When last we left Below Deck Sailing Yacht, Chief Stew Daisy Kelliher was sobbing in her cabin. Daisy and Junior Stew Madison “Mads” Herrera had been doing their best to take care of the demanding charter guests, while the other junior stew, Lucy Edmunds, was doing “f*** all” at the beach.
In truth, Lucy and Deckhand Alex Propson were setting up a beach picnic for the guests. Hang in there, Daisy! You’ll have time to catch your breath as soon as they all leave on the tender and head to the beach. You’ve dealt with far worse than these guests.
“I am so f***ing frustrated right now that if I didn’t cry, honestly, I think I would set the boat on fire,” Daisy interviewed. I get it, girl! Been there. Guys get angry and punch something. Girls cry. It’s stress relief.
Meanwhile, the guests chose to delay their beach trip by half an hour, while TJ and Lauren finished their breakfast. Having “f*** all” to do at the beach while she was waiting for them to arrive, Lucy decided to do some yoga.
Life’s a beach (picnic)
At last, the guests were ready for First Mate Gary King to tender them over to the beach. Primary guest John decided to take a last-minute pee over the side of the boat, rather than using the day head which was just steps away. His young son Jacob chastised him, “Dad! That’s gross!” I’m surprised John didn’t tell him, “This is how real sailors do it, son.”
After dropping the guests at the beach, Gary headed back to the Parsifal III for the food. In the galley, Chef Ileisha Dell was admitting, “Buffalo wings aren’t really my thing.” Really? I never really thought about it, but I guess buffalo wings are an American thing. What would be the Brit equivalent of a buffalo wing then? Beans on toast? A bacon butty? The latter sounds delish, by the way.
At the beach, the guests were throwing an American football around. When John threw the ball to his son, guest Lauren tried to block him from catching it and got smacked in the back of the head by the ball. Everybody laughed it off, as Lucy commented, “Please, no more [head injuries].”
After delivering the food to the beach, Gary asked Lucy, “Are you coming with me [back to the boat]?” When she shook her head no, Gary said sadly, “No? Dammit. Thought we were gonna have a little romantic cruise in the tender.” He never stops trying, does he?
The guests enjoyed Ileisha’s buffalo wings but had nowhere to dispose of the bones. John complained about having to put the stripped bones back into the bowl with the uneaten wings. Suddenly, Jacob toppled backward in his deck chair, taking the cocktail table of food with him into the sand. “I started falling, [and] by instinct, I put my hand on the table,” he explained.
“This is a f***ing sh** show,” Lucy muttered to herself. Back at the boat, Daisy gasped as she read Lucy’s text, “John has been complaining a lot, and now Jake’s knocked all the food into the sand. It’s f***ing ruined! I don’t think they’re too happy.”
Working together in the galley, Chief Engineer Colin MacRae and Chef Ileisha noticed Daisy’s dismay. “What’s going on?” the chef asked.
“All good?” Colin wondered. “Dais?” She just shook her head.
“F***ing f*** my life!” Daisy texted back to Lucy, telling Colin and Ileisha, “I’m so over this. Oh my God.”
Up on the bridge, Daisy informed Captain Glenn, “Just so you’re prepared, [John]’s complaining a lot.”
“It is what it is,” Glenn said philosophically, as Daisy walked away muttering, “I’m just over it.”
“It’s not that stressful,” Gary chimed from the banquette, where he was comfortably reclining during work hours. “I really thought they were enjoying it. I’m having a good time with them.” How would you even know, Gary? The guests are back at the beach, and you’re relaxing on the bridge sucking up to the captain. Way to be supportive. This is not gonna win you any points with Daisy in the romance department. No wonder she chose Colin.
“I feel like Gary lives in his own world,” Daisy interviewed. “At the end of the day, if there are any complaints coming back, it’s gonna be about the interior [department]. But [Gary] doesn’t give a sh** how I feel.”
“I’m having dinner with them tonight,” Gary told Glenn. “I’ll make it all happen.”
Ileisha cuts a bitch (herself)
Because the food had been dumped in the sand, the guests decided it was time to return to the boat. “You know when you go to a nice resort, and then you leave the resort and go into town, you’re like … uh, let’s get back to the resort,” John said. I guess that meant he was done with the beach. “I think we’re ready to head back if you guys are cool,” he told Lucy.
