‘Below Deck Sailing Yacht’ EP Explains Why the Series Is His ‘Favorite Child’ – ‘Inherent … Chaos’

As the third Below Deck iteration, Below Deck Sailing Yacht has become a “favorite child” for executive producer Courtland Cox.

Cox has been there from the beginning, starting with Below Deck Season 1. He was in his 19th season and explained why he prefers Below Deck Sailing Yacht. “I enjoy sailing,” he told Below Deck Sailing Yacht‘s Colin MacRae. “I love all of them, but again, it’s like saying, favorite child. They’re all great, but this one I relate to more because I enjoy the dynamic portion of sailing on a yacht. You shut off the motors, put up the sails. That’s an experience unlike anything else.”

‘Below Deck Sailing Yacht’ EP said he couldn’t write a better show

MacRae interviewed Cox and the Below Deck Sailing Yacht crew in a 26-minute “behind the scenes” video shared on his Sailing Parlay Revival YouTube channel. Cox addressed the notion that the series could be scripted.

“It goes back to the original appeal of the pitch,” he said. “The original idea of the pitch was this world exists. And it’s real people doing a real job and like any real job, there is inherent drama and inherent tension and inherent everything … chaos. And so on a boat, you guys are all living and working in a tiny space. And so there’s always gonna be something that’s going on.

The guests are a wild card,” he added. “I’ve been a writer for a lot of my life I could not write the things that actually happen on this show. The real world of this show and the real things that happen on the show are more creative and more amazing than anybody could actually conceive of.”

Why is shooting ‘Below Deck Sailing Yacht’ different from ‘Below Deck’

Below Deck Sailing Yacht is the only series to divert from the motor yacht format. Cox explained how filming on a sailing yacht differs from filming on a motor yacht. “So Sailing is different because the boat is smaller, but there’s more going on,” Cox said.

“I actually like Sailing myself personally, because there’s more to keep track of,” he continued. “When sails go up it’s more dynamic. It’s like there’s a lot more going on with you guys as a crew than there is on a motor yacht.” An obvious difference between the sailing versus the motor yacht crew are the bunking arrangements. Three crew members (instead of two) can share a cabin. Plus, a “lucky” crew member shares a cabin with Captain Glenn Shephard. So, even the bunking arrangements can lend to more drama.

‘Below Deck Sailing Yacht’ camera operator describes the camera as a ‘beast’

Below Deck Sailing Yacht camera operator Vinnie Codispoti uses a Sony FX9 6K camera, which he described as a “giant beast to carry around for eight or nine hours a day.”

“We shoot at 1080 but we use the full sensor,” he told MacRae. The camera weighs about 25 pounds, “depending on how it’s configured and what personal things I put on it for myself.” The camera crew also work in tight quarters and have to ensure they don’t get in the crew’s way while they work.

“The main thing is to stay out of your way while you’re working,” he told MacRae. “Because your job is paramount to what we’re doing. You gotta keep us all safe on the boat and do all your stuff.”