Below Deck Season 11 is off to a rocky start, to the surprise of almost no one. Captain Kerry Titheradge is doing a great job, but his crew is already slacking. Chief Stew Fraser Olender is doing his best to keep his interior team together, although two of his stews have made it difficult for him.
Barbie Pascual and Cat Baugh are already clashing heads, and both women are partly in the wrong. However, Barbie’s side of the conflict is somewhat more understandable than Cats. As a result, while Barbie is not fully in the right, she is more so than Cat.
Barbie Has A Stronger Work Ethic
The issue at the core of Barbie and Cat’s feud is criticism of both of their work ethics. Fraser told his crew that he would not assign stripes until after the first charter, so for the time being both stews are on equal footing. Throughout the first charter, Barbie consistently felt frustrated by Cat’s slow work ethic. Cat, on the other hand, was frustrated when Barbie was talking to Captain Kerry as opposed to working.
While both women had valid points with these concerns, Barbie’s work ethic ultimately triumphs Cat’s. Barbie worked consistently throughout the first charter, so it was not a big deal when she took a few minutes off to talk to Captain Kerry. Cat, on the other hand, worked at the pace of a turtle. She consistently took breaks to hide in her cabin, so she did not have much of a leg to stand on to criticize Barbie.
Despite Fraser trying to kindly encourage her, Cat just did not pick up on the hint to work faster. Being a stew on Below Deck is no joke, so Cat’s speed will not cut it for much longer. Barbie, on the other hand, seems well cut out to be a stew. She worked hard consistently throughout the first charter, which Fraser picked up on as well.
Cat Overstepped Her Role
Cat consistently overstepped during the first two episodes, which was uncalled for. Cat acted like she was the Chief Stew at times, despite being the least experienced of the interior team.
Barbie never called out Cat directly on her slow work, but rather just complained about it to Fraser and during confessionals. Cat, on the other hand, went out of her way to directly confront Barbie and implied that she was not working. This was inappropriate, as Cat was not the Chief Stew and had no authority over Barbie. The only people with authority to call Barbie’s work ethic at this point would be Fraser or Captain Kerry.
Cat Also Went Out Of Her Way To Start Drama
It’s pretty clear that Cat wants drama, whereas Barbie does not. Cat claimed that she needed to take this issue to Fraser early, although there was not really an issue. Cat was annoyed by Barbie asking her for help with different tasks, although there was no reason for this. Fraser assigned Cat to the floating role during the first charter, which she should have respected. She could have told Barbie she needed to complete her current task, which she didn’t.
Cat decided to go to Fraser immediately, and told him that she felt disrespected by Barbie. While Barbie certainly could have taken a different approach, it would be a reach to call her actions disrespectful. Fraser heard Cat out, but it was evident that he also felt she was overreacting. Fraser made it very clear that he wanted his interior team to get along and respect one another, which Cat is already struggling with.
Lead Deckhand Ben Willoughby did not help, after he overheard what was going on between Barbie and Cat from Fraser. Ben decided to take matters into his own hands, and went to tell Barbie what he had heard. Understandably, Barbie was shocked, as she was not aware that Cat had felt so offended by what was going on.
While it is not uncommon for Below Deck stews to butt heads, the drama between Barbie and Cat is just borderline ridiculous. Barbie could certainly handle herself better, but Cat is just straight up unreasonable!
TELL US – WHO DO YOU THINK IS RIGHT, BARBIE OR CAT?