In the galley, Daisy was saying, “I hate people. I hate life.”
“Why are you always in a grumpy mood these days, Daisy?” Colin asked her. Maybe you can do something about that soon, Colin?
Clearly, Daisy and Lucy weren’t the only ones on the boat feeling the tension. While chopping vegetables for dinner, Ileisha inadvertently sliced the tip of her fingernail off. Captain Glenn just happened to be there, and asked, “You okay? Want something to clean that out?”
“I should know better,” Ileisha interviewed. “I’m no stranger to injuries when I’m rushing. One time in the kitchen, I nearly cut my whole thumb off. I passed out, blood everywhere, white face. I needed to go to the hospital. But you have to suck it up, and shake it off.” Good story, Ileisha. Ewwwww.
Chase and Gary have more drama
In the meantime, deckhand Chase Lemacks had overslept. Having worked the night shift, he was supposed to wake up at 2:30, but he mistakenly thought it was 3:30. Gary went to check on him at 3:15 and found him making his bunk.
“On the page, it’s there,” Gary told him. “I can’t remind you all the time. Do you mind going and helping pack away the swim platform?”
“On my way,” Chase told his boss — to his face. But in an interview, of course he had to push back, per usual. “F***ing Gary. That’s not what he said yesterday … Even when I’m right, I’m f***ing wrong for it.” Even though Gary mistakenly told him 3:30, 2:30 was the time written on the schedule. Check the schedule next time, Chase. The written record always wins.
The Parsifal III goes for a sail
Finally, Glenn radioed the interior, “We’re gonna start putting sails up.” The wind was gusting up to 25 knots (just under 29 mph), so it should be a wild ride. At the same time, Ileisha was preparing dinner in the galley. It must be so much fun to try to prepare an elegant dinner while your kitchen is leaning at a 20° angle. I guess this is the job she signed up for, though.
As the boat heeled over, things went flying off the counter in the galley. “Not the beans!” the chef cried in dismay. “F*** me!” In the salon, Gary and Lucy were having fun body sledding across the sloping wooden floor. Behind the bar, Mads joked, “You know what? I’m sick of being the only one that works here.” All three laughed since they had all been goofing around.
Gary gets his flirt on
Coming across Mads all alone in the laundry, Gary wasted no time. “Hey, my fave!” he said while closing the laundry room door. “Listen, I just want to hang out and get to know you. It’s not easy while we work though.”
When Mads agreed, he added, “You don’t really get the time [to get acquainted]. And then when we go out, everyone’s together.”
“And everyone loves me,” Mads joked.
“We’re just gonna have to stay up and wait in the jacuzzi until everyone goes to bed,” the First Mate continued. “I need affection, girlfriend.”
“I think you’ve got the wrong one,” Mads told him. In an interview, she admitted, “I don’t think Gary gets me at all. I think the affection and love bombing is just so cringy to me. I’m not an affectionate person.”
“Well, we can change that,” Gary offers. I think Mads is more into Alex than Gary. We’ll see what happens on their next night off.
Back in the galley, Daisy told Gary that even though the dinner was to celebrate guest John’s book launch, he was planning to present awards to each of his guests. Gary volunteered to emcee the awards dinner, to which Glenn was also now invited.
Lucy melts the guest’s dinner dress
Attempting to steam the wrinkles out of guest Lauren’s dinner dress, Lucy accidentally melted the material with an iron that was too hot. “Mads!” she shouted for help.
Hearing the cries for help, Colin stuck his head out of his cabin. “What happened?”
“I just burned her dress!” she explained. “Her dress just melted on me. I was steaming it … My mum’s going to be so disappointed in me.”
Waking Daisy from her nap, Mads broke the sad news, “Lucy may have ruined the guest’s dress.”
“We can reimburse her,” Daisy said, as she examined the melted dress. “It says you can iron it, so steam shouldn’t have done that. Give me two minutes,” she was wrapped in a towel, “and I’ll come out and I’ll speak to her, apologize.”
Once again Daisy was concerned about getting negative reviews at the end of the charter. “Having to tell this guest that we have f***ed up so majorly bad and that probably we’re gonna get some more sh**ty feedback from Glenn, my anxiety is sky-high right now,” she said in an interview.
