42 Fun Facts About Below Deck

On which US network did Below Deck premiere in 2013?

Bravo premiered the series on Monday 1 July 2013, and the ratings were strong enough for a second-season renewal.

Where was the first season of Below Deck filmed?

Sint Maarten was home base for the first crew's charters, and the show sailed back to the Dutch-French Caribbean island for its fifth season.

What was Below Deck's season-one yacht renamed for filming?

Honor was only a screen name: the yacht's regular crew took time off for the cast, but its real captain stayed aboard and ended up fronting the show.

Aleks Taldykin was cast as Below Deck's original captain but ended up in which job once filming began?

First officer: producers decided Taldykin lacked the sea time to handle the yacht safely, so its real captain stayed in charge and became the show's star.

Who was the chef on the very first season of Below Deck?

Ben Robinson cooked for the first four seasons, flying back late in the third after its chef left, and also opened the Mediterranean spin-off.

Who was Below Deck's chief stewardess in season one, before Kate Chastain arrived?

Adrienne Gang was the franchise's first chief stew and one of the few season-one crew with real yacht experience; she came back only as a guest the next year.

Which reality competition did Below Deck's Kate Chastain join in 2023?

The Traitors cast Kate as a Faithful in its first US season, where she was banished in the finale; she came back in season two and was recruited as a Traitor.

What was the name of Below Deck's season-two yacht?

Ohana was the yacht on which Kate Chastain made her debut as chief stew, the start of a six-season run in the role.

Where was season two of Below Deck filmed?

British Virgin Islands hosted season two, the first made after the show's renewal; the cameras did not reach the neighbouring US Virgin Islands until season four.

Season three of Below Deck was filmed in which location, aboard the yacht Eros?

The Bahamas: season three's chef Leon Walker left before the end, and the chef from the show's first season flew in to finish the charters.

Which South Pacific island was the setting for Below Deck's sixth season?

Tahiti: with the Caribbean still recovering from Hurricane Irma, the show moved to French Polynesia, and only its captain and chief stew came back from earlier seasons.

Which deckhand was dragged into the water by a tow line in season six of Below Deck?

Ashton Pienaar was pulled overboard when the line towing the tender wrapped around his ankle, and he later said he had braced to lose his foot.

Who freed the tow line that dragged a Below Deck deckhand overboard in season six?

A cameraman, Brent Freeburg, put down his camera and uncleated the line; at the reunion he shared the credit with the crew who raised the alarm and stopped the yacht.

Season seven of Below Deck was filmed in which country?

Thailand: season seven's yacht worked out of Phuket in the Andaman Sea, and it was Kate Chastain's final season as chief stew.

Why was season eight of Below Deck cut short?

COVID-19 cancelled the last two charters: the pandemic sent the crew home early, in what proved the only season for chief stew Francesca Rubi.

Which captain stood in at the start of Below Deck's ninth season until the regular captain arrived?

Sean Meagher took the yacht off the dock for the first two episodes of season nine, bringing a hands-on style, until the delayed regular captain came aboard.

Which spin-off captain filled in for Below Deck's regular captain mid-way through season ten?

Sandy Yawn, captain of the Mediterranean spin-off, took over when the regular captain had to leave a charter early in season ten, and handed the yacht back before the finale.

Who became the full-time captain of Below Deck from season eleven?

Kerry Titheradge, an Australian captain, took over full-time in season eleven after leading the one-season spin-off Below Deck Adventure.

What is the name of the yacht used in seasons ten, eleven and twelve of Below Deck?

St. David took over as the show's yacht from season ten, hosting the mid-season captain handover that year and the first two seasons under the new full-time captain.

Who was promoted to chief stew in season ten of Below Deck?

Fraser Olender, second stew in season nine under Heather Chase, was promoted to chief stew for season ten and kept the role in the seasons that followed.

Which season-one Below Deck deckhand came back as bosun in season eight after five years away?

Eddie Lucas left after season three, when he was already bosun; his comeback season ended with a promotion to the captain's second-in-command, the post he held in season nine.

Which yacht appeared in seasons four, five and seven of Below Deck?

