Season 1 of ‘Below Deck Sailing Yacht’ nearly sank the entire series
Below Deck Sailing Yacht was the second spin-off of the flagship program that was launched on Bravo. The first season introduced viewers to the crew of Parsifall III, a motoryacht with a twist: a big, ol’ sail! Led by Captain Glenn Shephard, the first season was filled with the typical yachties that have made fans love the Below Deck programs. They even welcomed a familiar face in Chef Adam Glick to the yacht. With two seasons of Below Deck Mediterranean under his belt, he was meant to help steer the ship to success. But something didn’t work. Was it the awkward boatmance between Chef Adam and Chief Stew Jenna MacGillivray? Was it the real-life couple working on deck, Padget Berry and Ciara Duggan? Whatever it was, after Season 1, Below Deck Sailing Yacht essentially emptied the bunks of Parsifall III and Captain Glenn returned with an entirely new crew — and the rest is history. Season 1 had growing pains and needed to be retooled in order for Below Deck Sailing Yacht to truly sail off into glory.
Below Deck has been one of Bravo’s biggest assets since its 2013 debut. Following the work lives of a crew on a superyacht, Below Deck showcases the highs and lows of one of the most stressful jobs on the planet. Sure, it looks all luxurious and incredible, but the drama is real. Like many Bravo hits, to capitalize on its success, Bravo green lit Below Deck spin-offs. Following Below Deck Mediterranean, Below Deck Sailing Yacht followed the same formula, but it had growing pains that almost kept it docked forever.
‘Below Deck Sailing Yacht’ Botched Its Casting
Below Deck Sailing Yacht set sail in 2020 in the stunning locale of Greece. With the job tougher than ever and the stakes higher than before, the success of Parsifall III truly depended on the wind in their sails. Beause it came with a new type of vessel for viewers to see, the 180-foot luxury sailing yacht was billed as an even grander once-in-a-lifetime experience. Unlike the flagship franchise’s Captain Lee Rosbach and the first spin-off’s Captain Sandy Yawn, Below Deck Sailing Yacht relied on an old faithful captain who spent many years aboard the ship. While the others have gone from vessel to vessel, Captain Glenn Shephard’s vast knowledge of Parsifall III allowed him to welcome the viewers into his home away from home. Captain Glenn wasn’t there to be a reality star; he was there to do his job, the job he loved to do. To supplement the reality show tropes that make these programs watchable, Below Deck Sailing Yacht had to ensure the rest of the cast was filled with personalities that would be enticing to watch.
Since Parsifall III already had members of the crew on board, the show decided to keep two members of the sailing yacht’s crew, casting them as the power couple that they thought fans would fall in love with. Prior to the start of the season, Paget Berry was the yacht’s First Officer, the closest position to a Bosun, while Ciara Duggan was a stewardess, working in the interior. But for some bizarre reason, likely for added drama, Captain Glenn pushed Ciara to the exterior to act as a deckhand, which meant she would be working under her boyfriend.
Fans also learned that this would mark the first time the pair ever worked directly with one another in this capacity. Has this ever worked to solidify a healthy relationship? Very rarely. With two familiar faces on Captain Glenn’s staff, Below Deck Sailing Yacht brought on a Below Deck alum to help integrate the show into the Below Deck Cinematic Universe. Chef Adam Glick had a whiplash of a journey during his time on Below Deck Med. Often found bickering with Chief Stew Hannah Ferrier, undermining her authority, and going rogue with his meals like putting onions in dishes when the primary specifically put on his preference sheet that he did not want them, Chef Adam was an interesting option to be the familiar face for the franchise to start with. But hey, an angry, temperamental chef is a stereotype for Below Deck so it seemed fitting.
The Interior Team Was a Nightmare on Season 1 of ‘Below Deck Sailing Yacht’
Knowing Chef Adam had a rocky relationship with the head of the interior, it was expected that whoever was in charge on Parsifal III would suffer the same fate as their counterpart in the Med. But it couldn’t be further from the truth. Jenna MacGillivray was brought on as Chief Stew. She was not the warm and cuddly personality, but had a similar demeanor to the original Below Deck Chief Stew Adrienne Gang. Both women’s mission was to assert their authority and had run-ins with many of their colleagues. For Jenna, there was one exception: A second romance bloomed on Parsifall III between Chef Adam and Chief Stew Jenna.
On paper, watching love blossom should warm the hearts, but this duo was toxic, and Jenna left a lot to be desired, as she rarely ever took accountability for focusing on her school-girl romance with Chef Adam over her duties as Chief Stew. The interior team is central to the story, as they spend the most time with the guests on camera. Jenna became unbearable when she fell in love, and things got messy. Her obsession with her relationship over her job almost sank the ship.
With so many questionable choices in the cast, there had to be someone on the crew that could breathe sanity into the Below Deck spin-off. Turning to the interior, Jenna’s two stewardesses were Madison Stalker and Georgia Grobler. Madison very quickly became the audience’s voice of reason as she saw the chaos on board. She dealt with the brunt of Jenna’s frustrations and lack of interest in establishing a working relationship with her. Madison was great at her job, she just never got the praise she deserved. She became the season’s punching bag; hence, the majority of her story was filled with Jenna trying to tear her down, and Chef Adam following suit because he had to side with his girl.
When it came to Georgia, the 3rd Stew was clearly unaware of relationship boundaries. It’s one thing to have a crush, but when you’re living and working with your crush, whose girlfriend is also sleeping feet away from you, perhaps it’s best to turn things down a few notches. Georgia’s crush on Paget was simply uncomfortable to watch. Her entire journey on Below Deck Sailing Yacht comprised of trying to serenade Paget with the only original song Georgia had in her songbook. What was worse? Paget fed into it — with his girlfriend present! Her flirtation was cringe, and yet it wasn’t even as hard as Jenna went for Chef Adam.
‘Below Deck Sailing yacht’s Season 2 Cast Turned the Seri
On deck, joining Ciara and Paget for half the season, was Parker McCown. He resigned from his position due to his well-being, as his back and forth with Paget was wearing him down. Parker was replaced by Christopher Miller, who was almost a non-existent personality for the remainder of the charter season. He was kind, he worked well, but suffered a back injury that nearly derailed his entire career. Unlike any other Below Deck series, Below Deck Sailing Yacht featured the Chief Engineer as an on-screen character. Byron Hissey was much older than the majority of the crew, so his presence wasn’t as drama-filled comparatively. As a character, he was a swell guy, but he just didn’t have the aspirations to make good reality television.
Every season of Below Deck features some sort of mess. Maybe it’s caused by the elite vacationers or the drama within the bowels of the ship, but the mess of Below Deck Sailing Yacht’s first season was the mess of its cast. Casting is hard; these nine individuals lacked chemistry and didn’t gel. There’s no predicting how individuals will react — it’s the core of the experiment of reality television. The stories that this cast created were ripe for drama, they just didn’t play out well.
Thankfully, the show learned from its mistake and retooled the entire second season. The only returning cast member was Captain Glenn. Fans were then introduced to Chief Engineer Colin MacRae, Chief Stew Daisy Kelliher, and First Officer Gary King, and magic was instantly made! Captain Glenn and his new trio have remained with the program since Season 2, are the longest running tenured group within the Below Deck franchise, and make it one of the best in the franchise. The moral of this story is perfection takes time. You won’t always catch lightning on the first try. Below Deck Sailing Yacht is proof. They ditched the navy blue polos and opted for those infamous orange ones; that’s how badly they needed to distance themselves from that first season.
