Think about the place you work. Now imagine what it would be like if you didn’t go home at night and instead slept (and ate and showered) there. What if that workplace were not, say, a conventional office but a 150-foot moving vessel on the open water, meaning you couldn’t just take a walk when you needed to blow off steam or vent about your boss? And, oh, yeah, did we mention you work in the service industry, so you must also cater to some pretty tough customers while keeping a smile pasted to your face? Even when you’re running on fumes and maybe your best friend and your crush — who also happen to be your coworkers — are dating each other?
Welcome to life on Below Deck, Bravo’s hit reality franchise about the luxury yachting industry. Since 2013, viewers have watched a rotating crew of real-life captains, chefs, deckhands, stewardesses and other sailing professionals scramble to accommodate every guest whim (an impromptu concert on the dock!), food preference (gluten-free vegans who will eat bacon but not onions!) and quirk (we’re looking at you, germaphobe who packed a blacklight).
Us got the rare opportunity to talk to all-stars, OGs and newbies from every corner of the Below Deck universe to get all the saltwatery tea. Please welcome to the chat Capts. Sandy Yawn, Jason Chambers and Kerry Titheradge; chief stews Aesha Scott, Daisy Kelliher, Fraser Olender, Kate Chastain and Hannah Ferrier; and the lovestruck cast of Below Deck season 12.
Origin Stories
Even for experienced yachties, the camera element of being a Below Deck cast member changes things.
Kate Chastain, Below Deck, 2014–20 I had only been on the boat for a week. I was overwhelmed by the cameras… I needed a moment to cry because I was freaking out. Anywhere I tried to run, that camera operator -— and I give them a lot of credit — – was right on me. So I would open up the cupboards in the stew pantry and stick my head in. I was crying in the cupboard, and the camera operator knew it. She was kind of teasing, like, “Get out! You get your head out!” But I was refusing to. I was like, Here’s what’s not going to happen: I’m not going to cry on camera, so I’m going to stick my head in the cupboard.
Aesha Scott, Below Deck Med and Down Under, 2019–present When I first got on the boat and the cameras were rolling, there was just this wave of energy that came over me and I was like, Oh, my God — this was that moment I was waiting for all my life. Very soon after that, I just completely forgot the cameras were there. A lot of people in their first season take a while to adjust or — what I find really frustrating — people come in and have a preconceived idea or try and be something they’re not. But it’s very intense. There’s never any time where we are not being filmed. [By the end of charter,] I’m like, Get me off this f***ing boat.
Capt. Sandy Yawn, Below Deck Mediterranean, 2017–present A showrunner reached out to me [and] asked if I wanted to cast for the show. I was afraid it would ruin my career. Then I decided, why not? The door of opportunity opened, so I walked through because I thought to myself, I can always walk back out. Best day, best decision. The marine industry hated the show, and I thought it was my mission to shift the way they think. So I’ve been working on them for years, and I have to say, the majority of people come around because our show highlights destinations and vessels and actually shows owners what captains go through. I love the show for that because what happens on Below Deck is actually what happens in the real world of chartering.
Capt. Kerry Titheradge, Below Deck Adventure and Below Deck, 2022–present Part of my journey is, as a man, we want to fix everything, right? I watch myself over the years and see how I do something, I’m like, You know what? It’s gone the right direction, but next time, I’m gonna do it this way. Or, Oh, boy, I didn’t realize saying that when I left the space would affect people. So hats off to [those] who decided to put me on the show, because they’ve really helped me in my own development.
Guests From Hell
Money, alcohol, sun and close quarters can sometimes collide into an Are You F**king Kidding Me? cocktail of woe.
Fraser Olender, Below Deck, 2021–present I usually make my most-hated guests think we’re best friends. I don’t know how I do it, but I do. It’s never a primary — they’ve worked hard for their money, they know what they’re doing. It’s always a guest of the primary; we call them “whilst you’re here” orders. So basically, “I need nothing, but whilst you’re here…” They’re just taking advantage of the opportunity. So whilst you’re here, I’ll have a water with a side of Diet Coke with a side of a coffee. I’ll also get an oatmeal on the side, then I’ll have a green juice and also a mimosa. I use that example because I’ve seen four drinks next to a stupid, stupid, painful woman. And I always go back to this because it’s so unhinged: I was asked at 7 a.m. to turn the hot tub into an ice bath for a guest’s postworkout ice bath at 8. First of all, where’s this ice coming from? Two, how long is that ice really going to be ice for? And then fill it with ice-cold water? But he would not budge.
