Below Deck Sailing Yacht Producer on Why the Series Is Unlike Anything You’ve Seen
Executive producer Mark Cronin gives a behind-the-scenes look at what we can expect from the newest Below Deck franchise.
Below Deck is heading into uncharted territory with the new series Below Deck Sailing Yacht airing Mondays at 9/8c on Bravo. For the first time ever, we’ll be following a crew as they set sail not on a motor yacht but on a 180-foot-long sailing yacht, the Parsifal III.
The vessel’s existing crew of Captain Glenn Shephard, as well as first mate Paget Berry and deckhand Ciara Duggan (who are also a couple), will be joined by Chef Adam Glick (who fans will remember from Seasons 2 and 3 of Below Deck Mediterranean), chief stew Jenna MacGillivray, second stew Madison Stalker, third stew Georgia Grobler, chief engineer Byron Hissey, and deckhand Parker McCown for one epic charter season.
The quarters will be tight, the charter guests will be hard-to-please, and the drama will be fierce, like every season of Below Deck. But there will also be plenty of firsts in Below Deck Sailing Yacht, bringing us no shortage of jaw-dropping moments.
Below Deck Sailing Yacht executive producer Mark Cronin is giving Bravo Insider members a behind-the-scenes look at the new series, from the history-making crew to what we can expect from Adam’s return to how Captain Glenn compares to Captain Lee Rosbach and Captain Sandy Yawn.
You’ll soon understand why Cronin says Below Deck Sailing Yacht is “the most intense Below Deck ever.”
It’s the Most Extreme Below Deck Yet
Below Deck Sailing Yacht features everything fans know and love about Below Deck and Below Deck Med — but with one very important distinction. “It’s got everything that Below Deck has: The drama, the romance, the hard working conditions, the work drama, personal drama, cramped spaces,” Cronin said. “If you took everything on Below Deck and just put it on its side 30 degrees and had it all fall, that would be this new show.”
You’ll see exactly what he means in the above trailer for the series. When the sails are up, high winds and the steep tilt of the boat will make for one wild ride for the crew members, charter guests, and viewers alike.
It’ll Feature a Below Deck First
Usually during the first day of the charter season on Below Deck, we’ll meet a couple of crew members who work on the boat, such as the first mate and engineer, but then we really never see them again on camera as the season continues.
That’s not the case for Below Deck Sailing Yacht. “Another cool thing about Below Deck Sailing Yacht is that for the first time ever every single person on the boat is on the show,” Cronin said. “On this version, everybody has to be on the show ‘cause there’s only nine people on the boat. And all nine, the captain and the eight crew members, are all part of the cast and the crew of the show.”
It’s for those reasons that this will be “the most intense Below Deck ever,” according to Cronin.
The Sailing Yacht Brings New Challenges for the Crew
We didn’t think it could get any more physically grueling than keeping a motor yacht clean and catering to every whim of the charter guests. But Cronin said that a sailing yacht takes it all to a whole other level.
“On a sailing yacht, every crew member has to be available to haul up the sails, tie them off correctly, set them correctly, haul them back down. The amount of manual labor is much higher,” Cronin explained. “They actually never stop working, which is really great. They really have to work hard.”
What to Expect from Adam’s Return to the Galley
After two seasons in the Med, Adam will be back in the galley for Below Deck Sailing Yacht. The chef is more than ready to cook on a vessel like the Parsifal III, having worked on a sailing yacht in the past and knowing the “special skills” it takes to prepare meals while the boat is slanted, according to Cronin.
“Like if you got your crème brûlée in the oven and all of a sudden the boat heels over, it’s ruined. So he actually came up with these cool, innovative things, like he’d put the racks in crooked, one on one level, and one on the other. And so when the boat’s heeled over, the rack is level,” Cronin said of Adam. “He’s amazing that way. So he’s kind of like an adventure chef, and he was perfect for the show.”
Cronin teased that things are going to heat up for Adam in other ways this season of Below Deck Sailing Yacht. “You know, I think the story of Adam is that the first season he got kind of burned 'cause he fell in love. And the second season he came back, and he just worked,” Cronin said. “And then this season he actually gets tangled up good.”
Captain Glenn Is a “Different Kind of Captain”
It will be mostly new faces this season of Below Deck Sailing Yacht, including the Parsifal III’s fearless leader, Captain Glenn, who Cronin described as “a different kind of captain than Sandy and Lee.”
“He’s a captain who’s very hands on, like he helps with the luggage, he’s always out on the boat. He’s always helping the guys, helping the stews. You’ll see Lee, like he likes to be on the bridge and direct things from up there. Glenn likes to be down with everybody, with his hands dirty,” Cronin said. “But he’s really amazing. The boat is very complicated to sail, and he’s amazing at it.”
