The Below Deck deck crew and Captain Kerry Titheradge have spent all of Season 12 navigating a treacherous and narrow drawbridge to get from the dock out to sea, and it almost ended in catastrophe on the most recent charter.
“There’s been many a crash on that bridge, and there will continue to be,” Kerry warned of the dangerous passage in Sint Maarten during the season premiere. “The risk of harm to the vessel or person is very, very high going through that bridge.”
The crew had their closest brush with disaster yet during Episode 9, and it wasn’t because of bad timing or bad directions, but due to the guests, who wandered outside while leaving the port.
“Guests always want to interact with the [captain] or the crew when you’re maneuvering,” bosun Hugo Ortega explained. “It’s super common and it’s super frustrating. Of course they’re drunk. They’re asking a lot of questions. They’re in the way. They’re in [Kerry’s] visibility. Like, everything’s going wrong. It’s a really stressful situation.”
The frantic situation got so bad, Kerry eventually declared, “I am f—king livid, alright?”
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Captain Kerry Titheradge explains his frustration over the distracting charter guests
Chief stew Fraser Olender started off the latest charter by giving his usual tour of the yacht to the guests.
“When we are moving or when we are docking, it’s of prime importance that we are not out on decks,” he warned them in the July 28 episode. “It is dangerous for you guys. It is dangerous for us. The one space you are allowed is this entire sundeck.”
Despite Fraser’s warnings, the guests disobeyed the rules as soon as St. David left the dock. A guest named Richard was captured on camera wandering, and asking Hugo how to get upstairs. Although Hugo gave him directions, the guest walked over to where Kerry was driving the boat, and Kerry immediately flagged Fraser for help.
“It’s obviously a draw bridge, huh? That’s narrow,” Richard mentioned to Kerry as the yacht got closer to the extremely tight passage. “I assume they open [the bridge] up when you get there, right?”
As Fraser and Hugo ran around to try to locate the guest, Kerry responded: “Yeah. I can’t really talk right now, mate, I’ve got to put all my focus on this. I don’t want to be rude, but I don’t want to crash the boat.”
Although Kerry asked “What the f—k is he doing here?” in his confessional, he remained calm on deck, trying to nudge the guest away from the decks.
“The best view is from upstairs,” he suggested, without taking his eyes off the bridge.
Fraser finally located Richard and directed him inside—just as Hugo found three more guests now outside on the deck.
“During maneuvering, if you’re going to be outside, we just need you to be higher up,” Hugo reminded them again.
Inside the Below Deck crew’s close call with the bridge
While Hugo was busy with the guests, he wasn’t able to do his most important job: giving directions and measurements to the captain.
“Goddamnit, guys. What’s my projected?” Kerry asked on the radio, visibly frustrated. “I can’t keep asking for distance to clear. You’ve gotta tell me.”
As Fraser was trying to herd guests inside, Hugo announced, “We also have one guest on deck,” and Fraser was captured on camera running back out to the deck.
“This is stupid,” Kerry said. “I need my crew’s attention to give me the correct calls. If the crew focus on the guests more than the job at hand, the safety of the vessel is affected.”
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Kerry’s frustrations grew as the boat approached the bridge. “Aft deck, I’m getting frustrated,” he said into the radio. “Come on guys, what’s my projected? I’m not waiting for sh—t.”
St. David made it through the bridge unscathed, but it was a close call. “We’re a bee’s dick away from that bridge,” Kerry pointed out.
Captain Kerry Titheradge scolds Fraser Olender and Hugo Ortega for safety issue
Kerry met with his chief stew and bosun to emphasize again the importance of keeping the guests off the decks while the boat is getting out of the dock.
“I can’t have guests on the deck when I’m going through the bridge…. I need every ounce of focus,” he told them in the July 28 episode. “You see ‘em on the deck, get ‘em off.”
Hugo took responsibility for the captain’s lack of awareness on distances. “That’s when the guests came up, that’s my fault,” he admitted.
Kerry urged his leaders not to worry about the “guests’ needs” if safety is concerned.
“When it comes to safety, you don’t have to be polite. Because then I hit the post because you don’t want to hurt the guests’ feelings. Doesn’t work that way,” he told them. “The freaking moment I lose my concentration, I’m hitting that bridge. So that’s why I need everything to be in line.”
Don’t miss the crew speculating if deckhand Kyle Stillie “banged a charter guest” during the Season 12 midseason trailer.
