’t get to watch the superrich who actually live #yachtlife.

Instead, they get Sarasota real-estate agents named Brandy. The day Pienaar went overboard, she and her squad set down their tequila to grab the railing on the back deck and peer over for a better look at the man flailing in the water. “That was so scary,” Brandy said when he emerged unharmed except for a minor foot injury, and she and her girlfriends were soon distracted by a lunch of flank steak with red-wine reduction and turmeric-infused shrimp.

Rosbach hasn’t been able to shake off the accident so easily. It was the only near-death mistake in the show’s history and the first time Rosbach had a man overboard in his career. It’s an incident he says he still thinks about “all the time,” and one that yachting professionals not affiliated with Below Deck say they can’t imagine happening under normal circumstances. Of course, in the show’s own complicated way, that’s more or less the point.

Additional reporting by Josef Adalian.

*This article appears in the July 22, 2019, issue of  New York Magazine Subscribe Now!

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Bit of an Ick

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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Parsifal III: Meet the charter star of Below Deck's sailing yacht spin-off

This week, producers have confirmed season five of hit reality TV show Below Deck Sailing Yacht will return to screens on 7 October for more crew drama and on-the-water antics. Set on the Balearic island of Ibiza, the series will again feature the 54-metre Perini Navi superyacht Parsifal III with Captain Glenn Shephard at the helm. In anticipation of the series' return, BOAT reflects on an interview with her owner Kim Vibe-Petersen , who unpacked the realities of filming a reality TV series on board his boat ahead of season three.

Below Deck Sailing Yacht is a spin-off series of the hit superyacht reality TV show Below Deck that follows the lives of the crew and guests across an eight-week charter season. For Danish owner Kim Vibe-Petersen, Parsifal III' s return is yet another opportunity to show off the yacht's charter credentials. 

Vibe-Petersen was personally approached by Below Deck producers in 2018 after they struggled to find a suitable sailing yacht. Parsifal III fitted the bill as she was already equipped for charter and a number of her existing crew were willing to take part in the show.

The Perini Navi sailing yacht first hit the water in 2005 and rose to instant fame scoring a number of prestigious accolades including a coveted Neptune at the World Superyacht Awards . On her launch, she also joined the ranks as one of the fast Perini Navi superyachts on the water with a top speed of 18 knots under full sail granted by two high-tech carbon masts, automated in-boom furling and a winged keel.

Vibe-Petersen admitted there were some yacht owners who didn’t want the names of their yachts connected with the drama-filled reality show, but he "didn’t have that concern." Although he had the option to change the yacht’s name for filming, he decided to keep it to maximise the charter appeal of  Parsifal III .

"It’s free advertising," he said. "The name of the yacht will come to people’s minds, especially to someone who has never chartered a yacht before. They will see that name and know the boat from the show."

Vibe-Petersen was also keen to secure a guaranteed packed charter schedule during low season. "I think there were a lot of boats that did not want to be chartered for the show but it's good money in the bank," he said.

While admitting he might not be the "specific audience targeted by the series," he said he has sat down to watch the first series, which took place in Corfu. Even in Vibe-Peterson’s home country of Denmark, the US show has gained a big following.

"This is the kind of show where they want to make a little drama," he added. "It’s not that wild on board a normal charter." The conveyor belt of colourful guests are chosen by the production team and given a "big discount" for appearing on the show.

Vibe-Petersen also explained the complicated logistics of filming Below Deck , each season of which features 16 charters filmed across a period of eight weeks. This means that two groups of guests separately charter the yacht in a single week. Meanwhile, the production team require a time period of at least a week to get  Parsifal III  rigged up and fit for filming. "There are 30 people on board each day with lots of wires and cameras – it’s a big, big operation."

Season one was filmed in Corfu, Greece, which posed a number of challenges for  Parsifal III as the sailing yacht was required to have a specific charter licence. "It’s pretty tough to get that," said Vibe-Petersen. "It’s not something we can do within a short amount of time. It can take 10 to 12 weeks to get a charter licence so it takes time."

For her second season, Parsifal III was filmed cruising Croatia's 3,600 miles of coastline. For season three, the show follows Parsifal III as she cruises around the Spanish island of Menorca, carrying a mix of new and old crew.

Season five of Below Deck Sailing Yacht will feature returning department heads chief stew Daisy Kelliher and first mate Gary King, while chef Cloyce Martin, chief engineer Davide Morosi, stews Diana Cruz and Danni Warren, and deckhands Keith Allen and Emma Crouch are amongst the new crew members.

Parsifal III is managed for charter by Camper & Nicholsons with a weekly charter rate starting from €245,000. 

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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 Real Love Boat

It is a reality competition series based on the '70s series that took place on Princess Cruises ships. It is a reality competition series based on the '70s series that took place on Princess Cruises ships. It is a reality competition series based on the '70s series that took place on Princess Cruises ships.

• Shea-Lynn Noyes
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Episodes 12

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Pretty tricky cbs.

• Nov 1, 2022
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• October 5, 2022 (United States)
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• Runtime 1 hour

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