There were high highs and low lows of Bravo's Below Deck Down Under season 2, where Captain Jason Chambers — along with some old and new Below Deck Down Under cast members — returned for another season on the superyacht Northern Sun. In partnership with Invisalign, Captain Jason chatted with What to Watch about the challenges of the second season cruising off the coast of Cairns, Australia.
While Bravo hasn't confirmed if Below Deck Down Under will return for a third season, Captain Jason certainly hopes so. "I need another season, there's more to be done," he said, noting that he'd love to work with Chief Stew Aesha Scott again.
Here's what else we talked about:
What to Watch: How was filming season 2 different from filming your first season?
Captain Jason: Well, the boat was a bit challenging, we saw that, we know that. And the weather was a little bit challenging out there, so we really had to pull out our stunts for entertainment. We had some great people with Harry [Van Vliet] and Culver [Bradbury] coming in, and Adam [Kodra] was fantastic, as well. All the crew were good to some point. We had to make some big changes, as you know, but all in all, I think we tried to get to the point where we produced the best possible outcome for crew and to the industry.
I think we did that in season 1, I think we got to the end and we had a successful charter and showcased how a crew should perform. And I think we did that in season 2, as well.
WTW: Speaking of those challenges, now that you're able to watch the season play out, do you think that Culver's worth ethic was more or less of an issue than you thought based solely off what João [Franco] was saying to you?
Captain Jason: Well, that topic came up when the Adam topic was right in my head [editor's note: Adam was fired for a mistake that put safety at risk], and then João brought that up. When that was brought up to me, I obviously don't see how Culver's work performance is until I watch the show with you all. But I think at that point I needed to make a change to put some strength in the deck.
Adam was a great guy, his certification was strong but for a different size boat and for a different position. He's more of a second officer in the bridge, not on deck, so we had to bring someone strong. So that point with João was, well if you want to be a captain, you got to learn to manage. And I did that for Jamie [Sayed] with Ben [Crawley] in season 1. And Jamie also agrees with me now that that was the right decision for him to learn how to manage a personality that he's not getting on well, and it’s helped him understand why I did that.
And I did that for João, as well. Go manage Culver, get him working, get over the personality, get in there deep, be a leader. And he's a captain now, so I'm sure he would've learned something from that situation. And I know he does. He has, he told me as well.
WTW: Why did you decide to keep Margot [Sisson] around even though she was drinking on charter?
Captain Jason: Definitely the drinking is an issue, for sure. At that point, Aesha came to me and said she smelled alcohol. I brought Margot up and questioned her to try to see her coherence. It seemed OK and fine, and I asked her, "how much you been drinking?" I think she was putting herself more in the hole. But she said she had been tasting a bit of the wine, had a little bit piña colada, so I actually left it at that. If I took it to the next level, I would have breath tested her and removed her.
No one caught her drinking. The thing that came to me was not, "I found her drinking." We just smelled alcohol. When you look back at it and you see the show being played out with cameras, there is [sic] moments that [there were] way too many and there was an issue there, which I know she's dealt with. And there's one big thing that was playing in my mind at that point, too, is her mental health as well. I know she went through a huge, big moment of sobriety, so I think she's learned a lot from it, and I know she's that sort of person that will learn from it and not do it again.
WTW: Which romance surprised you the most this season? There were quite a few.
Captain Jason: There was, wasn't it? João and Tzarina [Mace-Ralph] laid it on thick, weren't they? That was a nice, big courtship for a long time and then fizzled out at the end. He put in a lot of work for that. I don't think he'll put in that much work next time.
WTW: Can you tell me about your Invisalign journey?
Captain Jason: It was quick, it was easy and it was successful. I'm 50 years old, I did not think that I was going to have this done. I've been thinking about getting braces, but I've been told a few different things about having teeth extracted, about [it taking] two years. And then I ironically bumped into an Invisalign doctor, told her my situation when she told me what Invisaligns really are and she took me to a clinic, put me on a machine and told me I was going to have no teeth extracted and [it would take] six months. And what's the process? We'll give you 30 aligners, you go away, travel the world, do whatever you want to do, which I do, and you've got an app, take photos every week and we’ll tell you where your progress is. And six months later, I've got straight teeth.
Watch Below Deck Down Under season 2 on-demand on Peacock.
