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Below Deck Mediterranean

A reality show following the crew and Captain of a luxury charter yacht in the Mediterranean. A reality show following the crew and Captain of a luxury charter yacht in the Mediterranean. A reality show following the crew and Captain of a luxury charter yacht in the Mediterranean.

Mark Cronin
Doug Henning
Rebecca Taylor Henning
Hannah Ferrier
Malia White
54 User reviews
3 nominations total

Episodes 156

Below Deck Mediterranean: Two Many Cooks

Top cast 97

Self - Captain

Self - Chief Steward

Self - Bosun …

Self - 2nd Steward …

Self - Deckhand

Self - Chef

Self - 3rd Steward

Self - Deckhand …

All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Trivia Former charter Captain Mark Howard passed away on October 25, 2021. Howard was 65, and no cause of death was reported. Captain Mark, appeared in the first season of Below Deck Mediterranean. He chose to quit prior to the filming of season two and was replaced by Captain Sandy.
Connections Edited into Below Deck Galley Talk (2021)

User reviews 54

rhyss-53011
Apr 24, 2023
How many seasons does Below Deck Mediterranean have? Powered by Alexa
They've stated a-few times when dividing tips that 11-12 people are on the crew, but I only count 8. Are some not shown on screen?
May 3, 2016 (United States)
United States
Official Site
Below Deck Med
51 Minds Entertainment
See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

Runtime 43 minutes

More to explore

Below Deck: Behind the scenes of filming the hit superyacht reality show

When it first aired in 2013, Below Deck quickly garnered the attention of a loyal band of die-hard fans. Three years later, the spin-off Below Deck: Mediterranean followed. Amid the chaos of crew love triangles and outrageous guest requests, returning captains Lee Rosbach and Sandy Yawn emerged as respected industry professionals and brand ambassadors for the show.

Below Deck secrets: What the hit TV series didn't tell you

In 2020, the brand’s second spin-off, Below Deck: Sailing Yacht , launched, shining a new light on the crews and challenges of sailing yacht charters. Together, the reality show triumvirate propelled Below Deck and the superyacht industry to global audiences, earning the show its own unique place in the hall of reality television fame. But Below Deck’s producers aren’t done yet. Earlier this year, US network Bravo announced the Below Deck empire was set to grow further with two new spin-off seasons, Below Deck Adventure and Below Deck Down Under . As the sixth season of Below Deck: Mediterranean gets underway on June 28, BOAT talks to executive producer Tania Hamidi about Below Deck’s stratospheric rise and the behind-the-scenes reality of filming the show.

How Captain Lee became TV’s favourite yacht captain

Hamidi is a seasoned television producer and one of Below Deck’s longest-serving team members. She has been a staple of the Below Deck production team for seven years, joining as the second season of Below Deck got underway. Soon after, she was involved in the launch of Below Deck: Mediterranean fronted by captain Mark Howard, who was promptly replaced by captain Sandy Yawn in the second season. This was a key casting decision, Hamidi says. “We loved Mark, but it was really exciting to have a woman in the wheelhouse. When that opportunity presented itself, it just took over,” she says, adding that Sandy “got herself on that boat”.

Captain Sandy Yawn on the reality of filming Below Deck Mediterranean

While captains Lee Rosbach, Sandy Yawn and Glenn Shephard have become familiar fixtures of the show, Hamidi reveals that not even they are safe when it comes to casting the next season. “All the different positions are on the table each season, including the captain,” she says. However, when it comes to changing a captain “there’s got to be a reason”. With crew, familiar faces often return, with notable examples being chief stewardess Kate Chastain and bosun Malia White. This creates a sense of continuity, Hamidi says. “We often have yacht crew come back in higher positions.” Diversity also informs key crew casting decisions to ensure “different types of people feature in different roles.” “It’s fantastic to have a female bosun or a different culture as head of a department that you don’t expect to see,” says Hamidi. “It’s fun to lean into the reality of the industry because it does exist.”

Below Deck: Inside the boats from the hit reality show

A Below Deck charter typically carries a maximum of 12 superyacht crew on board, including up to three resident crew who work on the yacht full time. Often the official captain of the yacht will drop down to first mate to allow for an incoming Below Deck captain. However, generally these crew roles stay off-camera and are not considered “part of the season,” Hamidi says. “They don’t really fit into part of the story, and if you do see them, it’s in an organic way, like an emergency.”

When it comes to casting new crew members, Hamidi reveals that “most” incoming crew already hold their STCW qualification, with some needing a refresher. While the show is totally unscripted, the casting team does look for a specific type of person when choosing the crew. “It’s a TV show so the crew we choose are definitely outgoing and happy to be open,” Hamidi says. “If they are closed off, it’s hard to tell a story and hard for others to come out and tell them their stories.”

Parsifal III : Meet the star of Below Deck's sailing spin-off

The same ethos applies when recruiting the season’s charter guests. As an unscripted show, the guests must be outgoing and excited for the charter. “We really don’t try and make them do things they don’t want to do,” says Hamidi. “We say ‘just have fun, it’s your vacation’.” This, Hamidi claims, is why they have so many guests keen to return, with the Below Deck charter guest casting team having to restrict the amount of returning guests to keep things “fresh”. While it’s well known that Below Deck’s guests pay a subsidised charter rate, Hamidi reveals the opportunity is still very much “aimed at the one per cent”, with guests expected to tip to the full price of the charter. “The guests have a slightly discounted rate but it’s still a pretty penny,” she says. “The average person couldn’t afford it.”

The filming schedule of a typical season of Below Deck is hectic. The intense schedule squeezes nine charters into a filming period of eight weeks. A total of 30 people, comprising yacht crew, guests and camera crew, can be on the boat at any one time. Split into pairs, the camera crew consists of a camera operator and a second team member operating the audio rig. Guided by the director, who watches from a cabin transformed into a “control room”, the camera crew “jump around the yacht” trying to capture key moments of the charter, from pulling anchor to meal prep in the galley. They often arrive onto the yacht at 5.30am and get the cameras rolling before the guests are out of bed. Working a 12-hour shift, they need to ensure all the unfolding action on board is caught on camera while avoiding the other camera crews on board. “The camera crew are running around and hiding from each other while getting all the action,” Hamidi says. This is especially difficult on a four-deck motor yacht, she says, but easier on the wider decks of Parsifal III , the star of Below Deck: Sailing Yacht . To support such an operation, the main charter yacht is accompanied by a support vessel and water taxi, which ferries the camera crew to and from the main yacht. The support vessel, which in previous seasons has been a schooner, catamaran and “mini yacht”, is chosen on the capabilities of its galley to ensure the crews are well fed. The support vessel follows around the mothership but is always carefully anchored out of sight to avoid being in the shot.

While Hamidi admits filming the series is “full on”, for her the hard work begins weeks before when preparation for the show begins. This includes everything from casting the show, choosing a charter yacht, selecting brands to appear on the show and sourcing water toys, such as floating golf courses and superyacht slides. Equipment is checked in the galley, visas are approved and valuable objects – such as art – are removed from the charter yacht. Amid all the noise and intensity of preparing and filming the show, it is the morning water taxi rides to the mothership that stay with Hamidi the most. “You’re out on the water, it’s too loud to have a conversation and it’s beautiful – it’s those moments that stay with me,” she says. Despite two more spin-off series being greenlit, Hamidi is adamant the Below Deck franchise is just getting started. “It’s internationally syndicated, more and more people are interested in yachting, and I think it’s just going to grow and grow and grow.”

Below Deck Mediterranean premieres on Monday, June 28 at 9pm ET/PT on Bravo. New episodes will be available one week early on Peacock beginning Monday, June 21 .

Below Deck: Superyacht Reality TV

People have been saying for a long time that yachts would make a great reality show, so it’s no real surprise that the day has finally arrived: Tonight in the US, yachting reality show ‘Below Deck’ screens on Bravo TV. With episode titles like “Luggage, luggage, everywhere” and “Dude, that’s a dude, dude”, I’m guessing it’s not aimed at the intellectual end of the market. I lost 24 brain cells just watching the trailer. See the trailier here .

When the idea for a reality show got floated (sorry) a few years back, there was an outpouring of vitriol on Dockwalk by yachting professionals deeply concerned that such a show would damage the industry. And now that the show is being launched (sorry), the vitriol is back, as many people see this show as a threat: a threat to the image of the yachting industry, one that will imperil the golden rule of discretion and make yacht owners and guests view crew and yachting differently.

Of course the ‘reality’ is dubious. Crewed by actors and yacht crew who want to be famous, and chartered by wannabe actors who want to be famous, and edited and produced by people who want to be famous… well, it’s safe to say that the ‘reality’ of yachting will be the first victim. That’s not to say that there won’t be situations portrayed in it that we have all actually encountered in our jobs on yachts (the producer worked as a stewardess for 3 seasons, and there are three yacht crew in the cast), but people do not act naturally while surrounded by a film crew. And even if they do let their real selves out on occasion, the final cut is made by people who want sensationalism and spectacle. This is for telly, after all. No one wants to watch a stewardess clean a cabin for 3 days to the sound of Rihanna on repeat. Not least because of Rihanna.

This morning, The New York Times has published an article on the series entitled “Who wants to sail with this ship of trolls?” It’s not a glowing review, to put it mildly, calling the show ‘bland’ and the guests ‘insufferable’ , concluding that, “It’s a good thing the earth is flat, because that means the Honor, the yacht that is the focus of the new Bravo reality series ‘Below Deck’ is bound to sail over the edge someday. That would presumably relieve us of the obligation to pay any further attention to the people on it.”

