Here we go again, Below Deck Mediterranean fans! At the end of last season, the cameras fast-forwarded, introducing us to Nathan and Gael Cameron’s son, Kayden. Meanwhile, cracks started forming in Nathan and Joe’s bromance. This season, Nathan and Joe are rejoining Captain Sandy’s new-to-Bravo yacht, as are Aesha and a slew of fresh faces. But thanks to Nathan and Joe’s ongoing feud, tensions are forming on day 1, as seen on Below Deck Mediterranean Season 11 Episode 1.
What happened in Below Deck Mediterranean Season 11 Episode 1?
Captain Sandy, Aesha, Nathan, and Joe start a new charter season in Dubrovnik, Croatia, where things kick off to a rocky start on the deck team. Likewise, Aesha is thrilled to have three girls on her team. But already, that pesky little thing called hierarchy comes into play, quickly giving Aesha her first headache of the season. However, nothing tops the deck team’s catastrophic first docking.
Meet the crew of Below Deck Med Season 11
All the Season 11 yachties head to Croatia, eager to board the M/Y Akira One. But “Cro-AESHA” flew in early. She and her “work wife,” Captain Sandy, spent a few days scouting great spots to entertain their guests at. As for Nathan, he and Gael found a rental near the marina, so now, Nathan can visit them during filming.
In the wheelhouse, Aesha cries tears of joy for having “three stews!” But when Nathan enters, his tears are of a different kind. Joe is returning, Captain Sandy says. As Nathan explains, their “bromance has stopped,” so now, Captain Sandy has “to make sure they maintain a professional relationship.”
Sounds like foreshadowing, no? Either way, Chef Joy boards, and Captain Sandy finds her resume “impressive.” She’s funny and quirky, but as Joy admits, she can also be “very intense.” Luckily for her, her fridge is large enough “to hide a crew member inside,” but Aesha gives her the only solo cabin, so maybe that will help her meditate before she decides to freeze anyone.
Deckhands Cooper and Luke join next. Cooper is green, but as a former footballer, his work ethic is strong. And Luke is already smitten with Joy.
Stews Kayley, Genevieve (Gen), and Kat come aboard. Kayley is energetic, Gen is incredibly experienced, and Kat got peed on by a group of frat guys on another boat. Aesha puts them all on a “one bar” level. Gen finds that “interesting.”
Finally, Joe joins the yacht. He’s “been laser-focused” on his career, and has even risen to a bosun status on another yacht. But Nathan gives him a semi-cold shoulder. Joe takes it in stride, and he also laughs, because, yet again, Joe is the shortest guy on the deck team.
A dry-run docking disaster
Joe and Nathan finally talk. Nathan hates how Joe treated certain women last season. Joe does too, he admits. “But I like to have fun. And I’m probably not gonna stop,” he adds.
Captain Sandy introduces a “dry run.” The deck team brings the yacht off the dock and anchors it successfully in the sea. Joy serves a great steak dinner, and the deck team heads outside to bring the yacht back into the marina. But as they approach the dock, a loud party on a nearby yacht makes it hard for Captain Sandy to hear Nathan’s distances.
As a result, she backs the yacht right into the dock. Nathan spirals. Captain Sandy stays calm, but this is the first time this has ever happened to her. As for Joe, if he were the bosun, “the boat wouldn’t even be within two meters of hitting the dock.”
Thankfully, the yacht is still seaworthy. The damages are superficial. In the morning, Captain Sandy asks Aesha, a former deckhand herself, to stand on the bow during dockings to help Nathan. She agrees, and shortly after, their first charter guests, stunning burlesque dancers and their married bosses, come aboard.
Cue a happy deck team.
Tensions rise
Nathan tells Joe, “I want the toys out as fast as possible.” Being cheeky, Joe says, “Just no more accidents.” Several beats later, Joe tells Nathan he has “an organizational problem.” Nathan keeps his mouth shut.
But Joy has a lot to say. These guests don’t eat, and she is in her “Picasso era,” so what a waste this charter is. Joy also tells Aesha that her stews need to be ready for service, so she does not “lose my temper.” In her confessional, Aesha admits, “She is a bit scary.”
Gen and Kayley decorate the table for dinner. After, an unaware Aesha praises Kayley alone, but Kayley quickly gives props to Gen and Kat. Even still. Gen is lowkey seething, saying, “There is an alarm going off in my head, and it’s the fake b*tch alarm. [Kayley] knows what she’s doing; she wants to be second stew.”
The guests sit for dinner in matching assless gowns. They love everything Joy prepares. But Gen is falling even less in love with Kayley, who keeps telling her what to do, even though their ranking is the same. While Joe texts his mom to vent about Nathan, Gen calls hers to do much of the same about Kayley.
Joe hopes to be Captain Sandy’s bosun one day. But, as Nathan tells Gael over the phone, in the morning, he’s “choosing Luke as the lead deckhand” instead. HERE WE GO…
Below Deck Mediterranean continues Mondays at 8/7c on Bravo. It streams on Peacock.
TELL US – DID YOU WATCH BELOW DECK MEDITERRANEAN SEASON 11 EPISODE 1? WHAT PREDICTIONS DO YOU HAVE FOR NATHAN AND JOE? SAME QUESTION, BUT GEN AND KAYLEY? DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER PREDICTIONS FOR SEASON 11?
