So where were we, yachties? Oh right, the bomb Jake Foulger dropped that he was engaged. The next morning, the entire Below Deck crew wakes up hungover as all get out, with Rayna Lindsey more than prepared to spread that bit of gossip all over the yacht. However, Jake is quick to clarify: yes, he’s engaged. He’s just not monogamous, love. She’s his fiancée, not his girlfriend, OK? (He also claimed they were in a relationship for the fiancée to immigrate, but it’s unclear whether that was a joke…) Either way, the point is that the lead deckhand is all about spreading the love around, darling. And just you wait.
The crew may have the entire day to turn around the boat, but there’s still time for Captain Lee Rosbach to hold a preference sheet meeting. The next group of charter guests will be an interesting one. They’re two families vacationing together to celebrate one of the co-primaries’ 75th birthday. And their ages are all over the place. We’ve got adults. We’ve got twenty-somethings. And we’ve got a child. Which means lots of babysitting on board. But hey, it’s got to be better than the band of rowdy realtors we just endured, right? Plus, their requests seem rather straightforward: a casino night, an ’80s-themed neon birthday party, and that’s pretty much it.
The rest of the day rushes by in a bit of a blur, with squabbles in both departments. Rayna and Wes O’Dell continue to chafe at Jake‘s leadership style. Basically, they don’t appreciate being told to move faster when they have all day to clean the boat. And Jessica Albert‘s mopey attitude is finally starting to grate on the rest of the interior. But when Heather Chase pulls her aside for a pep talk, the third stew reveals she’s rattled because she woke up to the news that her beloved grandmother had undergone a surprise medical procedure back on land. The night ends with Jake and Fraser Olender bonding while the latter shares his coming out story. And all I can say is watch this space…
Pick-up day, however, begins with minor chaos. First, Fraser can’t find his radio. And what was the one thing Captain Lee said in his first all-crew meeting of the season? Well, besides his cardinal rule of “Don’t embarrass yourself or the boat?” Oh, right. Never. Ever. Under any circumstances. Lose your radio. Oops. Cap threatened that if you can’t find your radio, he probably has it in the wheelhouse, but with guests arriving Fraser doesn’t have time to ask. So instead, Heather tells him to carry on without a radio and make the best of it. But as the crew scrambles, Captain Lee is magically the only one on deck when he makes the five-minute call.
Somehow, everyone makes it to the line-up in time for the guests to stroll down the dock. And we weren’t wrong, this new batch sure is eclectic. But in a good way! They seem lively and kind. One of the women, Jodi, is particularly kind to Captain Lee…She’s basically flirting with him the second they meet, And the kid even arrives with a mini-suitcase full of tip money handcuffed to his wrist. As if the crew didn’t need any more motivation to keep a close eye on him on board. Somewhat hilariously, Fraser reveals via confessional that he actually used to be a nanny, even though he kind of hates kids.
After a rather nerve-wracking takeoff in shallow waters, charter number three is off to the races. Though not before the deck crew loses a volleyball to the windy sea. Given the complaining from the day before, Jake decides to try a different approach with Rayna. Instead of ordering her around, he’s going to invest in her. He teaches her how to drop the anchor once the yacht reaches Shitten Bay, and the green deckhand does seem to take this method of instruction much better. Here’s hoping anyway. And speaking of hope, while Chef Rachel Hargrove serves lunch in the main dining room on account of the wind, a frantic Fraser finally tracks down his radio. Apparently he dropped it down one of the holds. Phew, that’s a relief.
The first night is the guests’ requested casino royale party, with Captain Lee joining them for dinner. So while the interior transforms the dining room into a gambling extravaganza, Eddie Lucas steals a moment to apologize to his girlfriend for their argument from last week. (If you recall, he was in hot water for picking up a bikini’d Heather in the hot tub.) Yeah…based on Eduardo’s track record over the seasons, I for one am not holding out much hope for this latest long-distance relationship…
For dinner, Chef Rachel turns out an Italian feast to pair perfectly with all the gambling. But if Jodi has her way, the main dish being served might just be Captain Lee! The charter guest is clearly smitten with the Stud of the Sea. She doesn’t even try very hard to hide it with her husband sitting at the table. Jodi hilariously, and rather shamelessly, spends the entire meal flirting with the captain. And by the time he retires for the evening, she practically tries following him into his cabin. And honestly, Captain Lee’s visibly uncomfortable reaction to all of this attention was by far the best part.
Meanwhile, Jessica‘s work ethic below deck is causing yet another problem. She essentially fails at doing turndowns; the cabins are a mess, details are left unchecked. The level of basic housekeeping is so bad that it even has Heather complaining to Fraser. And those two can barely stand each other! While Jessica checks in with her grandma over FaceTime, the rest of the crew starts gossiping behind her back. The group dynamic has been relatively peaceful and copacetic thus far, but pretty much everyone bets that the odds are Jessica will be the first one to start making things miserable on board.
The next morning, it’s day two of the charter. And the wind has not let up a single bit. The tempest is so strong that, as the yacht leaves its anchorage, cushions from the aft deck go flying into the ocean. But really, the wind’s not to blame because the deck team are the ones who didn’t secure the cushions in the first place. And now, the off-screen chief officer has to jump in the tender to go rescue cushions in the middle of the open ocean. Naturally, Captain Lee is infuriated by this development. How many things have to fly overboard before the deck crew gets it together? He instructs Eddie that it’s time to lay down the law. Because if Eddie doesn’t get the deck team in shape, the captain’s wrath will fall on him.
TELL US – DID JAKE’S EXPLANATION OF HIS NON-MONOGAMOUS ENGAGEMENT MAKE SENSE TO YOU? WHO’S FAILING WORSE AT THEIR JOB: JESSICA OR THE DECK TEAM? DOES JESSICA SEEM TO HAVE AN ATTITUDE PROBLEM?
[Photo Credit: Bravo]
