Crew Overboard! ‘Below Deck’ Cast Members Who Were Fired During Their Charter Seasons

Wihan du Toit

Bosun Wihan Du Toit was caught by surprise when Captain Jason Chambers fired him during season 3, episode 11 of Below Deck Down Under, which aired on April 14, 2025.

The South Africa native had already clashed with the other heads of departments, including chief stew Lara Rigby and chef Tzarina Mace-Ralph. Jason had a talk with Wihan about taking more accountability in his job, but he didn’t rise to the occasion.

Wihan drove both Lara and deckhand Harry van Vliet to tears during confrontations in the April 7, 2025, episode. He also fueled a fight with deckhand and roommate Johnny Arvanitis that caused the Greece native to act out physically.

After the chaos that ensued, Jason called in several crew members to find out the levels of negativity Wihan had created among his coworkers.

“At the end of the day I feel you’re not taking accountability for all the things that have been happening. And with everything else that’s going on, I’m going to make a change. The only common denominator creating a divide in the team — it’s like an infection. And I need to cut the infection out. So, I’m going to let you go,” Jason told Wihan, who was truly caught off guard by his firing.

Johnny Arvanitis

Below Deck Down Under season 3 deckhand Johnny Arvanitis was let go in episode 11 after he let his emotions get the better of him and he acted out in a physically aggressive way.

Johnny was already upset with his boss and roommate, bosun Wihan du Toit, for upsetting several of his crew mates. He then walked in to find his love interest, sous chef Alesia Harris, had mistakenly crawled into Wihan’s bunk. Johnny flew into a rage at the sight of the pair cuddling, and he started swearing and punched a cabinet panel and a door before storming out.

The ruckus was loud enough to wake up Captain Jason Chambers, who told Johnny to leave the boat and head to a hotel for the night.

Upon his return the following morning, Jason told Johnny, “Look, you have worked so well, but punching walls and having that aggression, I can’t tolerate it, for the safety of the crew and us going forward. I have to let you go.”

Johnny took the firing surprisingly well and agreed it was for the best, as his time on the ship was bringing out a terrible side of him.

“I understand. Because this part of myself does not really exist inside me anymore, to show this again, after so many years, it’s something I really hate. And for me, I don’t really belong here. So, no hard feelings. Thank you for everything you taught me,” Johnny told Jason before leaving the yacht.

Emma Crouch

First mate Gary King brought his concerns about Emma’s “lack of initiative” to Captain Glenn in Below Deck Sailing Yacht season 5, which ultimately led to the captain firing her.

“Right now you’re not delivering what we need in Gary’s department. For me, you’re not showing the initiative that I would expect and that we really need to do this job, and people have to pick up the slack. Unfortunately, we need somebody in your position that has more skills than you’re showing now,” Glenn told Emma.

Emma began to cry and said, “You’ve obviously made your mind up.” Though Glenn said she could make a good deckhand, she responded, “In the nicest way possible, I really don’t want to carry on this conversation … I really appreciate everything, but I really don’t want to carry this on.”

However, Emma collected herself and returned to have a final chat with Glenn, who encouraged her to continue her yachting career.

“This isn’t how I wanted the season to end. I do feel a bit at a loss,” Emma said in a confessional. “I feel like I need a few days to actually absorb everything. I know that my anxiety does flare up quite a lot, and I need to be better at accepting that mistakes are something you can learn from. I’ve met some really amazing people. It would’ve been a lot harder without the people who made me smile being here. I’m gonna be forever grateful.”

Anthony Iracane

The Frenchman cooked with love but stumbled from the start, not providing enough food for crew meals initially. While his dishes initially received raves from the St. David’s passengers, Anthony’s confidence began to falter with more complex dietary requests from charter guests, resulting in meal mistakes and slow timing.

The final straw came on the April 22, 2024, episode, where guests complained about the quality and timing of his courses, resulting in the lowest tip of the season. Captain Kerry let him go at the end of the charter.

“I think you are an incredible chef. Your food is absolutely amazing. But you are starting to nosedive,” Kerry told Anthony. “You don’t see where things are going wrong with the service? For a start, crew food was not a priority. The food has been late. You are making mistakes and not being prepared. I am seeing guests not being satisfied with what you are doing. This is not the environment for you. You are not flourishing.”

