the under deck The franchise launched in 2013 on Bravo, with several spinoffs following. This nautical series introduced our common, earthbound selves to luxury yachts, ornate landscapes, and exotic locations. I remember watching the first group of yacht owners on the show struggle to please their demanding charter guests in the first season. As exhaustion set in, these crew members began to turn on each other (angrily, and occasionally, lustfully), and needless to say, the drama drew me in like I was the biggest bass in town. But at times, the storylines were overdone, leading to the following outrageous moments within the Below Deck franchise.
Below Deck: When Ashton Almost Got Killed, But Was Saved by a Photographer
Halfway through the sixth season of Below Deck, Ashton Pienaar nearly lost his life. The incident happened when a rope used to tow small boats caught his ankle, dragging him out to sea. When Riley Gerber raised the alarm, all hands were on deck. Fortunately, a quick-witted cameraman named Brent Freeburg was nearby, and thanks to him, Ashton is still alive.
When Captain Lee Rosbach heard Riley utter the two words no captain wants to hear—“man overboard”—over her radio, he quickly shut down the yacht. Meanwhile, back on deck, Brent wasted little time. He knelt down, held the camera over the side, and quickly untied the tow rope attached to the yacht. This action freed Ashton from having his ankle ripped off by the ship’s tow rope, which would have caused him to bleed to death in the water.
A trembling Ashton then swam to a nearby boat. Later, crew members watched footage of the near-death moment, and were overwhelmed with gratitude that Ashton had survived such a humiliating moment on deck.
Below Deck Down Under: When Crew and Production Stopped a Possible Sexual Assault
Below Deck Down Under season 2 had two separate bad moments, so be warned, this section contains details of two incidents of sexual assault. To protect your mental health, please stop reading here if this topic is causing you distress.
First, the ship’s captain, Luke Jones, was very drunk while out for the night. In the pickup truck heading back to their boat, Luke set his sights on a stewardess named Margot Sisson. Margot, for the record, was also drunk. So, once on board, she headed to her cabin to sleep.
Fortunately, Aisha Scott understood the feelings Luke was stirring up. To help protect herself from exhaustion, she crawled into bed with Margot, and watched her for a while. But as Aisha left, Luke walked in. As he climbed on top of Margot, the production team realized Margot couldn’t consent, so they stepped in.
Once they’ve thrown Luke out of Margot’s cabin, Aisha shows up. She wakes up Captain Jason Chambers, who throws Luke off the yacht. The next day, Luke loses his job. This dismissal greatly upsets Laura Belskaln, another lady with no boundaries.
Laura blamed everyone but Luke for her actions, including Margot. It was disgusting. But when Adam Kodra told Laura no, and she continued to attack him, she was the one who sealed her fate afterward. After being fired, Aisha and Captain Jason comforted their crew, showing their strong leadership skills after such a series of disgraceful situations on the ship.
Below Deck Med: Chef Mila’s Homophobia and Terrible Cooking Skills
Chef Mila Kolomitseva from Below Deck Mediterranean Season 4 was a completely different person. To be clear, I was very angry. However, I probably could have handled her tasks better than she ever did. And because of her excessive display of homophobia, her character was also bad.
Although Mila joined the team with a great track record, it soon became apparent that she was suffering from a lack of confidence. She used her Aunt Jemima’s pancake mix instead of fresh ingredients, but even that didn’t work. She then microwaved the guest’s steak (and licked it), which made me vomit as I watched from my couch. And her canned nachos, which Hannah Ferrier, with the support of Captain Sandy Yawn, refused to serve, were the final warning sign that Mila’s career was a fake. There was no cover.
Mila also had a hard time dealing with the situation outside the kitchen. Her words struck a chord with 99.9% of viewers and 100% of her crew. In other words, Mila believes that being gay is unnatural and wrong. On Watch What Happens Live , Captain Sandy took the remarks well, noting that she had no idea what Mila’s childhood in Russia was like. Captain Sandy also refused to let her infamous chef’s (for all the wrong reasons) social prejudices influence her thinking, like a boss.
Sailing Yacht Below Deck: Captain Glenn Crashes With Yacht
When Captain Glenn Shephard isn’t busy eating giant cookies during breaks, he’s in the helm, steering the Parsifal III aboard the Below Deck sailing yacht. However, in Season 2, Captain Glenn’s sailing yacht crashes into a dock. To date, this is the largest accident to occur on Below Deck.