The show was shot during a 5 week Caribbean charter on the 50m Cour de Leone, which was renamed ‘M/Y Honour’ for the show. The original crew were given time off, although the captain Lee Rosbach, the first mate and the engineer stayed on board (but not as characters in the show) to ensure the boat stayed in one piece. And 9 ‘crew’ were brought in in their place, only 3 of them with any yachting experience. And this alone allows people to dismiss the show as unrealistic, with real captain Lee Rosbach admitting in an interview with The Triton . "They pretty much acted like crew I would have fired- they were all in way over their heads. There were a couple that worked really hard and might have made good entry level crew.” Might have made good entry level crew? Oh dear.

Show co-producer Rebecca explained the casting choice by saying, “The original crew were perfect, but we had to bring in new crew that we’d screened, as we couldn’t be sure that the other crew weren’t convicted felons or wouldn’t punch the cameraman. Oh, now this smacks of disingenuity. Yacht crew aren’t well known for punching people on board, and criminal records are, well, records. Not difficult to check. Of course, what she isn’t saying here is that most professional yacht crew wouldn’t touch this show with a boat hook and a sturdy pair of Marigolds.

This excuse allowed the introduction of a merry cast of TV-worthy characters running around in hilariously tight blue polos. The bios on the show’s website are comedy gold, as it sounds like they have been written by either the cast themselves, a small child, or a shoddy dating website. We have the chief stewardess Adrienne Gang,’ a veteran of the yacht industry’, who lives by the philosophy ‘work hard, play hard’. Original. Other useful facts are that she once wanted to be a doctor and used to tour with rock bands. The fake captain, who looks remarkably like he is made of plastic, has had a love of the water since a young age (jolly good), while CJ LeBeau (yes, that is his name) is an Eagle Scout and a philanthropist, but he has a rebellious side as well . He also, you might like to know, “gets out of most sticky situations with his witty flirtation and likeable personality.” Snort. We have the chef, who enjoys the bachelor lifestyle, and a stewardess called Kat who is a ‘jokester’ , ‘life of the party’ enjoys snowboarding and has been through the Panama Canal. Riveting. Oh, Bravo TV, bravo for giving me a giggle. And of course we have a gay ex-Marine. Openly gay crew members are increasingly seen on yachts, and rightly so. But to imply that they are represented on each yacht is a fallacy. And then we also have Sam, the stewardess who has a degree in industrial engineering, a degree which apparently separates her from the typical “uneducated yachty (sic) drifter”. She prides herself on her leadership abilities, which is a shame really as she’s not chief stew, and going by the episode descriptions this causes some drama. I’ll stop now, but really, these bios are tremendous fun.

As for the guests, they actually are paying charter guests. An ad was run by Bravo TV requesting people who might like to be on a show, but will have to pay for the privilege to cover the charter fee. 50 000 dollars each, according to the original ad. Not your typical charter guest then, but Americans who want to be famous.

“Oh, it wasn’t scripted,” said one guest on a forum. "We just did what we wanted and they filmed us.” For my part I believe it wasn’t scripted, simply because on the advertisement we have some woman lying on a deckchair waving languorously at one of the crew and saying in a strident American accent, “Can you remove this part of the ship for me?” The ship? The ship? No genuine charter guest, past, present or future, has called a yacht a ship. They never miss the opportunity to say the word yacht, (preferably in a very loud voice). But while it may not have been scripted, it was most certainly directed, and by its very nature with a bunch of cameramen and fake cast, unreal.

This unrealistic portrayal is making some yacht crew nervous, and others angry. From what I can see, the objections fall into several categories.

1. A strange anger at the ‘real’ crew involved. The forums are alive with jeers about them never getting hired again, and ‘how to kill your career 101.” Let’s dispense with this one quickly with a quick question: ‘Who cares if they get hired again?’ That’s not an objection to the show itself, it is of absolutely no consequence to anyone but the crew themselves, and they have made their beds.

2. That these people make yachting look unprofessional to the outside world. One yacht chef wailed that the food looked terrible (despite the NYT saying otherwise), and felt that no-one would take his job as a superyacht chef seriously anymore. Another sniffed that deck crew would never be allowed to have their hair so unruly on a real yacht, while another was unhappy that during the course of filming the crew were in the tender, shirtless. You know, there may be a few viewers out there in middle America who will base their view of yachting on this show, but anyone who watches reality TV thinking it is reality is a dimwit and for one, I don’t care what a dimwit thinks about yachting, or anything else, for that matter.

3. That the ‘secret is out!” Ah, and ain’t that the truth. We may even be overrun by young people wanting to get into the industry. This is not the end of the world. In fact it’s very good for crew houses, training schools and bars. There are only so many jobs, and captains can pretty easily sort the wheat from the chav – I mean chaff.

4. The most overwhelming objection is that yacht owners, charterers and potential charterers will be deterred from chartering a yacht because of this show. Oh, poppycock. As captain Rosbach says, “I don’t know why people are taking this show so seriously. I don’t think billionaires sit around watching Bravo TV.” Even if they did, I’m certain they’re not thinking, Oh, I may not charter this year because a low-budget reality show was made about it where the guests were difficult and the crew ran around like monkeys trying to shag each other, crying and drinking. (Ok, so maybe there’s some truth to this show after all.) Otherwise we’d all be watching ‘Airport’ and thinking, Oh, best not catch a plane again, as someone has made a show about difficult passengers, and then people will think that I am difficult, because I too, on occasion, catch planes.’

Anyway, even if the portrayal of difficult guests is spot-on, then real yacht owners and guests won’t recognise themselves in them, because the human ego is protected by a thick wall of self-delusion, making it difficult for us to recognise our own bad behaviour. For example, I have had a very difficult guest look at me sympathetically and say with no trace of irony, “Gosh, you must get some really difficult guests sometimes , not like us, hey.”

Anyone who has ever owned or chartered a yacht, or is seriously planning to, are already aware that this is an industry of professionals, working their buttocks off, being discrete, going the extra 40 miles for yak milk and creating an extraordinary experience for them. Because that is the truth. And that truth won’t change, no matter how many ‘reality’ TV shows are made on the subject. People who treat their crew well will continue to do so, and those that don’t care at all what the crew, or world in general, think of them, will continue not to care. If it stops a single person from chartering, I would be very surprised.

5. That discretion is dead. That the hallmark of the industry-that crew won’t talk- is in jeopardy. The point is, most still won’t, but as the industry grows, and more issues are being discussed on forums such as these and in magazines, it is inevitable that some stories will come out.

So then, are there any positives?

This show can’t be considered particularly harmful, but few would say it’s beneficial to the yachting industry. But perhaps there are a few potential positives to this show being screened, other than stopping people back home asking us if we work on cruise ships.

1. If the show has a shred of credibility about it, it will deliver on its promise of showing the hard work and exhaustion that yachting requires. It may, just may, prepare a few wannabe stewardesses for the reality of the task ahead- the bed-making, the cleaning, the kow-towing. Despite the wealth of information now available about what to expect, you still come across the oblivious hopefuls, like the young and shiny job-seeker I met last year who asked me, “There’s isn’t really much cleaning involved, is there? I know there’s a little bit, but it’s mostly service, isn’t it? I really hate cleaning toilets, it’s gross, I hope I don’t have to do much of that.”(Evil old goat that I am, I really enjoyed bursting that bubble.)

2. On the small boat end of the scale, perhaps the greater exposure of yachts may lead to a few more charters. Doubtful, but possible.

3. A portrayal of crew as actual people might lead the guests to realise they are being judged, and that they do not have complete carte blanche to act as they please. I know that many yachties, perhaps the majority, would place this argument in the negatives, rather than positives section, but this leads to my next point.

Is there a place for superyacht stories in the mainstream media, and how dangerous is it?

There is perhaps a greater issue here. The secret is out. The media have the scent, and superyacht stories are selling papers. Last week, an article in The Guardian , about superyachts and training courses unleashed an absolute storm of rich-bashing in the online comments. This is a concern, because when the media focus on the sensational, the reality is lost. That is not to say that I don’t agree that the sheer excess of the industry is sometimes offensive, but as the entire industry is based on sheer excess, it is a difficult objection to rationally sustain as long as you work on, or around superyachts. They are the ultimate unnecessary item, a floating testament to wealth and success. And hundreds of thousands of people are employed by them, and in the shipyards, the crew agencies, the machinery manufacturers…the list goes on. They pump enormous amounts of money into economies, they pay our wages and buy us houses. Looking at that, it is difficult to maintain the rage.

However, this is not to say that, in my opinion, some media attention is necessarily a bad thing, if handled with sensitivity. There are issues in yachting that I think are worth discussing: violence, sexual harassment, and sexual depravity. I’m not talking here about rudeness of guests, or prostitution, but about abuse of power.

The typical line of yacht crew tends to be that yacht guests charter a yacht with the sense that they have carte blanche, that this is a place where they can depend on privacy while they behave how they like, and that yacht crew should indulge them, without judgement. For the most part, this is true. But not always.

Many years ago, I quit my first yacht when the Madame split one of the Filipino’s noses open with a shoe because a dress fell off the hanger in her dressing room when we were at sea. The next day, the Madame grabbed the same girl by the throat, and in the year after I left, she put her in hospital with internal injuries after a beating. According to a crew member, the captain had accompanied the Madame on a trip to the Philippines, where this girl and another had been bought off their families with a suitcase of money. She couldn’t leave: she was a 21 st century slave.

There is a story there, not about yachting per se but about vast wealth and the abuse of power. I worked on a yacht where on one charter, the principal threw a prostitute down the stairs. Another friend tells me that on her old boat, young Indian boys were brought on for the boss’ pleasure. On another, the guest was Islam Gadaffi. How do yacht crew handle serving a man politely who was allegedly responsible for massacres and torture? In yachting, political ignorance is bliss. But these issues- where our moral line is, and how often we move it, are things that yacht crew must consider. And if a yacht guest holds back from awful behaviour because they feel that they may be judged or reported? I say that’s a win.