Anthony was surprised, replying, “I don’t know what you are talking about. I know I made a little mistake but I am human. Then why do people everyday tell me I am the most amazing chef in the world?”

“There is more to being a chef on a super yacht — with the pressures we have on this boat — than being an amazing chef,” the captain said. “If I keep you any longer, I will set you up for disaster. I am doing you a favor. I have a lot of respect for you.”

Kerry added: “It is heartbreaking. I do not like this at all. The crew started to notice that the chef was failing us. If I kept this up any longer, morale would be terrible and I can’t have that.”

Jared Woodin

Below Deck season 11’s bosun was let go by Captain Kerry Titheradge on the March 18, 2024, episode. He had been warned about getting too drunk on crew nights out and not being able to function well the following day. He also had several major screwups while assisting in docking the St. David and got aggressive with deckhand Kyle Stillie while intoxicated over a tobacco spillage.

“This is the second time you’ve gone on the piss and you’ve had bad behavior. You’re in a leadership role. You can’t be acting like that. You gotta be above the fray. The way that you’re treating these guy is not acceptable,” Kerry told Jared the morning after walking in on him berating Kyle.

The captain was also aware that Jared was ​stressed that he had been unable to make his weekly calls to his daughter in Alaska while on the ship, which led to him not being as attentive in his position as he should have been.

“You’ve got s–t going on, man. You’re your own worst enemy right now. You need to depart the vessel,” Kerry told a shocked Jared, who ultimately agreed he wasn’t in the head space to be in the ​fast-paced world of yachting with all that was going on in his personal life.

Adam Kodra

The Brooklyn native’s background on commercial ships didn’t translate well to his first outing as a deckhand on a super yacht during season 2 of Below Deck Down Under. After making several mistakes, including not lowering a fender in time during docking so that The Northern Sun hit a pylon, Adam accidentally dropped the anchor while the ship was moving at full cruising speed, which could have been catastrophic if not quickly correctly by bosun João Franco.

Captain Jason thought that error was serious enough that he no longer trusted Adam with duties aboard his boat. In the August 28, 2023, episode, Adam was let go in favor of bringing in a strong lead deckhand to keep the rest of the deck crew operating smoothly.

“You’re definitely a good bloke, you’re definitely good in the bridge, but on deck I don’t think you have the experience for super yachts and that anchor being dropped underway is kind of where I draw the line,” Captain Jason told Adam, adding, “We’re gonna let you go and we’re gonna bring in a lead deckhand. I just need someone with a lot more experience.” Luka Brunton came aboard in time for the next charter to help take charge of the deck under João.

The well-liked Adam was all class in his response, telling Jason, “I apologize for even creating that for the time that I was here, but thank you so much for giving me the opportunity.” He said in his confessional that he was going back to working on commercial vessels but hoped to give super yachting another try one day.

Luke Jones

The season 2 Below Deck Down Under bosun was escorted off the boat and fired after he crawled naked into stew Margot Sisson’s bunk after she was passed out following a crew night out that involved heavy drinking. During the episode that aired on August 7, 2023, producers dramatically tried to pull Luke off a sleeping Margot and he eventually stumbled back to his cabin and locked the door. Chief stew Aesha Scott found out about what happened and immediately woke up Captain Jason Chambers to alert him to the situation. Luke was sent to a nearby hotel and returned to the yacht in the morning, where Jason terminated him on the spot. Although Luke didn’t remember what happened due to being heavily intoxicated, he accepted his dismissal and left The Northern Star for good.

Laura Bileskalne

The second stew’s open lack of empathy for what happened to a deeply shaken Margot following Luke’s actions led to her firing during the same episode. Not only did the Latvia native ask if she could say goodbye to Luke when Captain Jason told the crew he’d been let go, she went on to complain he shouldn’t have been fired and simply let off with a warning, not viewing what he did as something serious. Laura then told Margot that she would have been happy to have Luke crawl naked into her bed and didn’t understand why her coworker was rattled by the ordeal.

Laura also had issues with being an unwanted visitor in a crew member’s bed the same night as Luke’s actions. After overtly hitting on deckhand Adam Kodra repeatedly despite him telling her he wasn’t interested, she climbed into his bunk and began pouring massage oil on his back, even though he asked her to leave. Producers once again got involved and told Laura she needed to leave his cabin.

