The man who keeps order on the Azul V told Bravo his life off the boat is just as rough as anything his crew gets up to on it.
By The Recapper — CelebnMusic247
Captain Kerry has a confession, and it is not about his crew. In a pre-season sit-down with Bravo ahead of Below Deck Season 13, the Australian captain admitted that the calm, steady hand viewers see on the bridge is not the whole story. “I don’t know about my crew, but my personal life is as turbulent as the seas,” he said, according to Reality Tea’s report of the interview. “It’s just part of the job, and the big thing is having some compassion and patience for your crew. And if that turbulence overflows to work too much, then they need to go home and calm their own seas.”
That last part is the Kerry management philosophy in one sentence — and it explains a lot about how he runs a boat. Per the same interview, he keeps a close eye on his crew’s emotional well-being, right down to their nervous systems, and he would rather send someone home to steady themselves than let a rough patch at home turn into a disaster on deck. It is a noticeably different register from the franchise’s old-school bark-and-obey style, and it is a big reason the handover from Captain Lee has stuck.
Kerry also used the chat to swat down the rumor that refuses to die in this franchise: the invisible army doing the real work. “The biggest misconception on Below Deck is that there’s a hidden crew behind us that does all the work,” he said. “I can guarantee you there’s only one of me.” One captain, one crew, and — if his own description is anything to go by — one personal life every bit as choppy as a Phuket squall.
Some quick orientation for anyone just boarding: Kerry grew up in the Australian Outback, joined the franchise as the captain of Below Deck Adventure in November 2022, then took over the flagship from Captain Lee for Season 11, which premiered February 5, 2024. Season 13 premiered Monday, October 12, filmed in Phuket, Thailand, aboard the luxury yacht Azul V — and as our premiere recap noted, the season opened with a dead engine and a chef who refuses to be called “Chef,” so the turbulence is clearly not limited to the captain’s life off-camera.
Below Deck airs Mondays on Bravo. If Kerry’s philosophy holds, the crew members who keep their own seas calm will still be standing at the final tip meeting — and the ones who don’t will be on a tender home, with his blessing.
Sources: Reality Tea