That is why I say the subjects must be handled with extreme sensitivity, by careful writers, who know that this is not common in yachting, but can and does happen. But any fair commentary also includes the wonderful stuff- the nice owners, the extraordinary opportunities, the sheer adventure of it all.

But the journalist in me, and the moralist, believes that stories need to be told that are bigger than yachting. No place on earth is a moral vacuum, not even a superyacht, no matter how much money you pay for it. Or no place I want to live in, anyway.

So yes, the secret is out, and not all media coverage will be favourable. Some of it will be written by hacks caring little for the consequences. If you want to be worried about something, be worried about that.

But ‘Below Deck’? One thing is certain: there is no grave danger to the industry in this show. It is a show, and will not change our reality.

The cover has been blown off the porthole. And now we wait for the waves. ‘Below Deck’ may not bring them, but something will.

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Comment by: Timothy Valentine - 8 Nov 2021, 23:31 (3 years ago)

Despite the demerits of the show, it hit me on good side, so I feel I wanna join the industry.

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'Below Deck' cast: Meet the full Season 11 crew after Capt. Lee Rosbach's departure

A peek into the luxury super yacht scene and the daily lives of the crew who work and live on them returns this February in Season 11 of "Below Deck."

Following Captain Lee Rosbach's departure from the show after 10 seasons, a new captain is running the yacht: Captain Kerry Titheradge , who viewers may have seen before on "Below Deck Adventure." This season, the crew is working on the M/Y St. David, a luxury yacht in the Caribbean island nation of Grenada.

The Bravo reality show has been around since 2013 and has inspired multiple spinoffs since it aired, including "Below Deck Adventure," "Below Deck Sailing Yacht" and "Below Deck Mediterranean."

Here's a look at the main cast working on the for Season 11 of "Below Deck," which premieres Monday, Feb. 5 on Bravo.

Capt. Kerry Titheradge

Title: Captain
Seen on: "Below Deck Adventure"

Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.

Fraser Olender

Title: Chief Stew
Seen on: "Below Deck" Seasons 9 and 10

Ben Willoughby

Title: Lead deckhand
Seen on: "Below Deck" Seasons 10 and 11

Anthony Iracane

Title: Chef
New to "Below Deck"

Jared Woodin

Title: Bosun

Sunny Marquis

Title: Deckhand

Kyle Stillie

Title: Stew

Xandi Olivier

Barbie pascual.

Is Below Deck Sailing Yacht on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime or HBO Max?

Bravo’s ‘Below Deck Sailing Yacht’ is a reality TV series about a group of men and women working aboard a luxury superyacht called Parsifal III. Captain Glenn Shephard leads the crew, which is modified every season. The series is an extension to ‘Below Deck,’ one of the most popular shows on the network. After its release on February 3, 2020, the series garnered a positive response from fans who already love the parent show. Replete with drama, thrill, and interesting cast members, it is the best option for people looking for something engaging to watch. Here’s how you can stream this reality show online!

What Is Below Deck Sailing Yacht About?

‘Below Deck Sailing Yacht’ opened with a fresh crew aboard the Parsifal III, a 180-foot long luxury sailing yacht. Captain Glenn Shephard took on his responsibilities with first mate Paget Berry and Ciara Duggan by his side. Chef Adam Glick from ‘Below Deck Mediterranean’ showed up alongside other new and returning cast members from the other spin-off or the parent show.

Paget and Ciara were clubbed into the same department, which was an exciting shake-up. However, the boat quickly descended into chaos due to a lack of understanding between old and new members. Now, here is an update on all the streaming options available for the show online!

Is Below Deck Sailing Yacht on Netflix?

No, ‘Below Deck Sailing Yacht’ is not a part of Netflix’s regular offerings. Hence, we advise you to watch ‘Too Hot To Handle,’ a reality dating series where a group of singles mingle and form relationships.

Is Below Deck Sailing Yacht on Amazon Prime Video?

Yes, ‘Below Deck Sailing Yacht’ is available on Amazon Prime Video. You can purchase it on-demand for $2.99 per episode and $14.99 per season; it is available here .

Is Below Deck Sailing Yacht on Hulu?

You can access this entertaining reality show through the Bravo network add-on on Hulu+Live TV .

Is Below Deck Sailing Yacht on HBO Max?

Unfortunately, ‘Below Deck Sailing Yacht’ is not a part of HBO Max’s regular offerings. Nevertheless, you can instead watch ‘FBoy Island,’ a reality series that feeds on drama, as a trio of women embarks upon a journey to find love by spending time on an exotic island with a bunch of “nice guys” and “Fboys.” However, there’s a catch — the women aren’t aware of the identities of the self-identified “Fboys” and “nice guys.” You can watch it here .

Where to Watch Below Deck Sailing Yacht Online?

‘Below Deck Sailing Yacht’ airs on Bravo, so you can catch the latest episodes on Bravo’s official website . Besides that, you can watch it on DirecTV , fuboTV , Sling TV , Xfinity Stream , and YouTube TV . You can additionally watch the show on VOD platforms like iTunes , Vudu , Microsoft Store , Google Play , and Spectrum . Peacock users can access the episodes here .

How to Stream Below Deck Sailing Yacht for Free?

YouTube TV, Hulu+Live TV, and fuboTV provide free trial periods to new users. Therefore, interested readers can watch the show free of cost before the respective trials expire. However, we do not advise our readers to use illegal means to watch content online. It is always more ethical to pay for the streamer you wish to access.

Read More: Where Is Below Deck Sailing Yacht Filmed?

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In 'Below Deck,' life on a yacht meets reality TV

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Captain Sandy Yawn leads the crew on Below Deck Mediterranean. Laurent Basset/Bravo hide caption

Captain Sandy Yawn leads the crew on Below Deck Mediterranean.

If you've always wondered what it would be like to see the world while making espresso martinis for the super-rich, you might already be watching the Below Deck franchise. For the past eight years, the Bravo reality series and its many spinoffs have been showing viewers the world of deckhands and chefs, housekeeping and party planning, as young hot people work on luxury yachts chartered by people who have too much money.

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Below deck: 10 things you never knew about life on a superyacht.

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Recent episodes of Below Deck have shown that hard work is required to make each charter meet standards, and big tips are not always guaranteed. The reality show has shown everyday people how the rich and famous sail in style, but life on a super yacht isn't always parties and significant earnings.

While yacht life may seem like one big party, the crew on these boats work long shifts and have to meet the demands of their clients, no matter how ridiculous. While life on the superyacht may seem drama filled on Below Deck, some crews are much more subdued, especially when cameras aren't around.

Staff Earnings

Some things about Below Deck are fake , but the money the crew makes per charter is very real. Fans of the show have seen even the worst deck hands get tips upwards of $1,000 each. This type of tip is in line with the industry standard.

In 2018, Business Insider reported that a five-person crew could make more than $3,000 per month, per person. And this figure doesn't include the tips they receive from guests. However, tips can fluctuate based on how the guests feel their demands were met on their charter, which can lead to crews being under-tipped for the amount of work they put in.

Their Living Expenses

When it comes to the cost of living as a yachtie, there aren't many expenses the crew has to worry about. Bloomberg reports that while working on a ship, the crew lives rent-free on the boat and doesn't pay for their meals. This is what draws many young people to the industry in the first place.

The lack of expenses allows money to be saved up quickly, but it can also be spent just as fast when ashore in areas that have a booming nightlife and designer shopping, as seen on the show.

Crew Behavior

While the Below Deck crew appears to party hard when they don't have a charter, this isn't the industry norm. In an interview with The Guardian , a yacht captain expressed that most crews are calm and don't party when they aren't working but rather rest and prepare for the next sailing.

However, other outlets report that crews party hard with all the money they rack up during charters and live more like their guests when ashore.

Responsibilities

The easiest way to earn the dishonor of being one of the worst crew members on Below Deck is to ignore the list of things that need to be done daily, which is no different for any job like this not documented on TV. Blue Water Yachting reports that deck hands are in charge of general repairs and cleaning.

All of these things contribute to the ship's upkeep and guests' happiness and even the most minimal tasks are pivotal to keeping the boat up and running.

There Is Likely Illegal Activity

While it will never be shown on Bravo, there is a fair amount of illegal activity on yachts, but it is an unspoken rule that the crew turn the other way and leave the guests to their own devices. According to Bloomberg , drugs are a staple on most yachts and often have to be cleaned up by the crew when the guests disembark.

Of course, Below Deck can't show this on television, but a few charters have likely had some illegal activity happening when the cameras were off.

There's No Privacy For Crew

While viewers have seen the cast of Below Deck in their cramped quarters, with little to no privacy between crew members, those chartering the yacht don't get the luxury either. Bloomberg reports that superyachts are filled with cameras, so the crew can attend to the guests before they ask for something.

No detail goes unseen and can be said to whoever needs to know how to fix an issue. This tech may explain how some chief stews on Below Deck become the best in the business.

No Request Is Denied

The rich and famous flock to yachting because their wildest requests must be met by the staff, no matter what. CNN reports that private planes and ships are often used to get things from the mainland to the vessel if a guest wants something.

A crew has to be well-rounded in their skills, so there is always someone on board who can meet the guests' needs. However, as shown in the series, the crew is usually rewarded for their efforts.

Guests request a special menu before boarding their charter. As the chiefs of Below Deck know, there is no limit to what their guest can order, and it often leads to extravagant meals having to be made in small ship kitchens.

Bloomberg reported that most larger meals result in leftovers, and caviar is continuously flown in for the wealthiest guests. The menu is one of the most stressful parts of a charter for the chief and those who have to serve the meal.

