Would João Franco From ‘Below Deck Med’ Hook Up With a Charter Guest Off the Boat?
Below Deck Mediterranean bosun João Franco has been watching Below Deck along with the rest of the viewers and recently weighed in on some of the current drama. The bosun turned captain recently addressed a question Captain Sandy Yawn re-tweeted about the crew’s behavior during a night on the town.
Bravo wondered if it was okay for the deck crew to kanoodle with some of the charter guests after they finished their charter. Two guests from the Charleston, South Carolina group met the crew at a bar in Thailand after their charter ended. Cameras captured bosun Ashton Pienaar getting extremely cozy with one guest, while deckhand Tanner Sterback pursued another guest.
Yawn presented the question about whether or not the behavior was appropriate and Franco explained why it is never appropriate to hook up with charter guests during the season.
Don’t do it
Although Franco has had a “boatmance” on the show, he draws the line with the guests. “That’s a solid no from me on or off the boat…,” Franco replied.
Franco was quick to answer but backed up his statement by sharing that he did hook up with charter guests when he was at a lower rank. “I will admit, I’ve done it at a lower rank on a Superyacht. but the higher I climb, the more sense everything my captains have told me makes and the more responsible I will be. don’t embarrass your boat, don’t embarrass your captain… don’t do something you can’t tell your cap,” he added.
But he understands that sometimes drunk crew members may not be thinking clearly. “They’re just guest on a boat… once they’re off, what’s the big deal? The ‘heart; wants what the ‘heart’ wants,” one person commented. But another person wrote, “‘heart’? I didn’t know the penis has a heart.” Franco chimed in, “Hahaha.., I’m afraid to say, the penis for some IS the heart.”
This is one reason why it isn’t appropriate
Franco went further to address the comment about the heart wanting what it wants. “Not, ‘they’re just,’ they are guests on the boat. They’re off but when we’re off we’re still on….,” he added.
The Valor crew said “farewell” to the guests only hours beforehand. The guests may have decided to continue their vacation in Thailand and remain in the area. But Franco points out the Valor crew was still in the middle of the season and he respects Captain Lee Rosbach’s stern rule of “don’t embarrass yourself and don’t embarrass the boat.”
In a confessional Pienaar admitted he already had his eye on one guest. “Working on a yacht there are always going to be beautiful people coming on board,” Pienaar said in a confessional. “I’m not going to cross the line but possibly just brush the line. Is that a thing? I’m not sure.” Later at the bar, Pienaar is seen kissing the guest. During the charter, Pienaar and the guest flirted endlessly too.
