On a luxury charter yacht, most people expect sunshine, top-notch food and service, and fun — but a jet ski incident with Below Deck Down Under led to a scary moment amid all that.
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“What are you looking forward to today?” one charter guest asked another on Season 3, Episode 5 of Below Deck Down Under.
“Water activities,” replied the charter guest named India. “But I don’t know about drifting away,” she added nervously, as she noted she is unable to swim.
Unfortunately, a problem with the jet ski led India to end up in the water — but the always-quick BDDU crew was able to safely remedy the situation, as seen in a preview of Season 3, Episode 6.
What was the problem with the jet ski on Below Deck Down Under?
Deckhand Adair Werley first noticed one of the jet skis had a lot of water inside of it as the deck crew worked to lower the jet skis into the water for the guests.
“Do you think it’s a good idea to take the other one down? Maybe having a leak?” deckhand Johnny Arvanitis asked bosun Wihan Du Toit. “But [what] if it stays for too long, it starts filling up, and one of these ladies starts going down?”
But Wihan wasn’t worried and responded, “I think that was water from before.”
Adair didn’t buy it.
“Is water supposed to be completely filled on the inside of your jet ski? No,” she said in her confessional.
But Wihan insisted it was normal, and said in his confessional, “It’s not an uncommon thing. I’ve seen this before. You can open the valves. Let the water drain. I’m not too concerned about it.”
Adair protested to Wihan as the jet ski was lowered into the water, and said, “I’m nervous, honestly,” and Johnny chimed in, “It feels dangerous,” but Wihan replied, “We can only see.”
What happened to Johnny and the Below Deck Down Under charter guest with the jet ski?
India, who was unable to swim, confessed she was scared to ride the jet ski behind Johnny.
“Don’t be scared,” he told her. “You can hold onto me.”
As Wihan rode with guest Gai, and Johnny and India sped away, India remarked, “It’s beautiful. I’m just kind of taking it all in.”
Johnny offered to let India drive the jet ski, but just moments later, it tipped over and they fell into the water. However, Johnny acted fast to help her.
As seen in the preview for Episode 6, as Johnny and India flailed in the water, Johnny grabbed onto India (who was wearing a life vest).
“I’ll hold you,” Johnny told her. “You feel safe now?” and she replied she did.
When Captain Jason Chambers checked that India was OK, she told him, “Yeah, I’m OK. I was a little scared, but [Johnny] was in control.”
How the deck crew got the capsized jet back on Katina
When Wihan circled back to Johnny who was treading water with the sinking jet ski, Wihan said, “I think this jet ski — I think there’s a leak in it.”
“There is definitely a leak,” Johnny responded.
Captain Jason and the engineers quickly ran to help get the capsized jet ski back on board, after Wihan and Johnny towed it back to Katina.
“This is a f—king disaster,” Johnny said in his confessional. “Everybody’s safe. But obviously, the jet ski’s been leaking. We should have definitely checked it before giving it to the guests. The deck team f—ked up.”
Adair and deckhand Harry Van Vliet watched Wihan and Johnny struggle to tow the jet ski, and Johnny kept falling off the jet ski as it turned on its side.
“I hate to say it, but they shouldn’t have put down the second one,” Adair said to Harry. “Remember when we tried to lift it, and I was like, ‘It’s full of water,’ and it was. It sounds harsh, but it’s true.”
When Wihan and Johnny made it back with the jet ski, the crew was forced to act quickly.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” Jason said in his confessional. “We have a $20,000 jet ski about to sink. We need to get it out of the water ASAP, or it’s a total loss. The jet ski is filling up with water. That crane is not rated for the weight. We need a plan B.”
Jason, the deck team, and the engineers eventually pulled the jet ski on to the swim platform so it could drain. Chief stewardess Lara Rigby was worried about how this would impact the guests.
“I pride myself on professionalism and giving the guests the best experience. It’s just a big s—t show,” she said in her confessional.
Johnny was not happy with what happened, but Wihan took a lighter view of the incident.
“I’ve never in my life done anything like this,in my nine years of yachting. We’re going to laugh about this moment for years to come,” he told Adair and Harry.
Watch all-new episodes of Below Deck Down Under on Mondays at 8/7c on
