Below Deck Sailing Yacht Season 5 is back with exciting adventures at sea that fans of Bravo have come to love. The crew said goodbye to deckhand Emma Crouch but welcomed back Chase Lemacks, who is known for his exceptional deck skills. Lemacks previously had conflicts with First Officer Gary King but approached the new season with a positive outlook on their working dynamic. Despite their history, Lemacks emphasized his respect for Gary and their improved understanding.
Chef Cloyce Martin, the youngest chef in Below Deck history, was already on the yacht. Lemacks quickly connected with Martin, showing support by helping out in the kitchen. Martin appreciated Lemacks’ presence as a valuable team member. While Martin had enhanced his rapport with Chief Stew Daisy Kelliher before Lemacks joined, there were hints of upcoming tension between Kelliher and the two stews, Danni Warren and Diana Cruz.
Martin, who is working on launching his own hot sauce line, hinted at the unfolding drama among Kelliher, Warren, and Cruz. Warren and Cruz seemed to share similar views, which complicated their relationship with Daisy as the season progressed. Lemacks echoed Martin’s observations, noting the gradual deterioration of their dynamic, which he found intriguing to witness.
Lemacks and Martin stopped by the DECIDER studio to discuss the current season, the excitement surrounding Lemacks’ arrival, and what they would put on their personal preference sheets.
DECIDER: The Yachties are taking New York! How are you liking being in the city around Christmas time?
CHASE LEMACKS: I love it. It’s my first time in New York around the holidays. I’m hopefully going to see the tree tonight. It’s good. It’s lively. It’s kind of a madhouse, but it’s great.
CLOYCE MARTIN: It’s my favorite. I love the city. I lived here for a couple of years for college. It’s nice to be able to come back and enjoy the excitement. To do that with this crazy kid to is even better.
CL: [Laughs] We had some dollar pizza last night. It was the right move.
Cloyce, a lot has been said about your age on the show. What’s your take on it? Were you at all nervous to put yourself out there as a young Chef?
CM: Not nervous at all. I have an opportunity to show that age is just a number, high or low. I don’t think your age should be something that keeps you from living your life and going out there and doing what you want. I’m always the youngest one in every room that I walk into. It wasn’t new for me at all.
CL: You’re also not the normal 22-year-old. This guy is 23 going on 50. He has a lot of life experience. You got it, dude.
CM: Thank you.
The relationship between the Chef and Chief Stew is sacred in the world of Below Deck. How was your experience with Daisy?
CM: I really enjoyed my experience with Daisy. We had a lot of fun. We had an interesting beginning, I would say. As the season progresses, you will see that our communication gets better and better. Aside from a couple of little fun hiccups here and there, things generally have a nice upward trajectory. We have a nice close relationship. She’s fun to work with.
Chase, this is your second go-around on Below Deck Sailing Yacht. Were you at all hesitant to return or was it full speed ahead?
CL: Full speed ahead. I love doing the show. I love working on Parsifal. I love working with Glenn. It was really nice to see some old friends and meet some new crew members, too. I love the energy of it. So, I was happy to be back.
Was it a relief not to have to deal with the Gary-Daisy-Colin love triangle this time around?
CL: Yeah. I think the drama going on between the heads of department put a little bit of a damper on things, but this season has its own drama on the back half. You are trading one love triangle for new ones.
Chase, Gary had mixed feelings about your returning this season. Did you try to win him over this season?
CL: Look, I don’t really care about winning Gary over. To be honest, in life, you are going to have people who dislike you. If I had to choose somebody to dislike me, I’m okay with that person being Gary. I respect the guy because he’s my boss and my superior, but I’m there to do my job. I’m there to work hard and be friendly to people.
It’s tough to read whether Gary likes me or not or if he’s just putting up with me. I don’t think there’s really anything to put up with [laughs]. We probably got along a little bit better this season than we did the season prior because we understand each other a little bit more. It was good.
Cloyce, what did you make of the deck team’s dynamic?