Aesha I think people just take the piss sometimes; [when they] get drunk, they just start going, Give me this. I know you’re not supposed to say no to a guest, but [once] we’d just finished doing dinner service and [the primary] starts demanding that we have Szechuan chicken, and he just kept going on and on about it. I knew the chef had had a 19-hour day. We didn’t have all the ingredients for it. He had just finished an eight-course meal. I was like, I’m really sorry, but I’m not going to ask the chef to do that. I know you’re not hungry. I know you’re just drunk and calling out demands. Also poo. I’ve had poo in the shower multiple times. Not just the really clogged one, but also little bits that are scattered through the shower, like peas, and I’m like, What on earth have you been doing in here?
Capt. Kerry We’re an industry where we do difficult. Difficult is fine. We don’t do rude or insulting or threatening, and that’s what [season 12 guest] Kelly [Furey] was. Hurricane Kelly.
Kate Season 7 in Thailand, there was a gentleman — I don’t remember his name because I don’t really like him, but he was your typical frat boy, just obnoxious. He wanted us all to get in the shower in the primary stateroom, and he wanted to take a money gun and shoot dollar bills at us. He was entitled and not gracious. The only guests that stand out as being a negative memory are the ones that were just entitled and impolite.
Daisy Kelliher, Below Deck Sailing Yacht and Down Under, 2020–present When guests are constantly screaming my name, sometimes I’ll go to bed, like, Oh, wow, my name is ringing in my ear. And I remember one charter, somebody asked us to make the boat stop rocking. I was like, “Well, we’re on a boat. The weather’s rough. I don’t really know. I hate to tell you we have to go along with the waves.”
Hannah Ferrier, Below Deck Med, 2016–2020 I had done the provisioning and set up the yacht [while] in the south of France, and there’s obviously a lot of very bougie stores there. I got these almonds covered in chocolate, and every time I would give the [primary] his coffee, I put an almond next to the coffee. We ran out, so I gave him his coffee with a different chocolate. He’s like, “No.” I was like, “Oh, I’m so sorry. We’ve run out.” He’s like, “Get more.” We were in Sardinia, and I went to the captain: He wants these. And he’s like, “Well, you have to get them.” So I had to get an agent to go to this specific shop in the south of France and buy them, then helicopter them down. It was, like, 24,000 euros for these little hard candies.
Danger, Danger!
We see glamour and adventure, but yachties’ No. 1 job is to keep everyone on board safe — and it’s not always easy.
Capt. Sandy [Bosun] Malia [White] was on the bow of Lady Michelle. The lightning was dancing everywhere, and we were dragging anchor. I was in fear for my crew’s life. Another time, I was anchored in Malta. It was pitch-black, and the storm came from nowhere. I had a night watchperson and a night producer, and he was melting down. He thought we were going down. And I just had to keep him calm. We maneuvered the boat. I didn’t wake the rest of the crew up. But, yes, the stress was there.
Kate I think a lot of people would be surprised to know I’m a trained firefighter. You have to be. If the boat catches on fire, we are the ones that are supposed to don the firesuits and fight it. I mean, personally, I’m getting on the Jet Ski, and I’m getting out of there.
Capt. Jason Chambers, Below Deck Down Under, 2022–present The safety factor is huge, and the responsibility is massive. Season 3, we had a primary coming in with a Jet Ski, 100 miles an hour, and just turned straight in front of me. That could have gone anywhere. Harry’s thing — Harry is lucky to have his thumb. [On Below Deck Down Under season 3, a Jet Ski crushed lead deckhand Harry Van Vliet’s thumb.] Jumping in the water at night intoxicated is one thing, but jumping in the water at night in far north Queensland, Australia, when I cruised up there for years, it’s full of sharks. In season 1, I kept telling them, 4 p.m., no one in the water; 5 p.m., I don’t want anyone swimming. And they all laughed at me. And then the last charter, we all got out of the water, and at 5 p.m., I was up top and this six-foot hammerhead came up in the back of the boat.
