Which Group of ‘Below Deck’ Charter Guests Holds the Record for ‘Shortest Charter?’

Below Deck charters are typically a little shorter than what is seen in the industry. Most charters last about a week or more, but a Below Deck charter is usually only a handful of days.

That way, production can cram in as many new guest opportunities for the viewers to consume. Plus the shorter time period makes adventuring on a luxury yacht more affordable for the average traveler. Although Below Deck vacations run the same number of days (give or take a few), is there one group of guests who barely even stayed long enough to annoy the deck crew with incessant requests for water toys?

Captain Lee Rosbach recalls one group of guests, who he says holds the Below Deck record for having the shortest stay. Rosbach revealed this insight in front of a packed Florida crowd during a Stars Marketing Group event hosted by Colin Macy-O’Toole from Below Deck Mediterranean. So how short is “short?” Plus why does their trip hold the record?

The vacation only lasted less than one day

Rosbach was asked to dish about the best and worst charter guests. While he quickly named Timothy Sykes as his worst, he certainly wasn’t thrilled with the very first group of guests on the first show either. “There were two [groups of worst charter guests] that come to mind, not counting the druggies that I threw off the boat the first time,” Rosbach recalled. “They didn’t see that s**t coming their way, did they?”

The “druggies” were a group of photographers who chartered Honor to take them on a vacation/photoshoot. The primary arrived in his bathrobe and Rosbach knew he was possibly headed for a headache. “Did you see the look on their faces when I said we’re going back,” Rosback said while laughing.

Adding, “They hold the record. They were on the boat for less than 22 hours and they were gone.” Rosbach lowers his voice and says with unbridled delight, “I kept their money!”

But there was no tip for the crew

Rosbach was alerted to the drugs on board by the interior team. During turndowns, second stew Kat Held found some “white powder” and a rolled-up dollar bill in a cabin. Although it appeared that Held should go immediately to her boss with the information, she wrestled with a dilemma.

Held knew once she told chief stew Adrienne Gang, the group would be bounced, likely leaving the crew without a tip. But she knew that concealing the information would be far riskier. “A lot of us put years and years into getting our licenses,” she said in a confessional. “The smidgen of anything illegal will take that away from all of us.” 

Rosbach explained the serious nature of bringing illegal substances on the boat in his book, Running Against the Tide: True Tales from the Stud of the Sea. “It was a tough situation to be in,” he wrote, Bravo’s The Daily Dish reports. “On the one hand, we want clients to be happy. On the other hand, I don’t want my boat to get boarded by the Coast Guard, and I don’t want to go to jail for 25 years. I made the decision to kick them off the boat.” The crew quickly flipped the boat and welcomed the next group of guests.