It's A Competitive Job Market

Only the best can make it on a superyacht, but with high wages and the promise of traveling the world, the hiring pool to work on a ship is growing by the minute. Many positions need to be filled on each charter, but most crews work together for the duration of their time on the ship with minimal changes.

Those hired must keep up with standards, or they will be let go. Flying Fish reports that crews have to undergo training before and after getting a job on a ship and should always aim to expand their skills.

The Captain Is In Charge

Below Deck has made it clear that no matter how much money the guests are paying, the captain is the law of the ship. Guests can not trample over the rules of both the yacht and the ocean to have a good time.

The captain wants the guests to have a great time, but safety is the number one priority for the crew and guests alike. While some people get wild, most know their limits and respect the rules. However, a few push the boundaries.

NEXT: 10 Below Deck Med Crew Members That Only Lasted One Season

Below Deck (2016)
Below Deck Sailing Yacht

“Below Deck” — The Netflix Binge Cruisers Will Love

Doug Parker

October 20, 2020

Netflix is known for introducing binge-worthy content to the platform.

And the latest has to be “Below Deck” — a reality series that came to Netflix in the form of two seasons in August 2020.

But the show itself was filmed way back in 2013 and has a total of 7 seasons and 105 episodes.

So why are people raving about the show?

It’s a glimpse into a luxury escape — and the drama onboard

Below Deck follows the lives of crew members who live and work onboard a mega-yacht.

Season one follows the likes of Captain Lee Rosback, First Officer Aleks Taldykin, Chief Stewardess Adriene Gang, Second Engineer C.J. LeBeau, Chef Ben Robinson and Deckhand David Bradberry in their everyday working and personal lives onboard the 164-foot Honor .

The first release of the series averaged 1.4 million total viewers per episode.

All of the crew that is hired to be part of the show are licensed and certified, which involves a two-week course.

Captain Lee says: “ Each of the crew members has to have an STCW, which is a standard set by the maritime industry for watch-keeping and just being on board—it’s basic first aid, firefighting. It’s a two-week course and a certification they have to have before they’re allowed to work on yachts.”

The crew is filmed 24 hours a day , seven days a week working on the boat while being filmed by both hidden cameras and a crew.

But what makes the show so addictive?

For reality TV lovers, Below Deck is one of those shows with a brand that is instantly bingeable. This is because of the on-screen romances, drama, and professional and personal turmoils that are captured on screen.

Noah Samton, the senior vice president of the production for Bravo says that the yachting industry “attracts the kind of people that are good for TV. First of all, they’re a lot of young, attractive people. A lot of people that are sort of escaping their lives for some reason or have this adventurous streak in them. We’re really good at finding the people who are going to wear it on their sleeves.”

And as with other reality TV shows, the cameras capture it all, sharing every aspect of their lives onboard.

The only place that they aren’t filmed is in the bathroom, but only one crew member can be in one at any given time.

Members have tried to get away with their personal antics being held in places without a camera — in one instance, a laundry room — but the crew quickly clocks on.

It’s this close look into their lives, combined with the personalities and the exotic locations, that make Below Deck so exciting to watch.

How is the show really filmed? Here are some of the secrets

When the show was first released there were some questions from fans about how ‘real’ the working lives were of those on screen. But the cast actually work as real-life stewards, sometimes up to 16+ hours a day, and sleep on tiny bunks.

T he charter company actually pays each cast member a base salary; the cast is also paid an appearance fee by the production company. And they’re allowed to take tips by guests. All their food is provided by the boat’s chef, as would be in the case if they were regular employees.

The cast is not allowed to speak to, or interact with, the production team and cameraman in order to keep in line with the show’s guidelines.

Captain Lee is actually in charge of the boat, including when and where they can sail and anything that needs to be considered in terms of the weather. He can also fire anyone at any time. Production is not allowed to have any influence on this.

The boat costs upwards of $300,000 per week to hire — which is why all filming is done during the six-week period.

All cast members get three days off per season during the six weeks of filming on the boat. They can stay in a hotel room on those days, but they’re not allowed to communicate with each other.

There are also advantages for the guests on the boat, as they are given a fifty percent discount on their journey — although they pay their own money to rent the boat and for their tips.

What’s the future for Below Deck?

So far, Netflix has releases only two series of the show, but we can expect more. For the ones that can’t get the show’s pristine sceneries out of their mind, sites like borrowaboat.com have boats and yachts for every taste available to rent, perfect to recreate the sailing lifestyle.

While there are only two series so far released by Netflix, we can expect more. And the new Below Deck season eight will likely premiere sometime in the fall of 2020.

With eight seasons now, it’s likely that there could be more in the future and that audiences will be able to continue to enjoy the drama-filled lives of those who work below deck and onboard the ship.

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How Much Does It Cost to Rent a Yacht on 'Below Deck'? The Answer, Plus More Fun Facts

Who else can't get enough of the Bravo show?

preview for Here's What It Takes To Be On "Below Deck"

If you’re a Bravo fan, then you’ve certainly caught an episode or two of Below Deck .

Below Deck has been on since 2013, but whether you're a longtime fan or a new one, you likely have some questions. Like, who pays for the charters? Is Kate Chastain ever going to come back? And uh….how much does renting the yacht cost? Asking for a friend.

The answers to all of that, plus more fun facts below!

Soo, how much does it cost to rent the "Below Deck" yacht?

Longtime star Kate admitted to Entertainment Tonight in 2017 that it costs a pretty penny to charter a Below Deck yacht.

“Generally a boat that size, 150 foot...for seven days, is around $150,000,” she said. “But that does not include airfare, fuel, food, wine, docking, tip. So, I would say for a boat like Valor, for a week vacation, it would be around a quarter of a million dollars.” 😱

Anyone want to split it a few ways or...?

And yes, the guests do actually pay to charter the yacht.

Bravo's not handing out free ocean adventures! (Bummer.) The guests you see on the show pay their way—tip included.

“They spend their real money to be on the show,” producer Mark Cronin said . “And then the tip they leave, they decide what it is.”

Fellow producer Courtland Cox also mentioned that most people aren’t doing this just to get on TV. “This is a great experience for them to charter a very large yacht with a very experienced and fun crew and have an amazing three-day charter in an amazing location,” he said.

Apparently it wasn’t easy to get a "Below Deck" cast together.

According to Mark and Courtland, it was difficult to scrounge together the cast for season 1. “Initially, it was very hard to get yacht crew members to commit to doing the show because it was an unknown entity,” Courtland told Bravo . People (understandably) didn’t want to “jeopardize their future employment potential.”

But once it got going, it was easy to attract more interested folks. "The vast majority of people that do the show, they always say, 'I want to do the show because I want my friends and family to understand what my job is,'" Courtland said. "And they’re like, 'If I go on Below Deck , I will have a tangible, visible thing for my family and friends to understand what my job is.'"

Kate Chastain might be coming back.

Kate left Below Deck in 2020 after serving as the chief stew since season 2. She told Bravo , “I just feel like I’m 37 and a half—and I don’t think a girl should be wearing a skort at 38.” Fair! 😂

But now, there are whispers that Kate might return. She recently parted ways with Bravo’s Chat Room , and some fans think it's because she’s making space for Below Deck . Regardless of if she returns to the original show, she will definitely be appearing on the upcoming spinoff, Below Deck: Galley Talk , according to ET .

The show—and the drama—is real.

Fans always wonder if reality shows are scripted or not, but the producers say Below Deck is the real deal.

“I think people are so jaded by reality TV, they think that everything is thought ahead five steps or eight steps, and we are really genuinely filming what’s happening on a working charter yacht with people that are working on the yacht,” Courtland said. “I wish that I had the imagination and creativity to come up with the things that actually happen on the show because the things that happen on the show I could never in a million years come up with, could never imagine them.”

Interesting! Now, who's ready for a Below Deck marathon?

Megan Stein is the executive editor for The Pioneer Woman, and oversees entertainment, features, and news for the website. Whether it's catching up on the latest true crime podcast, or re-watching the best '80s movies for the zillionth time, she's always here to talk about anything and everything relating to pop culture.

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Captain Lee and Eddie Lucas Reveal Which Crew Member Is a Perfect Love Match for Kate Chastain

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Rachel Hargrove Says Shane Coopersmith "Needs a Swift Kick In the Butt"

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Kate Chastain Shares How She Transformed Sullivan's Nursery Into the "Cutest Room" (EXCLUSIVE)

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About below deck.

Capt. Kerry trades the Nordic Sea for crystal blue waters and stunning waterfalls as he leads his crew in the rich, historical island of Grenada. A disciplined and fair leader, Capt. Kerry has 30 years of experience working on boats and has spent almost two decades in yachting. As he steps on to St. David for the first time, Capt. Kerry relies on returning crew members Chief Stew Fraser Olender and Ben Willoughby to help the new staff find their way around the massive 197 ft. vessel.

Dorit Kemsley, Erika Jayne, and Kyle Richards at the RHOBH reunion.

Kyle Richards, Erika Jayne, and Dorit Kemsley Spotted on Luxury Yacht in St. Lucia

By Michelle K Alejandro

It’s technically the end of summer. But that didn’t stop Real Housewives of Beverly Hills stars Kyle Richards , Erika Jayne , and Dorit Kemsley from soaking up some sun on a yacht in St. Lucia.

The three enjoyed the boat and the ocean in a trio of tiny swimsuits. They looked like they were enjoying relaxing and having fun together.

Fun in the sun on a luxury yacht

Erika Jayne, Kyle Richards and Dorit Kemsley have fun in the sun on luxe yacht in St. Lucia https://t.co/pvIM7dx21M pic.twitter.com/YfZvaElMpG — Page Six (@PageSix) August 9, 2024

According to Page Six , the girls donned their bathing suits and enjoyed some downtime. Kyle showed off her toned physique in a green bikini with gold chain details. She used a similarly colored pool noodle around her waist when she jumped into the ocean.

