Welcome back to Episode 2 of Below Deck Sailing Yacht! Now, before we jump into the action, I want to start off with a couple of corrections and caveats. I saw a number of comments last week calling me out on some mistakes in my premiere recap. Yes, you’re right. Jean-Luc Cerza Lanaux is 6’9”, not 6’7”. Which makes it even more uncomfortable to try to fit into his bunk at night. My bad on that one.
Oh, and also that I don’t know the difference between gas and diesel. Petrol. Whatever you call it. Yep, apparently that’s true too. Because I did write that they accidentally poured gas on deck instead of diesel. Oops. However, a few other commenters also claimed Natasha De Bourg was from Brazil, not Trinidad, and I got that wrong too. But I took that piece of information right from the chef’s official Below Deck Sailing Yacht cast bio. She was born in Trinidad. So I guess take it up with Bravo if you don’t believe me…
That’s all. Now onto this week’s seafaring drama! The episode kicks off right where the premiere ended: with Jean-Luc searching for the missing charter guests. Out in the tender, the six-foot-nine (LOL) deckhand is getting more and more frantic inside as time ticks by. This is why a pair of eyes must always, always be on guests when they’re in the water. Coincidentally, it’s also what happens when you’re not doing your job. Miraculously, he does manage to find the pair of paddle-boarders. They apparently found a little island and decided to go for a little hike. And now they need help getting back to the boat. Crisis has been averted, and Jean-Luc definitely dodged a bullet. But he’s certainly not making a great first impression to his superiors.
The guests want an ’80s-themed dinner party that night. And Daisy Kelliher pulls out all the stops with costumes, wigs and decorations. But Chef Natasha is the real star of the show. She turns out an entire spread of vegan burgers that have the guests raving about the food. (All while looking like a group of aging rockers going through a mid-life crisis, of course.) The issue of the evening, meanwhile, arises below deck over turndowns. While she’s on service, Daisy instructs third stew Alli Dore to turn down all the guests’ cabins for bed. Simple, right? But what should take an hour tops ends up taking Alli almost double that amount of time. So by the time the guests are ready to call it an early night, they’re met with Alli and a vacuum taking over the hallway. Awkward.
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More work drama ensues when Jean-Luc once again gets put on the late shift. Despite Gary King‘s detailed list of tasks to accomplish, Jean-Luc runs into problems when he can’t find the hot tub cover. After a fruitless search, he decides to wake Gary up to help find it. Spoiler: the first officer is not happy about this. Somehow, the interior team and Sydney Zaruba all get dragged into the search for the missing hot tub cover as well. Is it in the laundry? Yes, the stews think they might have seen it there. Wait, no, it couldn’t possibly fit in the laundry. Eventually, the hot tub cover turns up way down in the bilge. How it got there no one kn0ws. But now Gary and co. can go back to bed. That wasn’t really Jean-Luc’s fault, though. Right?
The next morning it’s the final day of the first charter. And while Natasha whips up a Mediterranean breakfast for the guests, she also opens up to Colin Macrae about her rocky past. The chef credits her “hardcore” demeanor to her rough childhood and traumatic former marriage. Apparently, Natasha got married at 18 and spent five years in that very abusive, controlling relationship before getting out. She was homeless and lived on the street for a while. Going to culinary school was eventually what pulled her out of her circumstances and really saved her from her past.
During breakfast, a rather inane argument breaks out between Daisy and Natasha over…pita bread, of all things. The guests can’t get enough of it, and when Daisy requests more, the chef is shocked. She claims to have sent out 20 pieces of pita. Which would mean the guests have already gone through four apiece. Daisy thinks this is impossible and Natasha is lying about how much pita she made. The chef gets defensive and next thing we know, they’re butting heads again. According to Daisy, Natasha can’t be trusted if she’ll lie about something as simple as pita bread. The whole fight is truly nonsensical and hilarious. And I can’t get enough of it. And for the record, flashbacks prove there were definitely not 20 pieces of pita served to the guests. Point for Daisy.
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After one final, thrilling sail, it’s time for the guests to disembark. The first docking of the season goes…OK. Except it takes Jean-Luc three tries to throw his line ashore. Naturally, Captain Glenn Shephard is unfailingly patient. But that’s another strike for the deckhand in Gary‘s eyes. Once the tearful guests leave, Glenn holds a tip meeting. Which, technically, he calls a charter debrief rather than a tip meeting. The captain is genuinely pleased with how the first charter went. Natasha gets a special shout-out for knocking the full vegan menu out of the park. And all the hard work paid off: the guests left a gigantic tip of $22,500. That’s $2,500 per person. For three days of work.
Quick side note. After the meeting, Gary offers to switch cabins with Jean-Luc, since his bunk is longer. It’s still not 6’9”, but it would be an improvement. However, Jean-Luc shoots down the offer because he doesn’t want to bunk with Captain Glenn. He’d rather be miserable and attempt to sleep in an even more cramped bunk. It’s unclear whether Gary was making this offer out of genuine kindness and concern or if he’s regretting bunking with the captain. But either, now Jean-Luc can’t really complain about his sleeping accommodations when he’s turned down an upgrade.
It’s the crew’s first night off. And since they can’t go ashore because of coronavirus restrictions, Captain Glenn retreats to his cabin and gives them the run of the boat. Over dinner, Gary tries his hand at flirting with Dani Soares in Spanish. The party quickly moves to the hot tub, where we learn that Jean-Luc‘s hideous tattoos are even more heinous from the front than they are on his back. While Alli and Daisy bond over being self-conscious in their swimsuits, Natasha casually drops the bomb that she’s been celibate for five years. The other crew? Not so much, as evidenced by how touchy-feely everyone’s quickly getting with the help of alcohol. Particularly Alli and Sydney, who drunkenly share a kiss for fun.
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After some absinthe shots, everyone’s pretty wasted and feeling flirty. Except Jean-Luc, who’s busy throwing up an entire bottle of whiskey. Inexplicably, Gary and Sydney start hooking up in front of everyone. Sorry guys, covering yourselves with towels won’t hide what’s going on under there. Several crew members think this is a bad idea on all fronts. Not only is Gary violating the first rule of yachting (“don’t screw the crew!”), he’s doing it with his own deckhand! After the very first charter! He and Sydney are pretty much putting Wesley Walton and Malia White to shame.
However, there’s a question of where they can go to hook up. Rooming with Glenn, Gary‘s cabin is obviously not an option. And Sydney‘s bunking with the other girls. The only option that makes sense in their drunken stupor? A guest cabin. That’s right. They’re also blowing past Elizabeth Frankini and James Hough‘s record for fastest guest cabin hook-up in Below Deck history. As the first officer and deckhand sneak into the guest cabin, Gary promises this won’t be a season-long boatmance. Just a one-night stand. Because that‘s going to go well for the rest of the season…
TELL US – IS JEAN-LUC ALREADY THE WEAKEST DECKHAND ON BELOW DECK SAILING YACHT? SHOULD DAISY NOT TRUST NATASHA BECAUSE OF THE PITA BREAD? IS IT UNWISE FOR GARY TO HOOK UP WITH SYDNEY? CAN YOU BELIEVE THEY’RE USING A GUEST CABIN?
[Photo Credit: Bravo]
