Below Deck Season-Premiere Recap: New Boat, New Mind-set

Below Deck
What a Thai to be Alive
Season 13 Episode 1
Editor’s Rating ★★★★
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Ahoy mates, and welcome to Phuket! Here, “the waters are like the creation of the earth,” as Captain Kerry puts it in a moment of poetic inspiration. This season, we are aboard the new-old Azul V. It’s a new-to-us boat that is older than last year’s St. David. As far as I’m concerned, the more change from last season, the better. Season 12 of Below Deck went down as one of the most frustrating in the franchise’s history. It was bogged down by catastrophic boatmances, selfish personalities, and repetitive workplace drama of the uninteresting variety: No one really cared about their job. That is, no one except stewardess Rainbeau, who is back and hoping not to constantly fantasize about taking her co-workers to “Fight Island” this time.

Below Deck mainstay Fraser Olender is back as chief stew. At the beginning of last season, Fraser’s stated goal was to arrive at the end of the six weeks without having fired anyone. He white-knuckled a deeply dysfunctional team and achieved that goal at a questionable cost (Rainbeau’s sanity). In the first episode of this new season, after a sweet, eager reunion with Rainbeau, Fraser promises not to hesitate to “make changes.” That said, he expects her to be “softer” and “have some patience” this time around. Rainbeau herself admits that she has been working on accepting that things can’t be perfect all the time and on coming across as less “harsh” and “rude.” This is all already aggravating because Rainbeau’s tone and impatience were hardly the issue last season. If anything, she was too patient: Weary of coming across as a bad team player, she bottled up her valid discontents until she exploded under pressure.

Speaking of pressure, is it just me or is there something tense about the vibe on the Azul V? The reunion between Kerry and Fraser was underwhelming at best. Rainbeau is already overwhelmed because Fraser gives her a huge list of things she’ll be in charge of, even before he makes her second stew. At the first all-crew meeting, Kerry warns everyone to stay vigilant. The weather can change on a dime in Thailand, and it’s crowded, so “if something feels off, say something.” He also warns that he is their biggest ally but can be “something else as well”: Like Fraser, he won’t hesitate to replace people if needed. This is Kerry’s usual spiel at the beginning of a season; historically, the bravado lets up over time. The first department-specific meetings give us a good opportunity to get to know our new crewmates:

Exterior

Alex from London is our new bosun. It’s his second year in this position, and he’s fresh off an eight-month break from yachting. His management style is hands-off: He will assume people can do their jobs until they prove otherwise. Privately, he worries that he’s rusty, but luckily he has a mostly experienced team to rely on. Deckhand Matt, a South African with Boarding-School Experience, has been a bosun for over two years. The British deckie, James, is greener — he’s been in yachting for only two years — but not inexperienced. Finally, there is Jessenia, who is new to yachting but has been working on tugboats for the last couple of years. Sen, as she tells Alex she likes to be called, has had her hands full working in a male-dominated field. Some of the things guys have said to her are dark. Still, she’s confident: “I’m literally just like one of the guys,” she says, “but with better lashes and hotter.” She tells Alex that she’s eager to learn and takes feedback well. At one point later in the episode, she offers to take a heavier line from him. As usual, I retain the right to retract any statements I make on the first day of the season, but so far: queen.

Interior

We have two new stews working with Fraser and Rainbeau. The also British Rosa — that’s four Brits onboard — has years of experience, even as a chief stew. The Australian Kaylee is newer to yachting, though not totally green; she has mostly worked day charters. Fraser puts Rosa on lates and Kaylee on earlies and laundry. Finally, we have Moe, our chef, hailing from New York. Moe cut his teeth in Michelin-starred restaurants and has since transitioned to yachting. Despite his training in fine dining, what motivates him is the warmth and affection of home cooking. He tells us a bit about his 19-year-old daughter and his Dominican mom, who is his culinary inspiration. He also asks Fraser not to call him Chef; it gives him the ick. Love him immediately.

