All five of Bravo’s iconic Below Deck captains sat down for “one epic discussion” in a Bravo promo clip released on March 19.
“Hear about how it all started!” the voiceover says. “[Learn about] the most dangerous part of making the show.” There is so much that goes on behind the scenes that viewers never think about.” Well, that’s presumptuous. But maybe they have a point. What have they cooked up here?
“This is Bravo’s Below Deck: At the Helm.”
How it all began
Captain Lee Rosbach discusses how they had all just been doing their jobs as yacht captains before being chosen for the show. “All of a sudden, here’s this reality TV show that we’re thrust into,” he says.
While the rest of the captains went through a process of “interviewing, taping,” Captain Lee says, “I was just a pure accident. I was that baby that wasn’t expected. So I didn’t do any interviews; I didn’t do any taping. It was just, like, ‘We’re filming tomorrow, and you’re the captain.’”
“I honestly think I was pretty naïve,” adds Captain Jason Chambers. “So I didn’t think it was this big of a deal. I don’t live in America, I live in the Philippines … They rang me and said, ‘Do you want to apply for being the captain?’ And I was, like, ‘Could be time for a change!’”
Bravo’s only female yacht captain, Captain Sandy Yawn, added, “I’m sober. My sponsor goes, ‘Sandy, when a door of opportunity opens, walk through the door, cause you can always walk back out.’ And that’s when I said yes.”
“[Initially], I wasn’t sure I wanted to be involved,” Captain Glenn Shephard admitted. “[But] I remember reaching out to [Lee and Sandy], and you … said, ‘Just do your job and be yourself.’ … And that’s why I’m sitting here today, so thank you very much.”
Captain Kerry Titheradge tells us, “I’d just gone through a divorce, and I didn’t know which direction I wanted to go. I actually left boats, and I was painting houses … When the opportunity came along, they said it was gonna be Alaska, a bucket list place. And I’m like, ‘You know what? It doesn’t matter what happens. I’m gonna go to Alaska!’”
Below Deck captains go behind the scenes
Captain Lee recalls pulling into port in St. Martin and seeing the huge production crew standing on the dock. “As soon as the gangplank’s down, they’re invading the boat,” he says. “They’re ripping walls down, … ripping ceilings out, installing cameras [and] wiring. Nobody really knew what we were doing or what to expect because nobody had ever filmed before in a boat that was gonna be moving.”
Captain Jason talks about the learning curve. “My first season was the same thing,” he adds. “You get a little uptight.” But by Season 2, he’d adjusted and had no problem.
“Having the cameras there is not that big a deal,” Captain Glenn agrees. “You get used to them pretty quickly, and you kind of just ignore them and get on with your job. The logistics of getting all the production people on and off the boat safely, multiple times a day, adds an extra element.”
In addition, as Lee points out, Glenn is on a sailing vessel. They have no stabilizers as the other boats do, so they’re “rolling and rocking” the whole time.
At the end of the day, the production crew has to get off the boat because there’s nowhere for them to sleep. “You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here,” as the song says.
Below Deck currently airs Mondays at 9/8c on Bravo.