For her part, Erika chose a lavender cutout maillot with a one-shoulder design and matching gold jewelry. Like Kyle, she chose a similarly colored pool noodle as she joined her friend in the water.

Dorit sizzled in a blue bikini and jumped into the ocean from the main boat foregoing the pool noodles. While she initially looked unsure about swimming, she eventually took the plunge.

The three housewives’ fun summer yacht escapade came on the heels of the RHOBH cast filming a party scene for the upcoming season of the hit Bravo reality show.

Mending fences

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kyle Richards (@kylerichards18)

It’s no secret that Kyle and Dorit were not in the best place . And filming was a bit tense with Kyle even yelling at Dorit . Kyle previously said that it was unfortunate that she and Dorit could not be supportive during their respective breakups during the last season of RHOBH. That’s when the friendship turned rocky.

However, it looks like the reconciliation rumors over the summer are true considering that the two are spending more time together. Kyle even confirmed on her Instagram Live that she took Lisa Rinna, Dorit, and Erika out for their birthdays last July.

She even posted a throwback photo to celebrate her co-stars.

Looks like fences are mending.

TELL US – DO YOU THINK KYLE AND DORIT HAVE MADE UP? WILL THEY BE BACK TO BEING BESTIES FOR SEASON 14?

Michelle has been writing professionally for over a decade. She loves all things lifestyle, pop culture, and reality TV. When she's not working, she's watching Traitors, Love is Blind, and Love Island with a big bowl of popcorn.

Mauricio Umansky on Watch What Happens Live.

Meet the 'Below Deck' captain: Australia-born Kerry Titheradge now calls Florida home

Kerry titheradge, who captains a nearly 200-foot yacht on the bravo reality tv series 'below deck,' is a father of two from palm beach gardens..

PALM BEACH GARDENS — The captain setting sail on a luxury super yacht in the new season of “ Below Deck ” is one of the city’s own.

Kerry Titheradge of P a lm Beach Gardens sailed off the coast of Grenada, a small island in the Caribbean, for six weeks while Bravo filmed the show’s 11th season. Its first episode premiered on Feb. 5.

The reality series follows the lives of a crew working on a yacht, the wealthy guests who charter it and the drama that arises throughout.

Titheradge previously manned a boat for one of the show’s spinoffs called “Below Deck Adventure.” It premiered in November 2022 and followed the crew as they navigated Norway’s water channels.

Who is Kerry Titheradge?

The 48-year-old was born in Brisbane, Australia. He has replaced Lee Rosbach, the captain who has been on “Below Deck” since its 2013 debut.

Titheradge’s love for the ocean has taken him around the world to the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and the Pacific Northwest. He has worked on boats for about three decades and yachts specifically for 20 years.

Titheradge moved to West Palm Beach in 2004 when he captained a boat based in North Palm Beach. He relocated to Palm Beach Gardens in 2014 because of the city’s A-rated public schools, where he enrolled his two children.

When he isn’t captaining a boat, he spends his time practicing jiujitsu with his son, taking his daughter for coffee dates, fostering Husky dogs and efoiling, which involves riding on a board that lifts up above water.

He owns a company called Yachting Concepts , which offers yacht management, captaining and engineering services.

When did Capt. Kerry start working on boats?

Titheradge got his start working on boats when his original career plan took an unexpected turn.

Titheradge grew up in Central Queensland, the outback of Australia, so he never learned to surf as a kid and he didn’t at first imagine himself working on the water.

When he was 18 years old, the company where he had an apprenticeship with hopes of becoming an electrician closed down.

“I ended up just doing whatever I could,” Titheradge said. “I walked down the street and knocked on every door until someone gave me a job.”

That eventually led him to an interview for a deckhand job on a parasailing boat. He did whatever he could to get the gig.

“(After the interview), I wouldn’t leave,” Titheradge said. “I asked, ‘Can I rinse the boat?’ and ‘Can I dry the boat?’ I just kept adding jobs. It just felt right, and they gave me the job.”

Thus, his decades-long career began.

He worked on parasailing boats, then moved on to water taxis, ferries, landing barges, tug boats, dredges and yachts. He has worked as a deckhand, steward, engineer, captain and first officer.

More: How tall is too tall? Residents balk at 14-story max at former Twin City Mall in North Palm

What does he love most about 'Below Deck'?

Titheradge loves that the show lets people see what life working on a yacht is like, especially with a crew whose members come from different places around the world.

“The cameras disappear pretty quickly for me, and I’m just doing my job,” Titheradge said. “We’re showing people aspects of the industry that people don’t know much about, but are very interested in.”

He describes his captaining style as “firm, but fair.”

“I give all of my crew members respect,” Titheradge said. “If they take my kindness as a weakness, they’re gone. But if they’re having a tough time (mentally), I want to be able to help them. Mental health is very important to me.”

Titheradge said he is grateful for the fanbase and platform that “Below Deck” has given him, which is something he never thought he would have.

He wants to use his following for good.

During the Christmas season, he raised funds and collected gift donations for families with single parents. He is also an advocate for pet adoption and shares information about fostering dogs on his Instagram page.

Any scary moments on the waters?

While out on the water, Titheradge has faced hurricanes, fires and medical emergencies among guests.

One unexpected storm raged in the middle of the night while he was cruising off the coast of Italy about 14 years ago. Lightning struck the boat and shut off its navigation, light, radio and radar equipment.

The storm lasted for hours and tossed the boat all the way to the coast of Croatia. Titheradge said he didn’t have time to get scared because he was so focused on the job at hand: avoiding a capsize.

“If you let fear ride your decision-making, you make mistakes,” Titheradge said. “It’s about planning properly, clear communication and executing it.”

How to watch ‘Below Deck,’ Season 11

New episodes of Season 11 run on Bravo at 9 p.m. ET Mondays.

If you missed an episode on cable, they release on Peacock the day after they air. Previous seasons of "Below Deck” and its spinoffs are also on the streaming service.

The exact number of episodes has not yet been revealed, but there are usually around 15 to 17 episodes per season, each around an hour long.

Maya Washburn covers northern Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida-Network. Reach her at [email protected] . Support local journalism: Subscribe today .

“Below Deck” Is The Perfect Reality Show For The Age Of Millennial Burnout

Below Deck stars hot, relatable service workers subjected to the whims of the 1 percent. Is it any wonder it’s become Bravo's underdog hit?

Culture Writer

Chief Stew Kate Chastain sets a table during Season 6 of Below Deck .

The cable TV network Bravo is best known as the reality powerhouse that brought us the infamous Real Housewives , a global TV franchise about rich (and pretend-rich) ladies fighting about who gets the biggest room on their cast vacations. (The Marvel Universe could never.) But in 2013, the network went slightly off brand, creating their version of a grittier view from below, with the unscripted series Below Deck .

While Below Deck does feature rich (and pretend-rich) passengers on luxury yachts — everyone from the Real Housewives of Atlanta and the so-called Queen of Versailles Jackie Siegel to baseballer Johnny Damon have been guests — the show focuses on the behind-the-scenes trials of the crew tasked with keeping them happy.

The crew’s work drama and boatmances have been consistently gripping enough to elevate the show, alongside its 2016 spinoff Below Deck Mediterranean , into the upper tier of cable TV ratings. Still, it’s easy to overlook Below Deck — I did for years — because the promotion for it has been oddly unenticing. Bravo’s ads often focus on the boat’s captain, “stud of the sea” Lee Rosbach, who also gets routinely interviewed on Bravo kingmaker Andy Cohen ’s late-night talk show Watch What Happens Live . That’s probably because gruff-but-golden-hearted Captain Lee has a way with funny, exasperated one-liners , often involving phallic or sexual metaphors like “We screwed the pooch so many times we should have a litter of puppies running around” or “I would rather drag my dick through 10 miles of whiskey bottles than see these people again.”

But a few salty phrases could hardly fill an entire season. What keeps viewers coming back is the tribulations of the younger crew’s work and love entanglements. Unlike most reality shows that throw strangers together in close quarters — a common strategy since The Real World — the crew is both working and living together. The show is both relatable (we all deal with annoying bosses and clients, or crushes on coworkers) and delightfully heightened (most of us don’t experience those things while trapped on a boat for months at a time). But the thing that might set Below Deck apart from a crowded field the most is its emphasis on making art out of the least glamorous (and often feminine-coded) behind-the-scenes grunt work, including not just the physical but also the emotional labor demanded of service workers.

Captain Lee Rosbach addresses the Season 6 crew on Below Deck .

Part of the appeal of Below Deck is that it introduces viewers to the whole “yachtie” subculture and the real mechanics of what it takes to put together a seamless luxury charter season. The interior crew — or stews, led by the chief stew — takes care of keeping the cabins clean and waiting on the guests. The exterior crew — or deckhands, led by the bosun — takes care of the boat mechanics and the deck. Each episode, or sometimes two-episode arc, revolves around a particular group of guests — from annoyingly image-obsessed influencers to fortysomething women having a girls weekend — and ends with the crew getting together to have the captain assess their performance and unveil their big (or sometimes small) tip.

Because crew jobs on a yacht require actual skills for safety reasons (especially the outer deck crew), the casting choices on Below Deck are more limited than in most reality television . (Bravo makes the hiring decisions , but the captains reserve the right to fire crew members.) Still, as in all reality shows, the people performing these tasks are very hot; the cast has featured an especially high ratio of sexy guys with South African and Australian accents. And throwing hot people together inevitably results in some onboard romances, which are a big source of the drama, as the show chronicles what happens when heterosexuality takes to sea.

{ "id": 123298859 } As in all reality shows, the people performing these tasks are very hot.

