Aesha Scott and Captain Jason Chambers Dish on the “Big Hurdles” of BDDU’s Yacht (PHOTOS)
The Below Deck Down Under yachties opened up about the unique challenges of the boat, which was built in the ’70s. Plus, take a look inside.
The second season of Below Deck Down Under is nearly here, and Captain Jason Chambers and chief stew Aesha Scott will be working with a new crew on a totally new vessel — even though the boat itself isn’t exactly new.
In the opening moments of the Season 2 premiere, which you can check out by watching the preview video above, Jason reveals why the yacht is unlike any vessel he’s captained before. (For starters, the boat was built in the ’70s!)
Read on to find out what Jason says on the show and to learn what he and Aesha revealed about the vessel during separate interviews with The Daily Dish, which took place on July 6.
Jason Chambers and Aesha Scott introduce M/Y Northern Sun
The Aussie captain talks about the boat’s unique history while he explores the vessel for the first time on the bridge. “Wow, this is going to be interesting,” Jason says in the premiere preview. “Only one prop[eller], eh? Very nostalgic.”
As he explains in an interview on the episode, the Below Deck Down Under boat served a different purpose when it was constructed several decades ago.
“Northern Sun is a 1977 Japanese fishing vessel that’s been converted to a luxury superyacht,” he says. “It’s the perfect vessel because, this season, we’re in Cairns, right at the foothills of the most spectacular underwater scenery you’ll ever see. It’s adventure yachting, and it’s perfect for exploration.”
Aesha and Jason’s Experiences on the BDDU Boat
During separate chats with The Daily Dish, Jason and Aesha further opened up about the boat’s setup and how it allowed the guests to have one-of-a-kind experiences.
“This season, it was completely different,” Aesha said. “Like, the boat was smaller, it was more manageable.”
She compared it to M/Y Thalassa, the yacht featured on the debut season of BDDU: “The boat this year was a converted fishing vessel, and for me it was just so much better because Thalassa was outrageous how big it was. That was part of the stress was that it was just so big.”
“This year it’s definitely smaller, but they’ve refurbished [it], so it’s absolutely stunning,” she added. “We’re still offering the guests a really nice five-star experience.”
Aesha also revealed how the laid-back vibe of the yacht played into the season.
“I think altogether that it’s just kind of created a more tropical, casual kind of vibe, which I actually think was a real positive thing because the guests were just so relaxed,” she said. “And [they] just got up to such mischief — which was funny most of the time. Sometimes it was annoying, but most of the time it was funny.”
Though the guests were more relaxed on Northern Sun, Aesha noted that it took Jason some time to get used to the boat.
“It was a very old-school mechanism too. It had the single screw driving system, so that was a big hurdle that Jason had to overcome,” she said.
Jason reiterated that point when he spoke with The Daily Dish.
“When you walk on the boat and you find out that the boat is a 1977 vessel that’s only got one prop[eller], it’s got all these other elements that you need the tide and the wind to control the vessel. You can’t run outside; you’ve got to be inside. You can’t see what’s going on, [so] you need to be reliant on the crew,” he said.
While it did take Jason some time to get acquainted with Northern Sun, the charter season still flew by for him.
“I walked onto the boat, said ‘What the hell is going on?’ and then the season ended,” he joked.
See more from Jason and Aesha by watching Season 2 of Below Deck Down Under on Mondays starting at 8/7c.