Hannah I had a fire on board my yacht on my 11th day working on boats. The captain got the guests off, and I thought I was getting off with them. No, I was staying on board to fight this fire. I was like, “Wait, no,” like, I don’t want to be on a bobbing boat that’s on fire in the middle of the water. So all got off, and they left, and the captain told me to go down and get fire extinguishers. I had a wet T-shirt over my face, and I slipped down the stairs and tore two ligaments in my foot. If you’re on charter, you can guarantee every day someone’s going to ask for a drink. You can guarantee you’re going to have to do dinner service. It’s like, once in a blue moon, you’re going to have to fight a fire, or do a man overboard… You’re going to get a situation, like with Ashton [Pienaar], where he fell off the boat and his leg was caught up. [The deckhand was pulled overboard by a line in season 6 of Below Deck; cameraman Brent Freeburg jumped in and saved his life.]
Boat Hopping
Some Below Deck stars have crossed from one franchise to another, working with multiple captains and crews.
Daisy [Changing boats] was very nerve-wracking. I got very familiar with Parsifal and Capt. Glenn Shephard and to what sailing was all about. [Suddenly, on Down Under it was like,] Oh, can I do this? What’s it going to be like? Am I going to clash with the captain? Can I do a motorboat? I think it was good for me to change and be given a new challenge, but I was certainly very, very nervous. Regarding reaching out to people [on what to expect], I didn’t, same way I treated my first season. I wanted to have my own experience. I’m human, like everybody else, and I didn’t want my experience to be influenced by other opinions… I’d watched the season, so I had an idea of what I was walking into. I knew Jason was going to be there, and that’s all I really needed to know.
Aesha When I decided I was going to go to the Med [for season 10, premiering Sept. 29], I was going to tell Jason anyway, but he did reach out and say, like, Oh, I heard you’re going over and good luck with everything and blah, blah, blah, because he was very disappointed. But he also gets it. He’s logical enough that he gets it and he wished me nothing but happiness and success, and that’s the thing at the end of the day. It wasn’t anything to do with what captain I liked better. It’s purely just that I love the Med. That’s where my yachting heart is.
Capt. Jason It’s not uncommon for stewardesses to move on. Things change, and you have to adapt to it. Aesha had an opportunity to switch locations to rewrite the story she started in, so I definitely can understand. And I’m happy to have Daisy come back. She works well, she works hard. She’s authentic, and she really cares about the job. Daisy brought her A-game, and she didn’t hold anything back. When she wants something, she gets it.
See You Never!
There’s no love lost for some former castmates and coworkers.
Hannah I definitely would not work with Malia. That would be a deal-breaker. Bugsy [Drake], we never really got along. We’re very different people. There were a few things that annoyed me in season 2, like the iPad. [Stew Bugsy saw messages between Hannah and charter guest Jason Ziegler on the communal iPad and told the captain and crew.] Dude, if we’re supposed to be working together and you see messages on an iPad, come to me on camera and be like, “Oh, I see you’re texting the charter guest.” You don’t need to bring [deckhands] Bobby [Giancola] and Max [Hagley] and make it a big production. At the same time, I wouldn’t say I would never work with her.
Daisy Who I wouldn’t like to work with… I think the obvious: [stewardesses] Danni [Warren] and Diana [Cruz], maybe [engineer and ex-boyfriend] Colin [MacRae]. I’m not sure we need to rehash that.
Kate I would never work with [chef] Leon [Walker] or Rocky [Dakota] again — simply because they don’t want to work with me, and they made that clear while we were working together. I wouldn’t want to work with Ashton again. I wouldn’t want to work with chef Kevin [Dobson] again, or Caroline [Bedol]. Lauren [Burchell], the female deckhand from season 4. I will say I think Rocky is a star. She’s extremely talented and entertaining, and I understand her talents were wasted working on a yacht. I understand why she wasn’t into it, but I’m not the one who made her get that job. I’m still singing songs she was making up in the laundry room. She was iconic.
Lightning Round!
We heard so many great stories from the Deck team, we thought we’d end with a collection of our favorites. First, Hannah on her iconic oft-repeated line, “June June, Hannah” from season 4 of Below Deck Med, when she could never seem to get third stew June Foster to respond on the walkie.
