‘Below Deck Sailing Yacht’ Crew Had a Great Season 2, so Why Did They End With Only $106,450 in Total Tips?
Captain Glenn Shephard finished the Below Deck Sailing Yacht Season 2 with a tip meeting and shared that the crew collectively made $106,450 for the six-week season.
This equated to $11,830 per person, which was paid on top of the crew’s salary. The crew looked elated but also relieved that the tumultuous charter season had ended. And while $106,000 is nothing to sneeze at for six weeks of work, the Below Deck Sailing Yacht Season 1 crew earned nearly $37,000 more, ending with $143,000 in total tips. This was about $16,000 per yachtie. Also, the Below Deck Sailing Yacht Season 2 tips rank second to last in the overall tips franchise-wide. The Below Deck Season 1 crew earned the lowest amount in tips across the franchise at $56,650, Decider reports. So what happened?
The ‘Below Deck Sailing Yacht’ Season 2 crew hosted two charters that lasted only 1-day thanks to Covid
The lower overall tip amount can likely be blamed on Covid-19. The second charter of the season went belly-up when one guest reported having a high fever. The guests were tested for coronavirus and escorted off the boat. While they ended up testing negative, the guest was still presenting with symptoms so they couldn’t return to the boat and finish the charter. Even though they left early, they graciously tipped the crew a few hundred dollars each.
The last charter also ended in a Covid disaster. The guests who were supposed to embark upon the final charter all ended up testing positive for Covid. The crew wondered if their season had ended, but the owner of the neighboring yacht, Lady Michelle decided to treat the crew to a night on the sailing yacht. While the sailing yacht crew dreaded the notion of serving their peers, the experience ended up being positive. The yacht owner also generously tipped the crew for one night of work.
Executive producer Jill Goslicky referred to this season of Below Deck Sailing Yacht as the “miracle season” because she can’t believe they finished the season at the height of Covid. “We filmed this season of Sailing Yacht in August of 2020,” she shared during a Reddit Ask Me Anything. “Right in the thick of the pandemic. It was definitely scary, and a lot of uncertainty swirled around whether we would even be able to pull this season off.”
‘Below Deck Sailing Yacht’ Season 2 tip amounts were well within normal ‘Below Deck’ ranges
Beyond the two charters that didn’t go as planned, tips this season was relatively representative of what Below Deck yachties typically receive. Tip amounts ranged from Barrie Drewitt-Barlow’s $15,000 tip that came with numerous demands and for multiple days to $23,000 from Dr. Frank Martinis who had little to no requests.
Below Deck guests can get a little defensive about their tip amount, especially when it is dragged on either the show or social media. Drewitt-Barlow, who often complained about the food during his charter scoffed at complaints that his $15,000 tip was too low.
“If things would have been better, the tip would have been better!” Drewitt-Barlow replied to comments on Instagram. “Maybe next time it will be and I’ll leave more but right now, when people all over the world have no money, no jobs and no future, $15k is not something to look your nose down on! I wish someone would tip me that much Lol.”