CM: I see very little of their dynamic down in my little dungeon space. With the original deck team, I honestly did not see much of what was happening. I had no idea about the chaos ensuing. When Chase came on, I saw a lot of him down in the galley, hanging out and helping me wash dishes. I didn’t really get to witness those close personal on-deck relationships. I’m seeing a lot of the turmoil with the viewers for the first time.
Question for both of you: how great is Keith? Chase, what was it like to work with him? Cloyce, how was he as a cabin mate?
CL: I love Keith. He is great to work with. Very dependable. Within the first 15 minutes of talking to him, I knew that he was going to be strong on deck. He’s funny too. I’ve just recently linked up with him in Saint Thomas on the new boat that he’s working on. He’s great friend.
CM: I also love Keith. Great roommate, really funny, and very nice. He always keeps the vibe positive. He also helps out a lot. Much like you, Chase, I would say he’s a nice addition to any team.
Cloyce, so far this season, we’ve seen you have some major triumphs and some lesser triumphs in the galley. What are your roses and thorns this season?
CM: Some of the roses you haven’t seen yet. Some of my favorite food that I served is coming up in these next few episodes. The thorns came in the early days of the charter season. That first dinner suffered from a lot of miscommunications among crew members. I had trouble teaching the stews how to serve and how to carry three plates at once after the food was plated. That was a bit infuriating, but growing pains are always to be expected at the beginning.
I know Daisy said she had a tough time managing the dynamic with her stews this season. You must have had a front row seat to that.
CM: I did. I got to see all of it.
Can you tease what drama lies ahead for the interior team?
CM: I can try to. I would say you should expect to see Danni and Diana mesh even more as the season goes on. They get on the same page about a lot of things, which complicates the relationship between them and Daisy more and more.
CL: It really deteriorates, sadly, but it’s fun to watch.
CM: It is fun to watch.
Chase, how does it feel to be the stud on the deck team? Danni and Diana are very excited to have you aboard!
CL: Nobody is more surprised than I am. I have had quite a different reception from the one I had on season four. I’m flattered. Though, I also think there was a little bit of cabin fever going on. Maybe I just showed up at the right time. Maybe they were just begging for somebody and I was the one who showed up. But I’m happy about it.
Cloyce, you mentioned on the show that you once cooked for RHOC alum Braunwyn Windham-Burke. Can you tell us what you remember from that meal?
CM: Absolutely. It was a donation gala dinner. I donate to my culinary program every year, which was purchased by The Foundation to support all the OSHA donors and whatnot. She was there. I got to meet her. We had some fun, friendly interactions, and she was lovely. I enjoyed her as a guest, along with the 100 other people who were there that night. I want to say I was 15 when I spearheaded the food operation there. So, when people say 22 is young, I chuckle a little bit because my career goes back quite a bit further than that.
Chase, you’ve been in the Below Deck family a smidge longer than Cloyce. Who have you kept in touch with?
CL: Alex Propson. He’s become one of my closest friends. I’m close friends with Mads [Herrera], but we don’t get to talk as much. I just saw Daisy in London. I try to keep up with everybody, but we’re all traveling so much. I am in touch with whoever’s closest. Alex lives in Florida, so it makes sense.
Last question: If you were charter guests, what would you put on your preference sheets?
CL: Lots of water sports. I want to use the Sea Bobs. I want to do the jet surf. I want to be in the water. That’s why you charter a boat instead of going to a five-star hotel. I want to snorkel. I want to scuba dive. I want to do all that stuff.
CM: Some good free diving. The Sea Bob, for sure. Lots of caviar. Nightly caviar service, I would say, would be in order. Shaved truffles too.
CL: We’re on the same page.
Below Deck Sailing Yacht airs Mondays at 9/8c on Bravo.
(function(d, s, id) {
var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
if (d.getElementById(id)) return;
js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;
js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&appId=823934954307605&version=v2.8”;
fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);
}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));
