Below deck viewers have always wondered what happens if, and when, a vessel crashes. For season’s we’ve been teased, with crew and editing working together to making you feel that with every ‘pull in’ and ‘out’ of a marina, an accident could happen; it was almost just a matter of when. Now thanks to its newest spin off, Below Deck Down Under we are getting some insight as to who could foot the bill when one of these superyachts sustains significant damage, and, it’s messy to say the least.
Starcasm reports, the Bravo reality show producers, Mountain View Productions LLC, are being sued by the owners of the Thalassa yacht for over $9 million in damages. I suppose, it was foolish to think it was as easy as yacht insurance?
The 55 foot yacht’s actual name is M/Y Kery Lee III and owned by Australian couple Trevor Lee, a Australian beef entrepreneur and Kery Craig- Lee, a fashion designer. Via their company Keri Lee Charters Pty Ltd (KLC), they are suing MVP, alleging that the vessel was damaged during a Below Deck charter.
Unfortunately for us, the lawsuit is being managed in April by an independent arbitrator and will not be made public. There is however the initial legal dispute as to whether the production company could subpoena the companies that inspected the yacht before and after the damage. Those documents are public and revealed some clues about what could be going on in the lawsuit.
The documents detail that Keri Lee Charters Pty Ltd (KLC) alleges 12.85 million in damages occurred during a May charter. The timing supports their case, as filming happened during the months of May to June in 2021. As for what was damaged, it appears the keel may have been affected as it is noted in the documents, the “keel of the vessel was laid in November 1998 and it was launched in 2002”.
The documents also discuss the paint job on the hull noting, “The vessel was most recently refurbished in 2020. Although the points of claim say that the refurbishment was ‘in or about late 2020 and early 2021’, the on hire survey report records that various areas of the hull paint (exterior) were newly applied in September 2020. I infer that that is likely to have occurred near the end of the refurbishment rather than at the commencement. In order to cover the refurbishment and the lead up to it, I consider that it is justified to require production of the categories of documents sought by items 4 and 5 of the schedule from 1 January 2020.” The judge ruled in the favor of MVP, giving them the ability to subpoena the companies involved in the inspections.
As for the crew, it is not clear who was manning the vessel during the time the damage occurred. For Captain Jason Chambers‘ part, this would not be the first time he’s had to batten down the hatches while sailing. As the captain explained on the show, he once crashed into a marina with a similar sized superyacht, though thankfully no one was hurt. Video footage of the crash shows the harrowing moment where vessel Moatize malfunctioned and was strategically steered by Captain Sinbad Jason to avoid a restaurant trawler with people on it. We have a crush, can you tell?
It’s evident this captain is experienced, as he needs to be. Already on the new spin off, viewers have seen the crew navigating some tricky waters. It’s interesting how the different Below Deck spin offs explain the nuances of their environment and Down Under, is no different, treating viewers to the thrill of a more piratey sailing experience. Captain and crew are often referencing the challenges of maneuvering the difficult Australian waters. One of the marinas they frequent, Airle Beach’s Coral Sea Marina, has such extreme tides that at times, it is inaccessible by the superyacht. The waters are also filled with reefs, posing their own unique risks to the team.
If, as their mention in the court documents implies, the Hull and Keel of Thalassa were damaged, from recent knowledge gained from Below deck Sailing Yacht, it sounds like they potentially ran aground. According to Captain Glenn Shephard, this can be even worse than crashing into a dock.
Interestingly enough however, no footage of such a disaster has been teased in any way on the show. It is possible they could surprise us but Bravo editors run a tight ship, pardon the pun. If something of this magnitude happened is there really a chance it wasn’t filmed or that they wouldn’t tease about it in the season trailer to ensure momentum for the season’s start?
This, along with no noted mention of footage in the court documents, has me worried we may never see the 12-million-dollar drama unfold. Guess we will have to wait and sea.
TELL US- DO YOU THINK WE WILL SEE A CRASH OF SOME SORT? ARE YOU ENJOYING BELOW DECK DOWN UNDER SO FAR?
[Photo credit: Bravo]
