10 Wildest Moments in the Below Deck Franchise, Ranked

Below Deck is one of the most beloved Bravo programs thanks to the wild antics that happen on and off charter. With five franchises in the Below Deck Cinematic Universe, fans simply can’t get enough from the personalities that work on these dream superyachts. Below Deck is not always fun and games. Sometimes there are some wild moments that make iconic television for a variety of different reasons. Whether it’s making shocking remarks, engaging in taboo behavior, or almost losing your life, Below Deck has been nonstop must-watch television.

For over a decade, Below Deck has been one Bravo’s biggest intellectual properties. Giving a behind-the-scenes peek into the inner workings of life on the high seas, Below Deck perfectly balances the reality of the job and the reality of reality television. Below Deck has spawned four spin-offs, Below Deck Mediterranean, Below Deck Sailing Yacht, Below Deck Down Under, and Below Deck Adventure. While each series features different locales and an ever-changing cast of characters, there are no signs of slowing down. It’s all thanks to the wild moments that have occurred across the five series.

10 Eddie Lucas and Rocky Dakota’s Forbidden Hookup

Below Deck Season 3

Hooking up with your fellow crew members can have some major consequences if you’re not careful. Especially when one of the parties involved has a devoted girlfriend waiting for them back home. Eddie Lucas is one of the most beloved yachties throughout the history of Below Deck. He started during Season 1 as a First Deckhand before being promoted to Boson for the next two seasons. Eddie was a strong worker and quite loveable, but it all came crashing down when Raquel “Rocky” Dakota joined Motoryacht Eros for Season 3. Rocky had a rocky go during her time on Below Deck. She didn’t quite get along with Chief Stew Kate Chastain. She sided with Chef Leon Walker, despite his abysmal attitude. Her erratic behavior and ability to play with people’s hearts, namely deckhand Emile Kotze, got her in trouble. But trouble was brewing aboard when she was “doing laundry” with Eddie.

Rocky and Eddie secretly hooked up, with the cameras capturing every move, and for the majority of the time, Eddie denied it, causing Rocky to spiral. By the time he finally fessed up, many of his coworkers were disappointed in Eddie’s actions, including Captain Lee Rosbach. Eddie went on to tell Rocky it was a mistake, which she felt was a malicious attack toward her, deflecting all responsibility onto her. This drama seeped into Eddie’s decision to leave Below Deck. Thankfully, an older, wiser, and more mature Eddie returned for Season 8 and Season 9, where he was promoted once again to First Officer. Hookups on Below Deck may be juicy to watch, but they often have real world consequences. And these two surely found that out.

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9 Kyle Viljoen’s Romance with a Charter Guest

Below Deck Mediterranean Season 7

Below Deck Mediterranean‘s Kyle Viljoen was a vibrant character. As one of the very few male stews the show has had, his story showcased his ability to fully express his sexuality in the open. During one of the charters, a group of gay men came on board and Kyle found a tribe he could connect with. The more he got to know this charter crew, the more he began to make a connection with the charter guest, Frank Fay. In the world of yachting, having any intimate interactions with a charter guest is completely forbidden. It’s happened before, namely with Chief Stew Hannah Ferrier during Season 2.

While her flirting did get her in trouble, Kyle’s flirtation with Frank was championed a bit more by fans and his fellow crew. Kyle was instantly smitten with Frank, but he knew he couldn’t do anything while Frank was a guest, and he was working. Having never really found a love connection, Kyle was eager to explore something with Frank when the charter was over. Well, as fate would have it, Frank and his friends were still in Malta during the crew’s night out. The pair did get a chance to dance in the club, which led to an adorable Hollywood moment where Kyle and Frank kissed before they departed. This wild moment may have been heartwarming, but it could have had dangerous consequences for Kyle.

Below Deck Season 9

When you live and work with the same people for a long period of time, you might begin to loosen up and let your guard down. And when that happens, sometimes something slips out that can ruin your entire reputation. During Season 9 of Below Deck, new Chief Stew Heather Chase was hoping to find her footing and be the first long-term Chief Stew since the departure of Kate Chastain. It would all come crashing down, however, when what she perceived to be a passing comment turned into something much bigger.

Deckhand Rayna Lindsey used a racial epithet and Heather repeated it back to her. This moment weighed heavy on Rayna, so when she approached Heather about this, she claimed she didn’t recall saying it. This caused a heated discussion where Heather tried to claim she didn’t like being called out by Rayna. When it did come to light on television, Heather took accountability on social media, but Rayna took this opportunity to claim that Heather had comfortably used this slur throughout the filming of the show.

