Ben Willoughby

Hometown: Gold Coast, Australia  

Birth date: April 6th  

Zodiac sign: Aries BABY! (Like the rest of the deck are)  

Years of experience in the yachting industry: 4-5  

Favorite off boat activities: Surfing, kitesurfing, photography and drinking Pina Coladas 

Special skills: Dance floor enthusiast, dad joke enthusiast, personal trainer, swimming teacher, lifeguard, scuba diver and photographer 

Do you know any other Below Deck franchise yachties? Jaime Neale (BDDU 2) and Elena (MED 7)  

What Bravo shows do you watch? Vanderpump Rules  

What do you do in your off time on the boat? I like to surf and travel, preferably as far away from guests as possible haha. 

Who is your best friend on St. David? Kyle, my roommate  

Who do you miss most from home when you’re traveling for work? My mum. She is my rock. I also miss my best friends from home, but they are also yachties, so I get to see them around the world. 

What is your wildest charter guest story from your career? Having to drive with the captain from Savannah, Georgia at 9pm to Washington, DC 9 hours away, to purchase a birthday present for a guest. We then had to deliver the present to the guest’s wife, who was staying in DC at the time, all because he forgot to buy her something and her birthday was the next day. Then we had to drive back and carry on working with NO BREAK. 

What was your first impression of St. David? St. David is a HUGE boat. She is wide so we know she is not going to rock and roll too much. 

Favorite place you’ve been on charter/ place you traveled? My favorite place I’ve been to on charter must be the Galapagos islands. That was just so surreal. Then I would say Panama, where we got to surf with the guests every morning for weeks. 

What’s one thing about working and living on a boat that would surprise people? You have to get conformable having no personal space. It’s like a floating hostel below deck with all the drama and hook-ups, while above deck, it’s a floating luxury zone. Oh boy! What a combo. 

Sum up this season in three words! ALMOST. BROKE. ME.