In one season, the Parsifal III was wrecked twice. The first time, the winds were so strong that Captain Glenn’s sailors had to lower every available safety bar on board. The yacht scraped the deck, and fortunately the damage was minimal. But just a few hits later, the accident happened that would blow all the others away.
When an engine room malfunction occurred, the Parsifal III hit a different pier, sending the ship crashing into a wall. “I’d keep going, but I’ve lost my nerve,” Captain Glenn thought to himself as his crew shouted at him to slow down. “Go to hell. Goddammit. Goddammit,” he shouted as his ship launched everyone on board into a path of total destruction.
Fortunately, no one was killed or injured. The yacht’s insurance company stepped in to repair the dock and the boat, and the season continued without further incident. However, I will never forget watching Captain Glenn’s face on national television when he realized he was about to crash. Share this with me; it was an infamous PDF moment.
Below Deck: The Adventures of Eddie and Rocky on the Boat
During the third season of Below Deck, the exotic mermaid who stole my heart, known as Rocky Dakota, confessed that she was attracted to Eddie Lucas. Once Rocky learned that Eddie was in a long-term relationship, she stopped flirting with Bosun. Eddie then began secretly making advances toward Rocky. A secret relationship emerged, with casual hookups in the laundry room becoming the norm, as there were no cameras in that area at the time.
However, they still wore their microphone bags. Various camera crews were also awake frequently. The video girls would follow Eddie and Rocky around to film the mating sounds that were seeping through the closed laundry room doors. “Eduardo loves the ladies,” we heard, as Rocky loved anything Eddie did, as her voices proved.
But once their fellow yachtsmen became aware of their adventures, Eddie denied their fleeting adventures. He even called Rocky a liar whenever she told the truth about their fleeting adventures. It wasn’t Eddie’s brightest moment in the series. But this infamous secret adventure changed the course of the series forever, as additional cameras were installed for all subsequent seasons.
Below Deck Med: The Story That Got Hannah Fired
Hannah and Captain Sandy worked together for many years. Often, they unfortunately clashed, with Captain Sandy finding Hannah’s work ethic (and passion) lacking in courage, while Hannah felt that her boss was watching her every move closely. In season five, things finally reached a tipping point, and Hannah was fired.
It all started when Hannah upset Malia White by refusing to give up her cabin to Tom Checketts, the man Malia was dating. Tom was coming in as their replacement cook, so Malia wanted to sleep with her man instead of Hannah. After Hannah refused, Malia took a picture of her undeclared anxiety medication, then sent her injections to Captain Sandy. Sharing is caring, right?
Then Captain Sandy kicked Hannah out. To make matters worse, Captain Sandy followed Hannah off the yacht, berating her even more for her already exhausting behavior. Thankfully, the two have since been able to patch things up. That’s called growth, and we love to see it.
Below Deck Sailing Yacht: The Toxic Love Triangle of Gary, Daisy, and Colin
The first season of BDSY was a bleak one. Thankfully, in season two, three new mainstays emerged. Daisy Kelleher, who still holds the title of head chef on the series, found herself battling two of the same men for years. Three, if you count Captain Glenn.
From the beginning, Daisy and Gary King’s relationship was romantic, but Gary was a man of the night, or rather a player, so no serious relationship developed here. However, Colin McRae had a girlfriend during the first two seasons of filming. But both of them later admitted that they had a crush on each other. When Colin returned single and ready to mingle in season four, Daisy was all set, and they started having sex on a boat, which Gary hated.
Gary claims that it is Daisy who is continuing her relationship with Colin, not him, out of hatred. Therefore, Gary continues to flirt with Daisy. Daisy fails to stop his flirtations, much to Colin’s frustration.
However, Daisy and Colleen continued to get closer, so Gary dropped a shocking bombshell midway through the season. He and Daisy slept together between seasons three and four. When Daisy realized this was being filmed, she had a surprised look on her face, because now she had to tell Colleen this exciting news.
Colin was upset, but he persisted. Some time after the end of season four, he and Daisy sadly split. Colin began dating an ex, which upset Daisy, who criticized him at their reunion. Only time will tell how this infamous trio will recover or fall apart at BDSY, if all three return to filming at the same time.
Below Deck is currently streaming on Peacock.
Tell us – do you remember watching these infamous moments that we find throughout the Below Deck movie series? Do you have any more moments to add to our list?