In Season 3, for instance, bosun Eddie Lucas (widely believed to be a good guy, thanks in part to his altar boy haircut) tried to hide his affair with the zany third stew Raquel “Rocky” Dakota from an on-land girlfriend. Rocky inaugurated the recurring trope of the loose-cannon stew that the chief stew has to try to train. (Chief stew Kate Chastain made her play a dreamy mermaid for the guests during one of her theme parties.) Eddie denied their relationship to the rest of the crew, which prompted Rocky at one point to literally jump ship .

Another scandalous example: Marine veteran Kelley Johnson, who came onboard in the second season. After seducing fellow deckhand Jennice Ontiveros, pretending he wanted a real relationship, he then unceremoniously dumped her. Johnson’s substantial johnson became a part of the show’s lore when his dick pics leaked after the season ended, and in the reunion episode he then claimed (with no evidence) that chief stew Kate or Jennice had been the ones who leaked them.

The most dramatic romantic storylines are the ones involving multiple crew members. Personally, I first got into the show with the second season of the spinoff, Below Deck Mediterranean , because it unveiled what has to be one of the most riveting love triangles in the history of pop culture — or at least since Bridget Jones’s Diary ’s clash of masculinities between reserved Mark Darcy and playboy Daniel Cleaver.

Deckhands Tyler Rowland (left) and Ashton Pienaar in the kitchen of Below Deck 's Season 6 yacht My Seanna .

The triangle hinges on Malia White, a bronzed Floridian deckhand trying to move up the ranks, and her two paler suitors. On the one side is bosun Wes Walton, a square-jawed South African (as mentioned, the show loves men with accents) who looks like a mean lacrosse jock but is actually a shyer Darcy type (and technically Malia’s boss). On the other side is Adam Glick, a more rascally, worldly chef who, when not at sea, lives in a camper van.

Throughout the season Adam is clearly falling in love with Malia, who likes Adam but is also falling for Wes. When Adam discovers that Malia had made out with Wes, he confronts her about her divided loyalties (“Malia, why would you lead me on?”). While the crew is out for an evening of partying while the boat is docked, Adam aggressively pantses Wes, and it all escalates into a big, ridiculous homosocial blowout that makes clear how much of men’s feelings of possessiveness over women are about their own egos. At some moments, it seemed like the narrative verged on slut-shaming Malia, but the plotline ultimately highlighted how tricky navigating these boatmances is for the women on the show, who have to deal with injured male egos in close quarters for the rest of the season.

Exposing cads is just one of the pleasures of Below Deck . It also puts a refreshing twist on the more familiar cultural script of having women perform sexiness as part of their service jobs. Instead, the chief stews aren’t afraid to emphasize the (male) crew’s hotness, especially when the guests are overtly horny (or gay). In one episode in Season 3, Kate enlists buff crew member Emile Kotze as entertainment for the guests when she has to host a Greek-themed party. “He's got a great body, chiseled features, and a brain made of stone," Kate says. "I would recommend taking your shirt off,” she instructs Emile, handing him a white sheet, “and using this to cover the parts you don't want exposed.” Then she adds, in trademark form, “Feel free to express yourself.”

The show isn’t always so lighthearted about this aspect of the job. In the current season of Below Deck: Mediterranean , Captain Sandy Yawn admonished a crew of overly excited women guests not to “molest” deckhand Jack Stirrup. But in general, Below Deck makes great drama out of the nuances of the kind of “interior” service labor often deemed too feminine (and boring) to anchor pop culture narratives: event planning, waitressing, laundering, and cooking. Which brings us to the show’s most prominent, recurring characters: the chief stews.

Below Deck: Mediterranean 's Season 4 crew. From left: Captain Sandy Yawn, Chief Stew Hannah Ferrier, and Second Stew Aesha Scott.

In many ways, the stars to root for on Below Deck and Below Deck: Mediterranean , as far as I’m concerned, are not the captains, or even, for the most part, the men. They’re the chief stews: Kate Chastain and Mediterranean ’s Hannah Ferrier (my favorite). These women shine within the Bravo pantheon as no-nonsense anti-Housewives, who must stay resolutely calm while dealing with all the divas around them.

The crew, including the chefs, have constantly changed from season to season — except for the captains and chief stews. In fact, the flagship show didn’t quite find its footing until Season 2, when Kate replaced a more dour original chief stew, Adrienne Gang, who antagonized her resentful underlings. Kate does too, but she’s more artfully shady in her dealings with crew members and guests. Just one of her calm, thoughtful articulations of the word “huh” can mean a thousand things, from “I hate you” to “please leave the boat.”

During Kate’s debut season, guest Dean Slover, a demanding restaurateur, admonished the chief stew for not being cheerful enough. “You don’t seem happy, you’re not smiling, you’re coming off kind of bitchy,” he said. She remained completely calm and apologized, but when she cleaned his room, she shaped his blanket into a penis as a way of giving him the finger.

{ "id": 123298856 } These women shine within the Bravo pantheon as no-nonsense anti-Housewives, who must stay resolutely calm while dealing with all the divas around them.

The episode turned into a heated debate among the crew over whether her “bad attitude” was going to be worth them not getting a good tip, and whether she should apologize to the guest. When Kate finally took one for the team and vaguely apologized, annoyed that the other crew members didn’t have her back, it was a poignant reminder of the way service jobs often demand a certain brand of likability, especially from women.

The recurring theme of guests’ random food demands also highlights the kind of emotional work that the chief stews perform. These requests (like no onions or no olives, or food allergies) drive the chefs (often depicted as tortured artists) nuts. Mediterranean ’s Sydney-born Hannah (whose exasperated honay s —“honey” in Australian — are deeply communicative) skillfully handles these tantrum-throwing male chefs, who tend to take out insecurities about their food on the chief stew.

The chief stews (like the captains) are often older than the rest of the crew, and they tend to maintain professionalism in a different way. They aren’t usually involved in the crew love triangles. (Kate’s Season 5 hookup with a long-haired Swedish sailor named Morton, whom she nicknamed “hot Jesus ,” became iconic for its rarity.)

But one of the most affecting — and real — moments of the entire series is when Hannah falls for the head of the deck crew in Season 3, twentysomething Conrad Empson. The combination of her intense work ethic and her confusion about her feelings led to a panic attack on camera, and she was forced to confess her intense crush — and her anxiety about it — to Captain Sandy. The show’s nonjudgmental representation of that made it a relatable moment, and a rarity in a reality landscape where such experiences, especially for women, are often just pathologized for entertainment.

Chief Stew Hannah Ferrier chats with deckhand Colin Macy-O'Toole on Below Deck: Mediterranean .

As Below Deck has become an established hit, and even spawned a growing franchise of spinoffs, Bravo producers seem to be leaning more and more into conventional reality stunts, like dramatic mid-season firings and crew defections , and a big “man overboard” moment last year.

The promotional run for the most recent season of the original show, which aired in fall 2018, really played up deck hand (and former stripper) Ashton Pienaar’s accident. A misstep caused a taut rope on the boat to wrap around his ankle, yanking him off the deck and into the water. Given the boat’s speed, he could have lost his leg. Bravo even vaguely broke the fourth wall and highlighted the fact that it was one of the show’s camera operators who jumped in to save him.

The incident unintentionally highlighted the precarious working conditions of deck hands — an issue that, despite the show being (at least theoretically) about the crew’s work, rarely makes it onscreen. It also gave Below Deck one of the highest-rated episodes in its history, and seemingly helped make a fan out of esteemed auteur (and camp connoisseur ) Steven Soderbergh, who tweeted shortly after the episode: “If Stanley Milgram had an unlimited budget, no ethical guidelines, and took acid every day for a month, he would have created BELOW DECK. WHICH IS WHY I CAN’T STOP WATCHING IT.”

Bravo actually doesn’t seem to invest a lot of money in the show’s promotion or production, but maybe that’s part of its appeal. The show still hasn’t produced any table-flipping viral moments or breakout stars to send to Dancing With the Stars . It’s still the workplace microcosm of petty rivalries and fleeting love stories that makes it so relatable.

Every episode of Below Deck ends with the crew coming together, and we wait anxiously to hear the size of their tip. Especially in the age of millennial burnout — and especially for the channel’s younger-skewing audience — it’s easy to identify with performing work under constant pressure, hoping to reap rewards subject to the whims of the 1 percent. Is it any wonder we’re rooting for Bravo’s underdog show that could? ●

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Motor Yacht OHANA to Appear in ‘Below Deck’ Season 2 Reality Show

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By Editorial Team 7 February 2014

Following the ratings success of the first season, Bravo TV’s ‘Below Deck’ season 2 is due to start filming this month and the charter yacht confirmed to appear is OHANA, the 47m/154’ Admiral superyacht. The production company are currently seeking charter guests to take part in the new series.

The first season of the reality show, which followed a working charter crew over the course of five-weeks in the Caribbean, featured the 50m/160’7 Benetti motor yacht ‘Cuor di Leone’ (renamed ‘Honor’ for the purposes of the charter). After filming had finished, ‘Cuor di Leone’ was sold and promptly taken off of the charter market, meaning that the ‘Below Deck’ producers had to find a suitable replacement in time for the Caribbean yacht charter season.

Popular charter yacht OHANA became a prime candidate along with her Captain John. Grugach and producers are now looking for a new crew to fill the rest of the positions on board as well as charter guests willing to be filmed for the duration of their vacation.

The 1998-built OHANA has carved out an exceptional reputation as a charter vessel over the years and is fully equipped for comfortable and exciting cruising vacations. Meticulously maintained since new, she was last refitted in 2011 and boasts a spacious, high-quality interior styled by the award-winning designer Donald Starkey . She accommodates up to 10 guests in five beautiful staterooms and features state-of-the-art audio visual equipment and Kaleidescape systems throughout.

