Captain Jason Describes Driving Vintage ‘Below Deck Down Under’ Yacht That Resembled a Wes Anderson Movie Prop [Exclusive]
Below Deck Down Under Season 2 yacht, the “vintage” M/Y Northern Sun almost seemed like it should have been driven by Bill Murray or Owen Wilson –any of filmmaker Wes Anderson‘s steady muses.
Instead, Captain Jason Chambers was at the quirky vessel’s helm and described the experience as being almost as zany as starring in a Wes Anderson film. The 1976 expedition yacht was retrofitted in 2007 but still had a challenging steering system.
“Coming into this, I knew I had a big challenge ahead,” Chambers told Showbiz Cheat Sheet. “Single screw variable pitch, which means the props move around. You don’t have a forward and a stern. The props actually turn. And that gives you your forward and back.”
“So you need time to slow down. Time to get ready. Time to engage and disengage. And it always wants to go to starboard,” he added. “So you’ve always got to use the weather, tide, and wind to help you steer. It was something to get to know very quickly.”
“Once again, like season 1 when we had bow thrusters go down on the first charter,” he recalled. “This was all in my head. And not only that, you drive from inside so you don’t know what’s going on. You need the reliance on your crew outside to tell you exactly where you are. And yeah, that causes issues in the future, too.”
‘Below Deck Down Under’ yacht was designed to catch whales
Thankfully, as far as driving the boat, Chambers had previous experience dealing with variable pitch on a much larger boat.
“But it was twin prop, which means you have the ability to move around,” he said. “When you got the single prop you lose that pivot ability. So you need to react a lot earlier. It’s very much like a sailing boat, you know, like when you have all these sailboats going around, these old captains know exactly what they’re doing. So I look at them with a lot of respect.”
Maneuvering a boat like this was especially challenging because of the reef system. “Around these reefs, for sure,” he said. “With the weather we had. Most definitely. It was a big, deep-drive vessel. It’s made for catching whales.”
“So, to move that thing around those reefs was quite difficult and it was challenging but rewarding and enjoyable,” Chambers said. “And I thrive for challenges and some accolades to go along with that for my career. So I’m quite chuffed I got this opportunity.”
Captain Jason isn’t the only crew member with a yacht challenge on ‘Below Deck Down Under’
Another crew member who faced a challenge due to the yacht’s vintage structure was the chef. “The galley could have been a little bit larger to suit our standards of what we wanted to do, but it is what it is,” he said. “We have to get the job done. Didn’t have the storage capacity that we thought it would have, but still, we had everything there to get your job going and be 100%.”
The chef last year had a state-of-the-art galley, but a tough attitude. This year was different. “The chef this year, she’s got a different emotion. It’s not a cranky, arrogant a**hole,” he laughed. “It’s actually an emotional … come on, let’s get through it. And it’s another growing thing. I really enjoyed it.”
“I had to get her up for those first charters to get going and get over those hurdles,” he revealed. “Because when she first walked on, it was not at all what she was expecting. And she felt that ‘How am I going to get through this?’ And we see growth over the first charter.”
Below Deck Down Under Season 2 premieres on Monday, July 17 at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.