But when she went to tell the guest about the melted dress, despite a lot of OMGs, she really wasn’t angry. Daisy assured her they would reimburse her for the damage, but Lauren was very gracious and said it was okay. She didn’t make the fuss Daisy expected.
Daisy’s a stress case
While setting the table for dinner with Gary and Lucy, Daisy asked them, “What would you do if I walked off [the boat] today?”
“I think we would handle it pretty well,” Gary quipped. “You just create a stress environment, Daisy.”
Daisy thought he was pretty mean, while Lucy interviewed, “All the tension between Daisy and Gary could go one way or the other. And obviously, negative energy can affect crew, so I definitely hope they sort out their sh**.”
“You don’t stress me out at all,” Gary added. “I don’t stress.”
“But I just stress everyone else out,” Daisy responded.
“Everyone else, yeah,” Gary admitted.
When Gary, Glenn and the guests were seated at the table, Daisy complained, “I hate that we have to serve Gary.” This is the second time Gary was invited to eat with the guests since he returned from quarantine. Isn’t this only his second charter back?
One of the guests asked Glenn the meaning behind the boat’s name, Parsifal. “It’s from King Arthur,” he answered. “A German composer wrote an opera about Parsifal. They’ve named the Parsifal after the opera, which is after the knight.”
While trying to distract the guests with small talk, Glenn noticed that there was a long time between courses. The primary’s son Jacob was rubbing his eyes with sleepiness. That’s what happens when you start dinner at 9:00 pm. Who can eat that late? Normally, I’m thinking about bed at that hour.
Dessert and the awards ceremony were to take place upstairs on the flybridge deck. While the crew was waiting to start the presentation, Daisy was irritated that Gary took a cigarette break before coming upstairs and gave him a hard time about it. Even Colin said he’d been waving at Gary to come up.
Though he apologized and said he didn’t hear the radio call, he was annoyed at being called out. “I don’t give a f*** what you say, I’m the chief officer here,” he said in a production interview. “If I want to have a f***ing cigarette, I’m gonna have a cigarette. F***, Colin. I thought you were on my side. What the f*** is going on?” Struck a nerve there, I guess. I thought you never lost your cool, Gary. Not so cool now, huh?
Colin’s a good listener
Looking for a sympathetic shoulder to cry on, Daisy knocked on Colin’s door while Gary was still upstairs emceeing the awards ceremony. Is this the beginning of their relationship?
“I’m just f***ing tired,” she told him. “Like, it’s [been] a long day. I’m having to manage a lot. To have a girl do service when the guests are off the boat, no matter what they’re doing or drinking. I just feel so much pressure, and … anything that goes wrong, it looks bad on me.”
“I feel like Gary’s so unapproachable,” she continued. “Like, he’s just sick of me saying stuff. I just don’t want to have another conversation about it.”
At least Colin was supportive of Daisy’s feelings and didn’t just brush her off like Gary had. Daisy really appreciated having him see her side. “If it weren’t for Colin, I would feel so alone,” she admitted.
“You’re doing a good job,” Colin said, giving her a big hug. “You’re a great chief stew. I notice how much you do.”
Daisy was feeling a little betrayed by Gary’s attitude about her frustration, especially since she thought they’d gotten close working together. “I feel like I can speak for the entire crew,” she said. “Gary, go f*** yourself.”
As everyone else was off to bed, Chase was once again complaining about having to do the anchor watch. “Cleaning the boat all night, it’s a f***ing sh** job … [but] I’m crushing it.”
As a beautiful purple and orange sunrise rose above the Mediterranean, Chase stood at the end of the swim deck and said, in a Mario voice, “That’s-a very pretty.”
The guests say goodbye and Daisy has a meltdown
I’m going to miss these guests. Though they could be demanding at times, they were actually lovely, kind people, which is rare on this show.
While Ileisha was preparing breakfast in the galley, John was trying to rouse at least one member of his family out of bed to keep him company up on deck. It was their last morning on the Parsifal, and he wanted to savor every minute remaining.
As the boat motored toward the marina, Glenn asked Gary to give the marina a call and let them know they’d be returning to their berth in just a few minutes. The guests finished their packing just as Glenn pulled the boat into her slip. But as he was maneuvering the last few feet, John came up to chat, bless his heart. Not a good idea to distract the captain while he’s trying to safely dock a multi-million dollar vessel.