Her outdoor areas are what truly make her stand out with every conceivable facility needed for an unforgettable vacation. This is best seen in her vast sundeck which features a large shaded double bar, Jacuzzi surrounded by sunpads, barbeque and five optional sun shade triangles in addition to a state of the art “pop-top” which rotates and opens to reveal a central, spiral staircase. OHANA’s armada of watertoys includes a 40’ waterslide which attaches to the side of the yacht, great fun for adults and kids alike.

It is still not clear whether the yacht will be called 'Honor' in second season of Bravo's 'Below Deck' TV show. If you can't wait until the next season airs then you can get a sneak preview of the interior photos of Ohana or watch her charter video.

If you are interested in booking a charter on board OHANA, either for the ‘Below Deck’ season 2 in the British Virgin Islands or for the summer 2014 season then contact your preferred charter broker .

OHANA has carved out an exceptional reputation as a charter vessel over the years and is fully equipped for comfortable and exciting cruising vacations

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47m Admiral Marine Works 1998 / 2022

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‘GMA' Robin Roberts Goes Wild On Luxury Yacht For Days

GMA host Robin Roberts is going wild on a luxury yacht for days. Her followers are getting to see another side of her as she lives it up and parties hard. She took fans inside the latest festivities she’s enjoying and shared a few snaps to document this special occasion. So, what is she celebrating? Scroll down to take a look at all of the fun photos she posted over the weekend.

It’s an exciting time for Robin Roberts.

As GMA viewers know, Robin is preparing to wed her longtime girlfriend and now fiance, Amber Laign . The pair is set to get married next month, and they’re currently finalizing the details and soaking up all of the celebrations. At this point, the couple has not publicly revealed their exact wedding day, so fans don’t know when the big day is. However, Robin’s social media followers have been a part of the festivities via social media.

As we reported, fans recently asked Robin if she was drunk as she kicked off the celebration. Now, she’s keeping the party going.

GMA: Robin Roberts enjoys a wild yacht party.

The GMA host took to her Instagram Stories to document her bachelorette party. She and Amber opted for two separate parties. As she shared a few clips, the talk show anchor said, “Bachelorette weekend has been a hoot!” In one snap, she wore an all-white ensemble complete with a white cowgirl hat and a sash. In another photo, the GMA star lounged on the yacht in a tank top or swimsuit with shorts, a baseball cap, and sunglasses. She said was giving the “chill vibe a try.”

However, her friends continued dancing and living it up, soaking up all of the fun on the party yacht.

On her Instagram Stories, Robin revealed to her followers that her fiance had a much more low-key celebration. The GMA host said, “Admire how my Sweet Amber chose different location and vibe for her #bacheloretteweekend.”

Robin Roberts warns fans of her upcoming GMA absence.

On her Instagram page, the talk show host shared another couple of snaps, thanking her “bride tribe” for throwing her such a “lit” bachelorette weekend. In her post, Robin also made sure to let her followers know not to expect to see her on Good Morning America on Monday. She admitted that she just needed a little bit more time to “recover” from all of the festivities. So, fans can look forward to seeing her again on Tuesday. She noted that she will be back on the show with a big smile on her face.

Below, you can take a look at a couple more photos.

So, what do you think of the snaps from Robin Roberts’ days on a luxury yacht? Do you love all of the photos and videos as she celebrates her upcoming wedding? Sound off in the comments section below, and come back to TV Shows Ace for more news about the GMA star. Below, you can check out a special clip from another party that Robin’s colleagues threw for her and Amber.

The post ‘GMA’ Robin Roberts Goes Wild On Luxury Yacht For Days appeared first on TV Shows Ace .

Jared Kushner wants to turn a wild stretch of Albania into a luxury resort

Kushner’s use of foreign funds is again coming under scrutiny. environmentalists fear his planned resort could destroy a delicate ecosystem..

ZVERNEC, Albania — In one of his several trips to Albania over the past few years, Jared Kushner went hiking along a stretch of Mediterranean coastline with pristine sand dunes and cliff-lined beaches. The place, he said in an interview, was “magnificent” and “natural.”

It was also, he said, an “incredible canvas” for his dreams of developing luxury projects. “It’s a place where people would love to be.”

Now, Kushner is seeking to transform this stretch of Albania into the kind of luxury resort that his father-in-law, former president Donald Trump , would brag about. It would be Kushner’s biggest project yet using part of his roughly $3 billion private equity fund — financed largely by investors in Saudi Arabia and other Middle East petrostates — bringing international tourism to an area that stagnated under years of communism and neglect.

But Kushner’s planned development is facing local and international blowback because of its potential environmental harm. Conservation groups warn that construction of the villas and hotel rooms could destroy a habitat for pelicans, flamingos and several endangered species and undermine international efforts to preserve one of the last wild, coastal ecosystems in the Mediterranean.

“I have huge concerns,” said Ryan Gellert, the CEO of the outdoors company Patagonia, which has worked with Albania to preserve a wild river system not far from Kushner’s prospective site. In an interview, Gellert said the river system hinges on a healthy delta. “It is a stunning area, unique across the Mediterranean. And the idea of them developing this, particularly in the absence of a master plan, is a really bad idea.”

The development is at least the second time Kushner has partnered with governments in the Balkans friendly to the former president, with the assistance of at least one former Trump administration official with deep ties to those nation’s leaders — a business practice that many Democrats and other critics say is a conflict of interest.

The former senior White House adviser has accepted billions from the sovereign investment funds of countries that he dealt with as a government official, and is now investing in countries his father-in-law would deal with if reelected. Kushner makes an estimated $40 million in management fees, regardless of what happens to the investment, and stands to make much more if the deals are profitable, according to a recent letter from Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon.

Kushner acknowledged in an interview with The Washington Post that he benefited from relationships developed while in government, but he made a distinction between selling his expertise and setting up an investment company.

“A lot of people” leave government and “they kind of sell their services, you know, based on their relationships. I didn’t want to do that,” Kushner said. “I’ve always been an investor.”

Kushner and his partners also dispute the project would despoil the ecosystem. Asher Abehsera, the CEO and partner of Affinity Global Development, Kushner’s development firm, said the project would “enhance” the area, not threaten it. Kushner said that the project would “respect all environmental requirements” and be “very sustainable.”

Kushner has been helped by the fact that Albania is racing to tap into the travel boom that is enriching southern Europe, including neighbors in the Balkans. And Albania is led by a prime minister who had sought to work closely with Trump in his first term and would get a second chance if Trump returns to the White House. The prime minister, Socialist Edi Rama, had also met repeatedly with Trump’s then-special envoy to the Balkans, Richard Grenell — who now works for Kushner’s company helping to develop eastern European deals.

Kushner is planning two developments in Albania, but the more disputed one is in the coastal area of Zvernec — a secluded paradise of beaches and cliffs with the Adriatic Sea on one side and a lagoon on the other. The zone, which lies beyond the reach of roads, has long been seen as a treasure for would-be investors. It has also been off-limits as a protected landscape, where a sign warns even against camping.

But the Albanian government recently amended a law to open the door for high-end tourism — in facilities of “5 stars or more” — in such protected areas. Officials here say it is unrealistic to wall off potentially lucrative parts of a country that is trying to catch up economically after decades of isolation.

One month after that law was amended, Kushner shared on social media dreamy renderings of how that area could be remade: A series of curved resorts or villa complexes, almost resembling undulating waves, built of stone and wood and glass. Docks reaching into the lagoon. Pleasure boats casting shadows in azure waters.

The renderings even included a plane overhead, a nod to a new international airport being built nearby.

“It’s very difficult to say no to economic development,” said Besjana Guri, one of the founders of EcoAlbania, an environmental nongovernmental organization. But, she said, Albania has “something other countries don’t have, so you have to keep it like that, and profit from it in a different way. Albania still has nature.”

Tapping Saudi sovereign funds

Kushner created his private equity company, Affinity Partners, shortly after Trump lost his reelection bid — and it has since been his primary pursuit. He hired other former Trump officials and obtained $3 billion in funding, according to the company’s Securities and Exchange Commission filing , including $2 billion from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.

That infusion was enabled by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, with whom Kushner had worked closely. As first reported by the New York Times , four members of a five-person panel of advisers to the Saudi Public Investment Fund initially were not in favor of providing the money to Kushner, but shortly after that meeting, the prince led the full board in approving the deal.

The funding came after a U.S. intelligence report concluded that the crown prince had approved the killing or capture of Washington Post contributing opinion columnist Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in 2018. The prince has denied ordering the killing but took responsibility for it, saying it was a “mistake.” Kushner also received hundreds of millions of dollars from funds in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Wyden pointed to those funding sources to raise concerns about whether Kushner has improperly leveraged his time in the White House and ties to Trump. He wrote in his letter that Kushner’s funding from mostly foreign sources “creates an appearance that Affinity’s investors are motivated not by commercial interests of seeking a return on investment, but rather by strategic considerations of foreign nationals seeking to funnel money to U.S. individuals with personal connections to former President Trump.”

Don Fox, the former acting director of the Office of Government Ethics, said: “The question is whether he is trading on his own business acumen or the fact that he is the son-in-law of the former president who may be president again. Is that illegal? No. Does it look good? No.”

Kushner initially suggested that he would invest a substantial amount of the Saudi money in Israel, portraying it as a natural extension of his prior role as Trump’s Middle East dealmaker. In that role, Kushner vowed to bring Muslims and Jews closer together and helped negotiate the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and four Arab states — a deal now strained by the war in the Gaza Strip . But aside from two known deals, involving an auto company and an insurance firm, more extensive investments haven’t come to fruition.

Kushner has focused, instead, on two countries in the Balkans, Serbia and Albania, as well as deals in the United States.

In Serbia, Kushner’s company signed an agreement in May to transform a onetime national defense complex — bombed in 1999 by U.S.-led NATO forces — into luxury condos, a hotel, offices and shops.

