Captain Kerry Titheradge on How ‘Below Deck Adventure’ Goes Into Uncharted Territory

Brace yourself for a trip to the land of Vikings and picturesque mountain ranges as Below Deck Adventure takes you to Norway. The newest spinoff in the popular Bravo fleet brings Captain Kerry Titheradge aboard to navigate through the narrow Norwegian fjords on the motor yacht Mercury. 

And if the challenging surroundings weren’t enough, he’ll also have to manage a crew of strong and sometimes clashing personalities. This includes Jess Condy, Bosun Lewis Lupton, Chief Stew Faye Clarke, Stews Kasie Faddah and Oriana Schneps, and Deckhands Kyle Dickard, Michael Gilman, and Nathan Morely. Together they must come together to provide a memorable experience for the charter guests in hopes of securing that fat tip. 

Here the Aussie cap previews the adrenaline-filmed season. 

I love the photo being shared of you and the other Below Deck captains from BravoCon. Did you get any tips from any of them?

Kerry Titherradge: The biggest thing was to be yourself. I knew Lee [Rosbach] before Below Deck came out. I got to talk to him generally about how things go. Jason [Chambers] and I have very good mutual friends and being Aussies, we connect really easily. 

Did you have any trepidation about being part of the show?

At one point I did. The first few seasons of the show I didn’t agree with at all. I worked on some of the biggest yachts in the world, and there is no way in hell they want anyone to know about their private doings on board. As the seasons went on, I really started seeing people looking at this differently. It has really brought attention to younger people that yachting exists. Most crews are international. It’s quite bizarre how international yachting is very well-known, but in the United States, it was quite unknown. 

This spin-off is quite the contrast from the others.

When I first started speaking with casting, they mentioned they were doing this adventure show with the Below Deck name on it. It really sparked my interest. The Caribbean, the Mediterranean, I’ve done that. I’ve been chased by pirates, been east of the Maldives, the coast of Africa. These are things I’ve already done. Going to these adventurous locations with adventurous guests who want to get amongst it. I could relate to these guests. I absolutely love adventure. I just came back from Turkey and two weeks ago I was paragliding on the biggest mountain. Absolutely amazing. 

Epic! All 5 #BelowDeck Captains! #BravoCon made this happen! pic.twitter.com/ABUVfs9vj8

— Captain Sandy Yawn ⚓ (@CaptSandyYawn) October 15, 2022

What are some of the activities that were done this season?

The place is stunning. The landscape, the homes. The adventure. The most amazing part to is the location of the adventures. Massive waterfalls that have formed off glaciers, caves systems formed from centuries of erosion, paragliding, taking helicopters on top of mountains and sailing down, horse riding even riding down the mountain. The most challenging thing about yachting in Norway is pronouncing the names of places. 

Tell me about the vessel, the Mercury.

Amels yachts are built to go anywhere in the world. They are built in the arctic Overbuilt so the advantage of that is it’s strong. The disadvantage is it’s heavy and slow. My engines are not as powerful as in a boat Sandy [Yawn] is running, which is a lighter boat with big engines that are more forgiving and use engine horsepower to get herself out of trouble. With my boat, you have to plan for things far ahead. It’s not going to stop straight away. You have to stop far ahead before you do something. 

We’re going to see Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’s  Heather Gay as a primary on a charter. What can you tell us about the guests this season?

I’ve been lucky enough that in pretty much every charter I’ve stayed in contact with the guests. One of the charters had big party animals. Respectful and wanted to have a fantastic time. Since then I’ve been to weddings with the families and so forth. When Heather Gay came on the boat, everyone was pretty tired. She brought this amazing energy and made everyone feel that around her. It really pumped us up. I can’t give too much away because that is part of the fun. You’ll find this season I feel the audience is really going to love all the guests they see. 

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You have Oriana and Kasie with some past history. What can you say about the crew dynamic?

You can only hold back your true emotions and who you really are for so long. You can only be on your best behavior for so long. We have some staff who have worked together in the past. I didn’t know their dynamic on previous boats. I wasn’t aware they were on the same boat before until later in the season. There is always an interesting dynamic between the chief stew and the chef. This is no different. We’ve got people who try to push boundaries. That’s true on any other boat. I had to make some hard decisions. That affected all the crew for the benefit of the crew. 

Things appear to be hot and heavy with Lewis and Oriana. What’s your take on the romances aboard?

I’m okay with it. It all comes down to public displays of affection. If I see kissy kissy, rubby rubby and favoritism that will make people feel uncomfortable, then I get involved. 

Who do you think was the most challenging this season? Kyle seems to be ruffling a few feathers this season.

Pretty much every staff member except for one was challenging. Everyone is coming from different places, backgrounds, and ages. They all have their own intentions, and we all have to find our own footing. Understand a brand new boat in a totally new country. That puts pressure on everybody. For me, it’s understanding that everyone is human. Everyone gets a pass, but if you start taking my kindness for weakness, that’s when I change gears. 

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You probably had to do that a couple of times

I understand people will have issues, but the guests shouldn’t see it. If you need time to yourself, come to me. I’ll get you off the boat. Go for a walk. Take the tender out. Do what you have to cool off. Take a cabin away from everyone. A place of peace. The way I deal with things mate is when I need to destress or rethink a problem, I’ll mediate. I think everyone should have that place to calm down and relax. 

There is a point in the teaser where Nathan looks to be hurt. What can you say about that?

There is a build-up to that moment. I was obviously concerned about Nathan and the injury in front of me. I was at the base of the steps when it happened. I was having a cup of tea when he came flying down the steps. I was also very concerned that we would be a guy down. For the situation, we were in and the places we were at, I had to post people on extra duties because we were in an environment where very quickly you can go from being in the Garden of Eden to Hades as far as weather. It took a lot to keep people on their toes because when you are in a beautiful place, you tend to put your guard down and relax. 

Below Deck Adventure premiere, November 1, 9/8c, Bravo