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7 Chuck Sanders and Erica Rose Leave Worst Tip Ever

Below Deck Sailing Yacht Season 3

When charter guests step onto a motoryacht, they expect the best. Fine dining, exquisite service, and an experience of a lifetime. This ultimately will be reflected in the tip that the crew receives in the end. For the most part, there is a common window that motoryacht crews have expected. Sometimes it deviates. But when the tip is split among the entire crew, a poor tip can be detrimental, both to their pockets and as a reflection of their service. But what happens when the tip doesn’t reflect the service, but is because one charter guest is just a terrible, horrible, attention-hungry person? Such is the case when Erica Rose, a former contestant on The Bachelor, returned to Parsifal III, with her husband, Chuck Sanders.

During Season 2 of Below Deck Sailing Yacht, Erica Rose and her friends had a little getaway in Croatia. Their experience was quite memorable for just how demanding they were. For Erica, when she came back onboard, she was eager to have a good time. Her husband, not so much. He was eager to nitpick everything, displaying some terrible behavior. Chef Marcos Spaziani, who had been brilliant up until this point, had met his match in Chuck, who criticized everything that was set in front of him. He even compared the meals to ballpark food and McDonald’s., and Chuck’s dissatisfaction resulted in a shocking tip of $6500. The entire crew was in complete shock. Aside from the abysmal tip, this group of charter guests left a lasting impression on the white couch, when Erica’s mom’s spray-on tan stained it. Fans took to social media to express their own displeasure, forcing Chuck and Erica to tongue-in-cheek in response. There have been some terrible charter guests throughout the years, but these two take the cake.

6 Chief Stew Hannah Ferrier Gets Fired

Below Deck Mediterranean Season 5

For five seasons, Hannah Ferrier was one of the most beloved personalities on Below Deck Mediterranean. Since joining the series from the very beginning, Hannah has served as the Chief Stew. Like many individuals throughout the Below Deck Cinematic Universe, not everyone is going to get along with everyone on board. Hannah had quite a difficult relationship with Captain Sandy Yawn. Captain Sandy seemed to lack any respect for Hannah, holding her accountable for things that many other captains would never do. She held her to a higher standard and often stated she was willing to fire Hannah if the opportunity arose.

Cut to Season 5, where the opportunity was literally placed in her lap. For Season 5, Malia White returned to the crew, serving as the Boson. Often seen as Captain Sandy’s mini-me, she was very devoted to her craft, willing to throw anybody under the bus if it jeopardized her position. Already having a previous history and conflict with Hannah, she took a vulnerable moment and twisted it into something devastating. Hannah had a history of anxiety, something viewers and Captain Sandy were familiar with. So when Malia “happened on” Valium and a vape pen on their bathroom counter, Malia ran it to Captain Sandy. After going through the channels on how this went against maritime law, Hannah was relieved of her duties and removed from the boat. Hannah’s firing was shocking at the moment, but it had lingering effects, as Captain Sandy would be scrutinized by the fandom for how she would go on and treat other crew members with anxiety. Losing one of Below Deck Mediterranean’s most well-known faces was brutal, but Hannah has moved on, living a happy life.

5 Captain Glenn Shephard Crashes Boat…Twice!

Below Deck Sailing Yacht Season 2

No one said sailing a yacht was easy, but the captains of the Below Deck franchises certainly make it look like it is! But there has been one illustrious captain who was caught on camera crashing his ship. Not once, but twice! Parsifal III has truly been old faithful on Below Deck Sailing Yacht. She’s been through a lot. But through thick and thin, Captain Glenn Shephard was there, looking after his baby. But sometimes, Parsifal III has failed him. Before the infamous engine fiasco that almost canceled the entire charter season during Season 4, Parsifal III had some crashing to do. During Season 2, due to some human error, Parsifal III hits the dock.

Things happen, but when it happens a second time during a charter season, something’s fishy! Unfortunately for Captain Glenn, his trusty ship had a bit of a malfunction that caused the vessel to continue to move backwards during docking. As much as Captain Glenn tried to maneuver it forward, nothing would work. Thankfully, with how the dock was constructed, there was an ever-so-slight buffer that the sailing yacht only uprooted the concrete blocks on the dock, resulting in some cosmetic damage. While Captain Glenn had blamed himself often, it would be Season 1’s chief engineer, Byron Hissey, who told him that it was a manufacturer issue.

4 Captain Lee Abruptly Ends Charter

Below Deck Season 8

Some charter guests who come for their extraordinary excursion think they’re in charge. But when you step foot on the Daddy of the Sea’s ship, it’s his way or the highway. For those who have been part of Captain Lee’s Rosbach‘s journey, he is an amazing person with a kind heart. But some things tick him off, to the point where his sailor’s mouth comes out. During one of the Below Deck Season 8 charters, a group of grown adults decided it was in their best interest to test the bounds of getting drunk and doing as they pleased.

