Below Deck: Blessing or curse?

Publish date: 2024-04-23

Hall (who recently starred in boat broker series Hot Yachts Miami) cites charter clients who are huge fans. “They never miss an episode. They call it their guilty pleasure because on charter they don’t get to go below deck or sit in the mess,” she says. “Not all crew get blind drunk every day and chefs don’t mess up every other meal, but it can be eye-opening.”

Guy Mannering, an experienced captain and broker for Cecil Wright, has also seen an uplift in first-time charterers, but believes it’s had a net negative effect on the type of crew applying. “They think the on-screen antics are a true depiction of crew life,” he says. “What it doesn’t show are the safe working practices, crew training, weekly drills and industry professionalism.”

“It’s a strange limbo where I generally don’t want to tell other yachties that I’ve done the show due to the negative stigma, but also being proud of being on the show”

The show has not been without its controversy. Last summer, producers intervened and stopped a crew member from climbing naked into bed with an inebriated sleeping girl (after an investigation, he was removed from the show). Weeks later, another sexual misconduct allegation against Gary King, one of Below Deck’s main characters, came to light. The alleged victim, makeup artist for the show Samantha Suarez, accused King of allegedly forcing himself upon her while drunk in 2022, an accusation that he denied. Bravo said the complaint was investigated and acted upon at the time.

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