Valor served two straight Caribbean seasons, sat out the sixth, and returned for season seven with Kate Chastain still running the interior.

Who was the chef for seasons eight, nine and ten of Below Deck?

Rachel Hargrove quit in season eight over a charter's sprawling food requests and walked off the yacht, then came back within a day and asked the captain for her job back.

Where was season nine of Below Deck filmed?

St. Kitts: the ninth season began there without its regular captain, a first for the show, so a stand-in took the yacht off the dock.

Which country hosted Below Deck Mediterranean for the first time in its fourth season?

France: the fourth season worked the Riviera aboard Sirocco, the yacht from season two, the first time the spin-off had gone back to a boat.

Who captained the first season of Below Deck Mediterranean, aboard Ionian Princess?

Mark Howard captained only the first Mediterranean season, aboard Ionian Princess in 2016; a different captain took over from season two and became the spin-off's fixture.

Who was chief stew for the first five seasons of Below Deck Mediterranean?

Hannah Ferrier ran the interior for five seasons until she was dismissed midway through season five over undeclared medication, and Bugsy Drake stepped up to chief stew.

What was the yacht in season five of Below Deck Mediterranean?

The Wellington cruised off Mallorca in season five, when the spin-off had a female bosun for the first time and its chief stew was replaced mid-season.

Which third stew was promoted to chef in season four of Below Deck Med after Mila Kolomeitseva left?

Anastasia Surmava, the third stew, took over the galley after Mila Kolomeitseva's exit and cooked for several charters before a franchise veteran flew in to finish the season.

Who captained Below Deck Sailing Yacht from its 2020 launch?

Glenn Shephard, from Montreal, fell into yachting by answering a hostel notice in Rome for a deckhand, and went on to captain the spin-off's first five seasons.

Which 177-foot sailing yacht hosted Below Deck Sailing Yacht from its 2020 debut?

Parsifal III, a Perini Navi ketch, was no hired set: its captain had already run the yacht for a decade before the cameras came aboard.

Which chief stew joined Below Deck Sailing Yacht in season two?

Daisy Kelliher took over from Jenna MacGillivray after one season, ran the interior through season five, then moved across to Below Deck Down Under.

Where was the first season of Below Deck Sailing Yacht filmed?

Greece: the first sailing season cruised the Ionian Islands out of Corfu; later seasons moved to the Adriatic, Menorca, Sardinia and Ibiza.

Who captained Below Deck Down Under from its 2022 premiere?

Jason Chambers, an Australian, captained the spin-off's first four seasons, taking it from his home waters to the Seychelles and then the Caribbean.

Which former Below Deck Med stew was chief stew for the first two seasons of Down Under?

Aesha Scott, a New Zealander who had been second stew on the Mediterranean show, ran the interior for the first two Down Under seasons, then returned to the Med as chief stew.

Where in Australia was the first season of Below Deck Down Under filmed?

The Whitsundays: the first Down Under season cruised the islands off Queensland's coast near the Great Barrier Reef, and season two moved north to Cairns.

In which country was Below Deck Adventure set?

Norway: the show's single season threaded the western fjords, and its captain said he took the job because he had never been to the country.

Who was the chief stew on Below Deck Adventure?

Faye Clarke, a Londoner who left a corporate career for yachting, was the only chief stew the adventure spin-off ever had, as it ran for a single season.

What was the name of the yacht on Below Deck Adventure?

Mercury was more base camp than set: the adventure spin-off sent its guests off the yacht to paraglide and explore caves along the fjords.

Who was the chef on season five of Below Deck?

Matt Burns, a Canadian chef, ran the galley for season five in 2017; Courtney Skippon from British Columbia followed as a Canadian cast member in season seven.

Which yacht was used for seasons six, eight and nine of Below Deck?

My Seanna hosted the season of the tow-line accident, then returned for two Caribbean seasons, the second of which opened with a stand-in captain.

Where was the eighth season of Below Deck filmed?

Antigua brought the show back to the Caribbean after two seasons away, with a first-season deckhand returning to run the deck as bosun.