A key player in the Balkan deals is Grenell, who has talked publicly about his role in connecting Kushner with leaders in Serbia and Albania. He served formerly as U.S. ambassador to Germany and acting director of national intelligence, in addition to working in the Balkans. He is often mentioned as a possible secretary of state if Trump is elected again, which means he could be dealing with foreign officials he is seeking to cement deals with right now. Grenell did not respond to an interview request.

The deal to renovate the site in Belgrade was sensitive, because of its history as a NATO bombing target, and was negotiated in secret. After the May announcement of the deal, Serbia’s minister of construction, transportation and infrastructure minister, Goran Vesic, said that Serbia had chosen a “reputable American company” to undertake the work. The press release said that Affinity Partners had obtained a 99-year lease on the land. The site will also include a memorial “dedicated to all the victims of NATO aggression from 1999,” the release said.

But Kushner has already faced some pushback. The company’s Serbia plans have led to street protests. And after he shared “early design images” on social media, some of the people living nearby the potential Zvernec development were startled by the scale.

“I know tourism brings growth,” said Kostaq Konomi, the head of the nearest village. “But if you are building something new, you are also destroying something.”

A fragile and potentially lucrative property

In Albania, the idyllic property portrayed in Kushner’s renderings is, for now, unfenced land, reachable on foot after the rock-strewn road dead-ends into sand. From there, past a half-mile beach marked with little more than bird footprints, the land begins to rise. Cows nibble on rough hillside grass. Insects buzz around shrubs. Footpaths lead higher yet, to a sun-kissed ridge that, on one side, drops sheerly toward the Adriatic and, on the other, slopes gently toward the lagoon.

On maps, this is called the Vjose-Narte Protected Landscape.

And it is the place where Kushner has inserted himself into a boiling debate in Albania over the need to preserve vs. develop.

That argument is an outgrowth of Albania’s turbulent history. Until 1990, the country had been gripped by a repressive dictatorship. Foreign governments warned against travel. The economy lagged woefully behind Mediterranean neighbors. Perhaps the lone upside, as the Iron Curtain fell, was that Albania found itself — almost by accident — with a bounty of untouched natural beauty.

Determining how much of that nature to keep has been a primary challenge for Rama, who has held power since 2013. Last year, working with environmental groups and Patagonia, Rama’s government made a national park out of one of Europe’s only free-flowing rivers. Descending from a mountain, the Vjosa River cuts through gorges and then meanders to the coastline. Rama called the park an “inheritance for future generations.”

But Rama has also led a push for rapid development. His government has offered tax breaks and other incentives for investors. Under his watch, up and down the coastline, builders have turned once-quiet areas of pine trees or sand dunes into hotels, apartments and villas. More recently, as Albania has developed a reputation as a budget destination, he has made the case that the country also needs “high-profile tourism that attracts big consumers.”

Rama and his office did not respond to requests for comment. But in a statement last year , he said that “what 400 yachts can generate is equal to what can be earned from 40,000 low-cost visitors.”

Initially, neither Kushner nor anybody else from Trump’s orbit seemed a likely partner. Before Trump’s election in 2016, Rama predicted in one interview that Trump would “hurt” democracy globally. He said in another that Trump’s rhetoric against Muslims was “ embarrassing America in the eyes of the world .” But after Trump became president, the two men met at least three times. A report issued earlier this year by House Democrats — titled “White House for Sale,” about alleged efforts by foreign nations to influence Trump — included a section on a trip that Rama made to Washington during which he and other Albanian officials stayed at the Trump International Hotel .

The report said that Albania’s three main political parties, including Rama’s Socialist Party, hired U.S.-based lobbyists “with close ties to then-President Trump” to influence his administration.

Elton Skendaj, the Albanian-born director of the democracy and governance program at Georgetown University, said that Rama is “very transactional,” and in that way a natural partner for Trump.

“Whoever is in the White House will be Albania’s best friend,” Skendaj said. “And they’ll do their best to host him. People like Trump or Kushner — Albanians would not tell you, ‘Oh, I can’t believe you’re breaking all these democratic norms’ or ‘You’re corrupt.’ They’ll be like, ‘Okay, you’re welcome here.’ They know how to work with you.”

Polls show Albania is one of the most pro-American nations in the world. And its government, long seen by Western authorities as being plagued by corruption , views foreign investment as a way to bolster its credibility.

Albania emerged on Kushner’s radar in 2021, when a friend described the country as a must-see. Kushner went. He met with Rama during that trip, he said in an interview, but didn’t discuss any particular business ventures. The tourism boom in Albania remained in his mind, however, when he returned to the United States and thought about “geographies that are on the ascent.”

So Kushner dispatched his business partner, Abehsera, to look into ideas for the country.

Kushner recalled Rama saying that “if you can develop something very special, I am open-minded.”

Kushner was back in Albania last year, he said, spending several days with his wife, Ivanka, marveling at the restaurants. Along with Grenell, he visited a national museum with Rama, according to photographs published in Albanian media.

Several Albanian politicians said that Rama has long floated the idea of developing Sazan Island, a former military outpost five miles off the coast. That area has fewer environmental considerations because its land is not designated as protected.

With Zvernec, Abehsera said the possibility of developing there was first raised by the Kastrati Group, which dominates several key industries in Albania, including oil. Abehsera said the Kastrati Group would potentially be “our local building partner on the ground.” Officials at the Kastrati Group did not respond to an interview request.

Albania has not yet received an official proposal from Kushner for the project in Zvernec. But Kushner said that Rama has personally seen the renderings and got “very, very excited.”

Environmentalists counter that this coastal area is one of the most important habitats in Europe, remarkable for its natural diversity: It has sand dunes that host loggerhead sea turtles and a lagoon that serves as a haven for water birds. A 2021 report from Andrej Sovinc, an expert on protected areas working on behalf of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, said the lagoon had “significant conservation value at the national and even global scales.”

The area slated for development is just eight miles to the south of the mouth of the Vjosa. Aleko Miho, a biologist at the University of Tirana, says the two spots are linked: The river over centuries formed the lagoon by oscillating and dumping sediment. In his report, Sovinc raised the idea that the lagoon, too, should be made a national park — a higher status than it now holds. Sovinc recalled that Albanian officials, in meetings, called such a move unnecessary; the area, after all, was already protected.

Environmentalists say the government has a history of playing loose with the nation’s conservation rules. The nearby airport, under construction and scheduled to open next year, had also been part of the protected area. Just before construction crews broke ground, the government redrew and shrank the boundaries.

“It is a protection on paper but not in reality,” said Ulrich Eichelmann, the founder of Riverwatch, an organization that helped campaign for the national park.

Then, in February, as NGOs protested outside the parliament, the government changed the law on protected areas — removing a potential obstacle for Kushner’s plans.

Several lawmakers, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share details of legislation, said that the government had not changed the law specifically for Kushner. They said that some Albanian politicians own land in protected areas and stand to benefit from the changes. Rama said on social media that the move was part of Albania’s “ambitious path for sustainable development.”

Albania’s minister for tourism and the environment, Mirela Kumbaro Furxhi, said in an interview that “all of Albania is open for potential development.” She said that a small country can’t afford to protect wide swaths of land — officially, more than 21 percent of Albania’s territory — to prevent economic progress. In the past few decades, young people have streamed out of the country, in search of jobs elsewhere. Many of the villages around Kushner’s potential sites are inhabited almost entirely by retirees and could benefit from an influx of job opportunities.

If many environmentalists had their way, Kumbaro said, people around Vjosa would have to “abandon the region forever and to have only the birds.”

Can a resort and ecosystem coexist?

The renderings, and the plans drawn up by Affinity, spell out one vision for the future of this area. Abehsera said that several thousand people will have jobs, both in construction and in working at the hotels and villas. He said that the “the environmental considerations are massive” and that the quality of the lagoon might even improve, as parts had been used for agriculture and developers intend to perform some cleanup work.

“We’re going to enhance the holistic qualities of the existing ecosystem,” he said, adding that the flamingos and pelicans would be protected.

Joni Vorpsi, 28, an ornithologist who works for the Protection and Preservation of Natural Environment in Albania, fears that won’t be possible. As he walked along the lagoon one morning, carrying his tripod and binoculars, he described what might happen in the coming years — all while pausing to point out the black-winged stilts, the pied avocets and the flamingos, congregating in a group of more than 1,000. Kushner’s development, Vorpsi said, would mean years of construction, new roads and infrastructure work to ensure an energy supply, plus increased traffic from the nearby airport, going where few cars have previously gone.

“It can’t coexist,” he said. “Even if you try to be cautious, there is just so much disturbance.”

Not everybody cares about birds, he acknowledged. But to him, they are an indicator of a healthy environment — of nature in balance. They feed on the plants in the lagoon, and in turn that spares the lagoon from being sucked dry by vegetation.

There are still some obstacles to the resort becoming reality — including in Washington.

Kushner and Ivanka — Trump’s daughter — have both said they don’t plan to rejoin the White House if Trump is elected again. But Kushner has left himself an out, noting in various interviews that his life has not always worked as he planned, such as when Trump brought him to the White House.

If Kushner were to return to the White House, his investment activities could create the appearance of conflicts. As a government employee, he would have to release financial details on his privately owned company that he currently is not required to reveal.

Kushner has structured his company in a way that avoids most disclosure, and he has long stymied efforts by Democrats who want to learn more about his financial dealings.

The one thing Kushner is willing to predict is the trajectory for Albania. He says the country is “primed for something special.” The prices are reasonable, he said. The people are friendly.

“My time in Albania definitely made me feel that it was a place on the ascent,” he said.

Kranish and Stanley-Becker reported from Washington.

COMMENTS

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