Captain Kerry Says ‘Below Deck Adventure’ Struggled to Find Crew – ‘There Was a Huge Shortage of Crew’
Captain Kerry Titheradge revealed that it wasn’t easy to staff Below Deck Adventure and that he may have made different choices on hiring and firing if he had a bigger selection of crew.
The newest Below Deck series is set in Norway and the Below Deck Adventure crew needed to have the skill set to meet the demands of cold water yachting. Titheradge said chief stew Faye Clarke was great at her job. But he would have liked an option to replace other crew members in some instances, but couldn’t simply because he didn’t have the option.
The pandemic made replacing ‘Below Deck Adventure’ crew members tough
“What was interesting for me, for my season, was I was provided these crew in a time that is a huge shortage of crew,” he explained on The Gangplank Report podcast. “And you know we were in a remote area where we just couldn’t grab crew off the dock if I didn’t like them. If there were safety concerns, well, that’s one thing.”
“But some crew are a little harder to work with someone else on a typical day. Maybe I might have taken that option, but this season taught me something myself and it was actually a good learning experience,” he added.
Captain Kerry loved working with chief stew Faye Clarke
Titheradge was happy to have Clarke in the role of chief stew. “Not to give too much away but I’m glad I had a great chief stew on my season,” he said.
Clarke felt the same way about working for Titheradge. “What I loved about Captain Kerry is as soon as we got on, we did Health and Safety, which means a lot to me because some captains don’t,” she told Showbiz Cheat Sheet. “He made that a priority. So I instantly had respect for him. And then he was fun with the guests. He’d have a laugh and a joke with me, but then also tell me when I need to liven up a bit or whatever.”
“And if I came to him with a problem, he would deal with it,” she added. “He would tell me if I was being drama or if I was losing it. He’d tell me when I was good and I love working with him. He’s probably one of the best captains I’ve ever worked with.”
He has tremendous respect for the interior crew on ‘Below Deck Adventure’
Titheradge shared why has an extra amount of respect for the interior staff. “I have a lot of respect for the stewardesses because have to work with a smile,” he said. “Myself, I don’t have to smile. It’s expected the captain’s not gonna smile. You can get away with it.”
“But, interior staff, yeah, I have a lot of respect for the ladies,” he added. “That’s part of my season that really helped me appreciate people as well. It was my first time away where in the past I was married and have kids at home and I felt secure and comfortable. So it’s my first season to be away and to be a little vulnerable. Helped me appreciate my crew.”
Below Deck Adventure is on Tuesday at 9 pm ET on Bravo.