Aesha had already observed Laura making Adam uncomfortable and asked him about her behavior. Margot then came to her boss about the cold things Laura said to her regarding Luke’s actions. Aesha went to Captain Jason with the information, and he called both Adam and Margot to the bridge to hear their stories firsthand. Laura was then called in and Jason fired her on the spot for going against everything he said in the crew meeting about empathy and respecting other’s spaces.

Alissa Humber

The Below Deck season 10 second stew got on Captain Sandy Yawn’s bad side after the skipper fired her nemesis, Camille Lamb. Sandy perceived an “attitude” from Alissa and had enough of what she believed to be “insubordination” when during a one-on-one meeting, the stewardess referred to her boss by her first name only, then corrected herself to include “captain.”

“Yesterday was the [last] straw for me. Your insubordination and lack of respect is insurmountable,” the Below Deck Med captain told her interior member on the February 20, 2023, episode. “Alissa, when you said, ‘Yes Sandy. I mean Captain Sandy.’ That was a f—k you to my face. No matter what job you work in, respect for hierarchy is a must. I am letting you go,” she told a shocked Alissa, who was then escorted off the yacht by bosun Ross McHarg.

It appears Alissa will be the last crew member Sandy fires, as at the end of the episode she got a call from Captain Lee Rosbach, telling her he’d been medically cleared to return to the St. David and would take back his skippering duties the following day.

Camille Lamb

The Below Deck season 10 deck/stew seemed to want to be a guest aboard the St. David rather than an employee. She complained about tasks she was given, repeatedly ignored instructions and clashed nonstop with second stew Alissa Humber.
Even Captain Sandy Yawn scolded Camille for her “fresh mouth” after she made multiple negative comments over the ship-wide radios. The Mississippi native was given one final charter to show improvement or get fired. Camille made it through the voyage by the skin of her teeth, even though she got in a screaming match with Alissa in front of the charter’s guests.
The final straw came on turn over day, when she knocked off early from cleaning cabins to drink champagne and party with the deck crew on the dock. Chief stew Fraser Olender had enough after catching Camille with a “pint” full of champagne aboard the yacht when she should have been working, saying in a confessional that Camille showed “no care or willingness to do the job.”
Fraser went to Sandy and recommended Camille be let go, and she was subsequently terminated by the captain at the end of the January 16, 2023, episode.
The blonde beauty later claimed she was encouraged to drink by producers during a confessional taping off the boat before being sent back to the yacht to finish her work in a “sauced” condition.

Kyle Dickard

The first yachtie from the new franchise addition Below Deck Adventure was sent packing in the show’s third episode on November 15, 2022. The brusque deckhand from Texas had already made one of the stews uncomfortable by kissing her in front of guests, which got back to a very irked Captain Kerry.
Kyle then threatened his bunkmate Nathan Morley when he politely reminded Kyle that he kept forgetting to flush their toilet. The self-proclaimed “cowboy” threatened to “tussle” with his roommate over the issue. Nathan took his concerns for his safety to Kerry, who gave Kyle the option of resigning or being fired and having it on his yachting record. The former rodeo clown chose the former, leaving The Mercury down their most experienced deckhand hours before a new charter was about to get underway.

Ryan McKeown

The Below Deck Down Under season 1 chef proved to have the most “can’t do” attitude of any cook to hit the franchise’s galley. He constantly criticized guests’ meal and food requests even though they were paying tens of thousands of dollars for five-star cuisine on their charters, underperformed when he thought their dinner selections were boring and generally slacked off on doing anything more than the absolute basics of his job.
When Captain Jason Chambers told him he needed to up the “wow” factor in his cuisine, Ryan got combative with his boss rather than take the constructive criticism to heart. He stepped it up for one charter’s worth of meals before falling back into his lazy ways, making simple and not very tasty tacos for a charter that asked for a full Mexican “fiesta” worth of food.
Jason tried to replace Ryan earlier in the season, but no chefs were available to work on the Thalassa. Between his bad attitude, underwhelming food, constantly clashing with chief stew Aesha Scott and all-around disrespect toward his crew mates, Jason finally gave Ryan the heave-ho when a new chef became available with two charters left in the season. Showing his total lack of class, Ryan pulled his pants down and mooned Jason while leaving the boat.