Hannah Everyone always asked me to do that on Cameo, and then my [4-year-old] daughter is, like, always in the house, so she started going, “Mommy, Mommy, Ava. Mommy, Mommy, Ava.” I’m like, Oh, my God, this thing is gonna haunt me.
When we asked Aesha which celebrity’s boat she might like to work on, we threw out Leonardo DiCaprio as an example. Surprise!
Aesha Oh, I’ve actually had Leonardo DiCaprio on before, and he was so polite and so lovely. This was years ago. He was having business meetings about his climate change book, and you can’t help but hear what they’re talking about. I remember thinking he was probably the most articulate man I have ever heard speak in my life. Very intelligent. But I would want to work on Rihanna’s boat because I’ve had friends that have had her on, and they said she is just the nicest, kindest, [most] down-to-earth charter guest, and every time she’d get off, she’d leave them designer handbags.
Kate isn’t interested in returning full-time to the franchise, but she does have a pitch for Bravo that we’d tune in for.
Kate If there was a week-long freelance all-star chief stews of Below Deck charter, I’d go for fun. Let’s bring Fraser and Daisy and Aesha and have the four of us do it. I volunteer to be in the laundry room. It’s funny, when you start yachting and you’re in laundry, you’re like, Gosh, this is a punishment. Once you get up there, [you think], Man, I had it made: I didn’t have to make decisions. I could just chill out and iron. All the chief stews would be fighting over that laundry room.
Bonus Round!
The cast of Below Deck season 12, which wrapped on September 15, had a record number of romantic entanglements, hookups, situationships and love triangles (or sometimes trapezoids). To review: Stew Solène Favreau hooked up with deckies Kyle Stillie and Damo Yörg (both straight men) and lead deckhand Jess Theron. (FYI: Solène is now on Peacock’s Love Island Games.) Jess hooked up with Bárbara Kulaif (both women are gay). Damo Yörg made out with stewardess Rainbeau de Roos as well as head stew Fraser, who is gay and who also made out with Kyle in a past season. We talked to the crew about their time on the love boat.
Capt. Kerry What I remember is, and now I know why, is the love in the room. I’d have a gay man with his legs across a straight guy and a straight girl holding the hands of a gay woman. It was unbelievable, but it was this positive energy of love in the room that I felt nearly every meeting. There would be some seat changes that I would notice; I’m like, OK, I’m starting to put this together.
Fraser We were all having a bloody good time. Look at what type of fun you can have if you’re not stuck in your way, hurling abuse from the back, being upset with other people living their lives. I loved that we all were just like, ‘Yeah, and what?’ [It’s] just a really wonderful way of living. I’m just so happy with NBC and Bravo for kind of sticking it to the man and being like, This exists. This is beautiful. This is what everyone is doing, maybe not in your small little village or whatever. I’m not going to get too deep into it, but this is happening and this is fin and this is beautiful and this is brilliant. And kind of choke on it, boo.
Jess Theron The boat was super sexually fluid, and I think that came across accurately on screen. There was such an openness and lack of judgment, which was freeing. I’d never really been in a group dynamic like that before. It wasn’t even [all] sexual, it was just this closeness and playfulness we all shared. It felt beautiful in a way, because boundaries weren’t so rigid. At the end of the day, I’m grateful for the experience — the messy parts and the good parts. Being in that kind of environment forced me to look at myself in ways I might not have otherwise. And if people watching can relate, or maybe see themselves in my story, then it’s worth it.
Kyle Stillie Sexuality is fluid. So whoever you want to f***, at the end of the day, is who you want to f***. I’ve been traveling for 12 years. So I’m big on character and the energy that you get from people. I’ve met friends that I’ve kissed before and it’s meant nothing. And I’ve met blokes that would f***ing screw their nose up and be like, ‘Who the f*** is this guy?’ So I think it’s definitely in tune with how energies match, as opposed to what you identify in your sexuality. It’s how your characters and your energies can align together.
Bárbara Kulaif I’m so happy to see all this representation, because Below Deck has always been like a show that I love. And I think it was always a straight show with the same drama, the boy the girl, the boy that was f***ed up with the girl. And I think like, because I’m gay, I know how we don’t have many representations on TV shows. So I’m really happy and I’m really proud that I was in this season. I know probably they have received a lot of bad messages and bad comments, I’m sure, but come on, we are in 2025. We are allowed to love whoever we want to love.