As he was saying goodbye to the crew, John couldn’t have been more gracious. “You guys are the Greatest of All Time Yacht Crew! Thank you so much!” After handing Glenn a fat tip envelope, he waved goodbye and walked down the dock to join his friends and family.
Back in the galley, Daisy vented to Ileisha about Gary saying it was “one of the best charters ever,” when she had been struggling. She wondered if he said it just to piss her off. “Honestly, I couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic or trying to wind me up.”
Ileisha called it a “dick move” for Gary to make that comment when he knew Daisy was having such a hard time. “F***ing Gary. Such a f***ing wanker.” I love that word “wanker.” It’s so British and so proper, while still being a bit cheeky. Good to see the Aussies have taken it under their wing. I need to add that one to my vocabulary.
When he gathered the crew in the “saloon” for the tip meeting, even Glenn admitted, “It wasn’t our easiest charter, but we got through it.” After addressing the safety issues with the water toys, Glenn asked Daisy to address what they can do to improve service. Revealing her stress around this issue, the chief stew asked if they could move on and address it later in private, and Glenn agreed. As the conversation moved on, Daisy was obviously still upset and tearfully excused herself from the meeting.
“Let’s just pause for a minute,” Glenn said, noticing Daisy’s distress as Gary followed her from the room.
“Hey, Dais,” the first mate called after her.
“I’m gonna be fine, I just need five minutes,” she told him. “Honestly, I’m fine. I’m f***ing trying.”
“I know you are,” Gary soothed. “You’re trying your hardest. Don’t let it affect you … The girls are so f***ing grateful for all your help.” And he grabbed her in a bear hug. Finally! She just needed a little understanding, and he showed up for his friend in the end.
This time it was Colin who didn’t understand what Daisy was so upset about. Even though she’d had that conversation with him the night before and expressed her frustration, he said, “I don’t know what she’s crying about.” Come on, Colin. Don’t be a dick.
In a production interview, Gary confessed, “Don’t get me wrong, Daisy annoys the f*** out of me, but I feel very protective over Daisy, and I don’t like seeing her break down like this.”
Glenn followed them down to the crew quarters and told Daisy to “take a moment,” but she assured him she was fine. He told her, “I don’t want you to think I’m picking on you.”
“It’s not you I’m upset with,” Daisy told the captain. “Even though it’s not a personal attack, I’m gonna feel personally responsible.” The pressure just got to her, but she said she was fine now and could return to the meeting. It’s like a pressure cooker. The pressure just builds until it has to be released as steam. Daisy let off some steam, and now she felt better, although a little embarrassed at losing control of her emotions.
“I’m doing the best that I can,” she said, “but I’m human. And there’s only so much f***ing crap I can take.”
Colin stepped in to defend Glenn. “I think it’s important to note that everyone is doing a fantastic job … When [Glenn] gives us constructive criticism, it’s for all of us to improve. He’s not attacking anyone or putting anyone down.” Thank you for that sanctimonious statement, Colin. I think you’re missing the point here.
“You want to talk about frantic?” Colin said in a side interview. “You talk about my first charter [when the engine wasn’t working]. Quite a stressful situation, [but] you didn’t see me crying.” Colin just didn’t understand the pressure Daisy was under.
But what everyone really wanted to hear about was the tip. It was $23,000 US, $2,240 Euros each. (Why does Glenn always say “US dollars” and then switch to Euros? It’s confusing.) A very nice tip. That should turn those frowns upside down.
Following the tip meeting, the guys all went out on deck to hash over what just took place in the tip meeting. Colin didn’t understand why Daisy was being “so defensive.” But then he reopened the issue of Gary going for a cigarette break when the rest of the crew was waiting for him on the flybridge the night before. He called Gary’s making them wait a “bit of a dick move.”
Gary was pissed at Colin chiding him to “lead by example.” And just like that, Gary stalked off muttering, “F*** Colin.” Uh oh. Is their bromance on the rocks? It’s only gonna get worse in the coming weeks.
Below Deck Sailing Yacht continues Mondays at 8/7c on Bravo.
TELL US – DID YOU UNDERSTAND DAISY’S MELTDOWN IN THE TIP MEETING? DO YOU AGREE WITH COLIN THAT DAISY WAS BEING DEFENSIVE? OR DO YOU THINK HE JUST DIDN’T UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH STRESS SHE WAS UNDER?
