Season 9 of Below Deck Mediterranean unravels the mystery surrounding Bosun Iain Maclean
Below Deck Mediterranean Season 8 started out with a poorly documented Bosun. Thankfully, Season 9 will kick off with a different team lead named Iain Maclean, and unlike his predecessor, his first episode will not be his last. On Iain, he’s new to BDM, but not to the yachting industry, which is a huge bonus for this series. As for his looks, if you squint, he could easily pass for either Will Forte or Hound from Game of Thrones.
This matters zero. But it’s still fun to note.
Experiences and appearances aside, Iain’s deck team will need a solid leader. As the head of this department, every single wrong move made will now fall on Iain’s shoulders. Given his resume, he should be perfectly fine. Yet, the red flags are already waving, showing that Iain’s time onboard might actually be laden with problems.
The question now is, will Iain rise to meet his challenges, or will he spiral down, crashing into the choppy waters just beneath his deck? Also, what do we even know about Below Deck Med’s newest Bosun? On this, I’ve gathered up some facts, and wherever my tea’s lacking, Season 9 will hopefully address on my behalf.
Iain’s job experience
According to his Bravo bio, Iain’s coming on board with five years of yachting experience. Two of his deckhands will have three years underneath their belts, while his third teammate only has two. Therefore, Iain’s definitely the most experienced crew member on his team, though it’s not clear yet just how strong his actual leadership skills will be.
What is clear though is what Iain’s said about himself. In filling out Bravo’s version of a facts sheet, which is sorta akin to a preference sheet, Iain noted that he’s from Cape Town, South Africa. Born on March 21, this Aries is ready to work, and wow. I mean come on, look at his long party locks, which he’ll hopefully secure while handling the heavy machinery onboard.
We’ve already had one sliced head on this franchise. Best to not add another.
As for his first impressions of his newest workspace, Iain’s got some thoughts on the ole motor yacht Mustique. Basically, he thinks that she’s “In need of some good maintenance, but [that it’s] a good-sized strong ship with solid bones.” Sounds like he’s also describing me.
On his time spent swabbing decks over international waters, Iain’s favorite places to work are “Ponza and Palmarola, Italy.” In this industry as a whole, he also states that his job “surprises most people that aren’t in the industry.” I believe that, because whenever I watch and see just how much these yachties have to do every day, I’m always shocked. Yet, I’ll never not roll my eyes every single time that a crew member’s tired or moving slowly.
It’s my right.
Fun facts from Iain’s preference sheet
When he’s not working on a yacht, Iain likes “going to the gym, hiking, kloofing, surfing, jolling, music festivals, hanging out with friends and family, and going to the beach.” Raise a hand right now if you had to Google two of Iain’s preferred ways of being. *Raises own hand here.
He sounds rather well-rounded though. And into activities. He’s also into “Being friendly and positive all the time.” On that, I’m happy, because toxic leadership can eat glass.
This is the point where I’d spin my time-consuming everything that’s been posted online. But Iain doesn’t want me to have nice things. Instead, he’s locked down his Instagram page. Due to this, I can’t tell you anything else that Iain likes, except for maybe his privacy.
I can see his brief IG bio though, which reads “Just Be Lekker.” I had to look this word up as well. It either means to be nice or to be tasty. I’ll let you decide on this one.
What the sneak peek teases about Iain
If we’re going off of the sneak peek alone, then it’s safe to say that Iain might have his hands full this season. At the start, all seems well enough. The camera shows Iain calmly walking up to the yacht. We then see him dancing in the hallway, followed by a quick weight-lifting moment on deck.
He’s even spotted smiling grandly while kneeling behind a bush, videotaping Captain Sandy Yawn’s proposal to Leah Shafer. Sounds great, right? Nope. Unfortunately for Iain, the clips continue on, and it’s all downhill from here.
The next time that Iain appears, he’s sitting on the deck, working on a line. As he’s giving orders to his deckhands, they appear to be following through with his commands. However, Nathan Gallager then appears in a confessional directly after. In it, his frustrations with his boss are clear.
“Micromanaging, it’s f*cking annoying,” Nathan stresses. Then, Iain’s back on the screen, speaking into his walkie-talkie to Captain Sandy. “There’s no boat on our port side,” he states. Clearly annoyed, Captain Sandy argues for him to “look before you talk. Give me the clearance.”
Ian’s arms sorta go up here in a questioning manner. Several beats later, the anchor completely drops, seemingly falling into the ocean entirely, no longer attached to the yacht. “It’s a f*cking disaster,” Nathan’s voice extols, right as the sneak peak comes to a close.
Uh oh, Iain. It’s hard to tell who the main problem here is though. Therefore, all that we can do now is wait and see what happens once Below Deck Med Season 9 starts airing on Bravo.