In all, we have an experienced crew, which is perhaps an effort to compensate for last season’s greenery disaster. Fraser is not alone in picking his second right away; Alex makes Matt his lead deckhand, given his plentiful experience. I wonder how wise it is to assign these roles so early on — a power dynamic settles in before people have had time to get to know one another. And, this being Below Deck, we can expect that people will get to know each other in more ways than one. The most repeated question throughout the first day is: “Are you single?” Rainbeau is taken. Jessenia explains that she is “an equal-opportunity lover.” James describes his sexuality as “straight, [but] bent a little bit.” He’s attractive to Fraser, who is on an amicable, supportive, mutually understood break with Las Culturistas’ Matt Rogers. The season preview shows us a lot of kissing; here’s hoping people will act more sanely this year.

Everyone duly introduced, the crew gets to work preparing for the first charter. Primaries Kenny and Christina have long wanted to come to Thailand, but have been held back by Christina’s lethal nut allergy. The obvious solution to this traveling conundrum was to charter a yacht, duh. Moe tells us that he doesn’t mess around with allergies: After he lost a close friend to an anaphylactic reaction, he got certified in food-allergen safety. When the abundant provisions arrive, Moe feels overwhelmed with anxiety, but in moments like these he reminds himself of how far he’s come in his career over the past 12 years. Here is a man in full control of what he’s doing. “It’s almost unsettling how cool he is,” Fraser says. “Boy, is that refreshing.” After dealing with Anthony for two seasons running, I’m sure it is.

The crew gets the boat ready to take off, if it can take off. After welcoming the guests onboard, Azul V’s engine stalls and dies twice when Kerry tries to start it. He worries that the engine will die after they’ve taken off and they’ll drift toward the shore, so he has Matt stand by the anchor. But on the third try, the boat finally starts, and they make it out. Other than the false starts, it’s a pretty smooth undocking and a good anchoring. Kerry is very communicative with the deck team, and they take his directions well and are quick on their feet. Kerry is pleased with everyone’s performance, especially Alex’s. Over the past several seasons, we’ve endured bosuns who operate on massive egos; a bosun who leads with humility, or at least a not-burdensome self-regard, is a welcome change.

Later in the day, taking the inflatables out and preparing the NautiBuoys for the guests, Kerry is just as present. On the Azul V, the guests apparently have to walk through the laz in order to get to the swimming platform, which is awkward: The laz is basically a big closet filled with folded inflatables. Alex makes a note to organize it so that they can find things easier and quicker. Matt, who already seems to supplant the ego that Alex might be lacking, thinks he could come up with a better system. God, please, not the Nathan-Joe problem again.

Inside, Kaylee is eager to prove herself by really learning laundry and nailing it; Fraser advises her to come up with a system and stick to it. But later, she has some trouble with the dryers — she packed too many towels in — and has to ask Rosa for help. Rosa is kind and helpful, but Kaylee worries about disappointing Fraser, who overhears her ask for Rosa’s help. It can be frustrating to feel like you’re behind your peers, but as my teachers taught me, there’s no such thing as a stupid question. Ultimately, asking questions will help her get ahead. As night falls, Kenny and Christina are over the moon about their trip. They’re wholesome guests, and they really enjoy Moe’s stunning-looking Thai feast, which concludes with a mango sticky rice with coconut ice cream that had my mouth watering, and I’m not even sticky rice’s biggest fan.

The single most difficult part of Rainbeau’s job last season was to stay up on lates with Solène, having to do both their jobs while Solène was busy having a glass of wine or breaking someone’s heart. Flashing back to that traumatic experience, Rainbeau goes through every single thing Rosa needs to do before clocking off. “Go to bed,” Rosa pleads. “Please have more faith in me.” It already raised Rosa’s suspicion that Rainbeau would automatically be made second when she has just as much experience, if not more; now, she feels patronized and micromanaged. She might feel differently if she knew what Rainbeau went through last season — here’s hoping Rainbeau will tell her. Forget “softer” and “nicer”; I think Rainbeau should focus on open communication.