Magda Ziomek

The season 1 Below Deck Down Under stew drove the rest of her interior team, as well as Captain Jason Chambers, crazy with the overwhelming amount of time she spent on her phone texting and and FaceTiming with her boyfriend back in Poland. It proved to be a total distraction from her work duties, as well as literally giving her sleepless nights. Her ineffective performance with laundry, cleaning cabins and serving guests ultimately led to her downfall, as Magda was let go with only two charters remaining in the season.

Raygan Tyler

The season 7 Below Deck Med bosun had some big shoes to fill leading Captain Sandy’s deck team after Malia White didn’t return due to taking a higher position on another boat. Raygan spent more time on smoke breaks than working and completely failed at managing her deck crew. Raygan wasn’t able to correctly determine the simple distance between the yacht and a floating piling while the vessel was docking, causing the boat to hit it.

Even the charter guests openly complained about her total lack of interest in helping them with water activities … which was an integral part of her job. Captain Sandy let her go and promoted far more competent deckhand Storm Smith to the bosun position.

Tom Pearson

The Englishman was fired from Below Deck Sailing Yacht season 3 after repeatedly showing his lack of work ethic. Then he allowed the Parsifal III’s anchor to drag during heavy winds while on night watch and failed to alert anyone to the vessel’s dire situation. While Captain Glenn Shepard is a pretty easygoing guy, Tom just proved to be too much of a liability to keep aboard his sailing yacht.

Lexi Wilson

The former Bahamian beauty queen came aboard season 6 of Below Deck Med with plenty of attitude. She was definitely not there to make friends and had an especially combative relationship with chef Matt Shea. Her constant clashes with her crew mates led Captain Sandy to fire Lexi for the good of onboard morale.

Elizabeth Frankini

The yoga and crystal enthusiast was just not cut out for the speediness and timeliness of interior work aboard a super yacht. Elizabeth was a constant headache for chief stew Francesca Rubi on season 8 of Below Deck. She turned out to cause literal headaches when she bleached a shirt in the laundry room and accidentally made a toxic gas mixture that spread to the crew mess and other areas of the boat.

She spent more time flirting with deckhand James, with whom she’d had a brief boatmance and didn’t want to let things go, than she did working. In addition, she was not being able to follow directions and assignments Francesca was repeatedly having to give her. After multiple talks between Ches and Captain Lee Rosbach about Liz’s poor performance, she was let go from her stew position.

Shane Coopersmith

The inexperienced deckhand was more interested in getting his message out about saving the planet than he was in helping assist the deck crew in keeping My Seanna in ship-shape. He had to learn basic knots, didn’t understand assignments given to him by first mate Eddie Lucas and decided to take naps whenever he felt tired … in addition to missing his wake-up alarm and being late for his shift.

Shane was fired early on in season 8 of Below Deck for just not cutting it with basic deckhand duties. Fortunately, he did succeed in his environmental mission to replace plastic straws on yacht with paper ones!

Hannah Ferrier

The show’s most controversial firing, EVER. After 5 seasons as Captain Sandy’s chief stew on Below Deck Med, Hannah was let go for having undeclared valium which she kept for panic attacks (and had a prescription for) as well as a vape pen.

The items were discovered by her bunkmate, bosun Malia White, after Hannah had a crippling anxiety attack. She took photos of Hannah’s items and forwarded them to Sandy. The captain immediately fired Hannah, as she hadn’t declared her medication before the season got underway and the valium was deemed by Sandy to be “drugs” onboard her vessel.

Peter Hunziker

Below Deck Med season 5 viewers never got to know Pete because he was fired in June 2020, just before the show premiered, for posting a racially charged meme to his social media. Producers had him edited out of the season as a result, though his presence was still seen occasionally in docking shots and other scenes where he was visible in the background.

Mila Kolomeitseva

While she claimed to be Cordon Bleu trained, the Below Deck Med season 4 chef proved to be seriously lacking in simple cooking skills. After attempting to serve sad-looking plain cheese nachos to guests, she later revealed she didn’t know how to make pancakes.

Since five-star food is one of the reasons guests book a super yacht trip, Captain Sandy quickly let Mila go and replaced her with third stew Anastasia Surmava. Anastasia proved to be far more adept in the kitchen, until chef Ben Robinson arrived mid-season to finish out the rest of the charters aboard the Sirocco.