For one guest named Delores, the word “no” was simply not in her vocabulary. She wanted to go for a swim, and no one was going to tell her otherwise. So, Dolores jumped in, after multiple attempts to talk her out of it. For Captain Lee, this was a big F- you, as he knew this was beyond dangerous and could put her or his crew in danger. As much as he tried to convince her to come back, she pulled the money card. For Captain Lee, that was the final straw. He ended the charter for the group, not even 12 hours into their trip.

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3 Chef Mila Kolomeitseva’s Homophobia and Poor Culinary Skills

Below Deck Mediterranean Season 4

Being a yacht chef takes a very special person. You must have incredible skills, not only as a culinary artist, but it’s crucial to be able to cater to the needs of every single individual and their preferences. But not everyone wants to be a charter chef, so sometimes you’re stuck with who’s available. For Season 4 of Below Deck Mediterranean, they were stuck with Chef Mila Kollomeitseva, and using the title chef is quite loose. Not only was this woman in over her head, she was completely loose canon and oblivious. After some insanely unforgivable rookie mistakes, including serving microwavable nachos to the high-paying charter guests and making an inedible box cake, Chef Mila’s culinary skills were already grounds for her dismissal.

But all it took was a crew night out to cement her departure. On their way out on the town, a discussion on gay pride parades came up, and Chef Mila made her opinion known. She bluntly revealed, “I don’t want my son seeing two men kissing each other.” Her homophobic remark led to immense outrage from lead deckhand Travis Michalzik after she then questioned his own sexuality. With other crew members already echoing the sentiment that Chef Mila was homophobic, the timing couldn’t have been better for Captain Sandy Yawn to fire her coincidentally after. The beauty and the drawback of working on a yacht is having a crew of individuals from all over the globe and from all walks of life. Sometimes, morals and ideals won’t line up, but in this world, Chef Mila’s opinions were just too far removed from salvaging any sort of working relationship on this yacht.

2 Below Deck Down Under Fires Two Crew Members

Below Deck Down Under Season 2

There is a very fine line when it comes to sexual assault and sexual harassment in the workplace. When it happens, there is no answer but to remove the individuals who engage in it. During the second season of Below Deck Down Under, Captain Jason Chambers was forced to make a drastic but necessary decision by immediately firing two crew members almost simultaneously. Hookups have been commonplace throughout Below Deck, but that does not excuse inappropriate behavior. Both Luke Jones and Laura Bileskalne had been building a reputation for wanting some action over working on the yacht. Since socializing is minimal during the charter season, they turned to the individuals they lived and worked with.

Season 2 of Below Deck Down Under had an almost immediate love pentagon. Laura was initially interested in Adam Kodra, but he was not interested in her. So she turned her focus toward Luke. Meanwhile, Luke was initially pursuing Margot Sisson, but she’s interested in Harry Van Vliet. So, with Luke and Laura not getting what they wanted, they turned to each other. As some fans claimed, “trash attracts trash.” But this temporary hookup was just that. After a drunken crew night out, they both went back to pursuing their initial interest, and they did so by crossing the line. Luke climbed into Margot’s bed without consent. Margo, who was sleeping, was not clothed. After being terminated, Laura did not agree with the decision, but it was then revealed that she exhibited inappropriate behavior toward Adam, resulting in her immediate termination. It was an incredibly unfortunate situation, but fans were thrilled to see how Captain Jason triumphantly handled the situation.

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1 Ashton Pienaar Almost Dies

Below Deck Season 6

For the most part, Below Deck has portrayed the luxurious side of yachting. Rarely do things ever get dangerous. But Below Deck experienced one of the most shocking and near-fatal incidents during the sixth season of the flagship program. As Captain Lee Rosbach explained, they were within 30 seconds of him dying. As the motoryacht was leaving port in Tahiti, Ashton Pienaar was on the swim deck helping with the tow-line.

He unfortunately was standing in the wrong place at the wrong time as his foot got tangled in the line, dragging him overboard. Deckhand Rhylee Gerber radioed, “Man overboard,” forcing the entire crew to jump into action. As it just so happened, it was cameraman Brent Freeburg who saved the day, dropping the camera and loosening the line for Ashton to free his leg. It was a horrifying sight to see, but illuminated the dangers on the high seas. At the Season 6 reunion, Ashton was greeted by the man who saved his life in a quite emotional moment. The job can be dangerous and Below Deck had to showcase all sides of reality.

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KEEP READING: ‘Below Deck Mediterranean’s Love Triangle of Doom Is Messy AF