Here's How Kate Chastain Can Tell Whether a Below Deck Crew Member Will Last the Whole Season
"I know as soon as I meet them if they’re a yachtie or not," the chief stew said.
When you're an experienced yachtie like Kate Chastain, you get to pick up some very valuable skills during your seasons at sea, like how to throw a killer beach picnic, distract charter guests from disasters on board with cocktails, and make quite the statement with a blanket fold. And, after five seasons as the chief stew on Below Deck, she has also learned how to detect whether or not a crew member will make it through the entire charter season without quitting or getting a plane ticket home. "I know as soon as I meet them if they’re a yachtie or not," Kate recently told Decider.
Let's look at this season of Below Deck, for example. Though Kate initially had high hopes for Chandler Brooks "because he was so particular," she told Decider, she later saw a red flag. "He was so falsely confident. You can tell, if somebody comes in and they’re talking a little too much, a little too friendly, you know they’re not a yachtie," she explained. "Silence is respected for everybody’s sanity. The first lunch, the first meal together is how you know. You’re all eating and if somebody needs to fill that awkward silence with talking, we’re like, oh here we go."
Second stew Josiah Carter agreed with Kate on how golden silence can be when you're trying to get along with your fellow crew members. "People hate awkward silence, I kind of quite like it. You’re eating and no one's talking, you’re like, (relaxed) ahh," he told Decider. "And then you get that one person that’s like, 'Hey how are you? I’m so excited!' and you’re like, f--k off."
Captain Lee Rosbach let Chandler go in Tuesday night's episode of Below Deck. Kate and Josiah also told Decider they were surprised that Chandler lasted as long as he did this season. But perhaps what was more surprising to the interior team was how Chandler reacted to getting the boot. "When Captain Lee said, 'You know, this is not gonna work out,' Chandler had the look of relief," Kate said in the Below Deck After Show (clip above). "It was, like, so non-reactive. Like, he didn't care about being on the boat at any point."
Find out why Kate thinks she may have been responsible for Chandler's firing in the Below Deck After Show clips, above. Look back on the buzzy moment, below.
