Meet Below Deck Sailing Yacht's New Crew Member
Following one yachtie's departure, Captain Glenn Shephard has brought on a new member of the Parsifal III.
The Below Deck Sailing Yacht crew was down a member after Parker McCown decided to resign in the April 20 episode (clip above). Luckily, Captain Glenn Shephard was on the case and was quickly able to find a replacement deckhand in time for the next charter.
Chris Miller climbed aboard the Parsifal III ready to join the deck team. Captain Glenn had high hopes for the deckhand, just by looking at his CV, telling some of the crew members before he arrived that Chris has "a lot of deck and sailing experience." He also shared his hope that everyone gets along with Chris. "I expect the crew to be friendly, welcoming, because I want to make sure what happened with Parker doesn't happen again," Captain Glenn said in an interview during the episode.
When we officially met Chris in the episode, he remarked how challenging it can be to join a crew while the season is already in progress. "I've worked on superyachts long enough now to know coming onto a boat midseason can be pretty tricky," he said in an interview during the episode. "I either make friends for life or enemies that I want to throw off the back of a boat on a dark night."
But don't take Chris' comments too seriously. There was rarely a moment during the episode when he didn't have a gigantic grin on his face. "My sunshine-y and happy demeanor I definitely wouldn't say is very common for a seasoned yachtie," the deckhand, who is originally from the south of England, said. "I think once you've been in the industry for a while, it gets under your skin and you just become a grumpy bastard."
Chris' superior, Paget Berry, said that he thinks the new deckhand's attitude is already a welcome departure from what he experienced with his team earlier this season. "First impressions of Chris: He knows a lot, he's got good experience, and it's really refreshing," Paget said. "Really refreshing."
In fact, Chris seems to be fitting in well with the whole crew, proving he can take Jenna MacGillivray's jokes and not get too flustered by Georgia Grobler's flirting. He's also already proven to be a pro when it comes to lifting the sails as well.
Chris does have a lot of experience working on yachts, after all. He's been in the industry since 2011, starting his yachting career in Antigua and traveling around the world working on numerous superyachts ever since. Chris was no stranger to sailboats even before then, having been a decorated racer in sailing. He even knows how to cater to high-profile guests, having sailed across the Atlanta twice with Stephen Colbert and worked for Eric Clapton, according to his bio on BravoTV.com.
The deck team is thankful for Chris' yachting know-how. "Your level of experience is really helping out myself and Ciara [Duggan] because, no offense to the last, he had none," Paget told Chris during the episode. "But how you fit in so quickly, I'm really impressed."
Captain Glenn also likes what he sees so far. "It's really encouraging for me to see Chris get in there and mix it up. He obviously knows what he's doing," the Below Deck Sailing Yacht boss said in an interview during the episode. "If this is any indication of how Chris is gonna perform for the rest of the season, I think we're in very good hands."
Are things starting to heat up for Chris and Georgia? Check out a preview below, and keep watching Below Deck Sailing Yacht Mondays at 9/8c to find out.
