Below Deck Down Under Star Harry Screams in Pain After Suffering Serious Injury, Crew in Panic, Producers Forced to Step In (Exclusive Clip)
Below Deck Down Under Star Harry Screams in Pain After Suffering Serious Injury, Crew in Panic, Producers Forced to Step In (Exclusive Clip)
Below Deck Down Under’s Deckhand Harry Nearly Loses Finger in Gruesome Accident
Below Deck Down Under season three Deckhand Harry Van Vliet suffered a bloody and—possibly charter-ending—injury when he nearly lost his thumb in a freak accident on the Bravo series’ Feb. 17 episode.
Below Deck Down Under might be down a Deckhand.
Harry Van Vliet suffered a gruesome injury during the Bravo series’ Feb. 17 episode.
The scary accident occurred as Harry was straddling a jet ski in the water and hooking it up to a pully system to bring it back on board for the night. The Australia native began screaming in pain and yelling, “Hook down! Hook down!”
Captain Jason Chambers then came to the rescue.
“Harry, you okay?” he frantically asked the yachtie before calling for backup assistance. “Production, we have an issue with Harry on the jet ski at the moment. I’ve gotta go around and retrieve him.”
Meanwhile, Harry was writhing in pain and holding up his bloody right hand with his thumb extended.
Once Harry got back on board holding his bleeding hand, he asked his fellow crew and charter guests, “Where’s the medic, quick?! I need a towel or something. I f–king crushed my thumb.”
A gruesome close-up shot of the injury showed his entire thumb nail missing and pieces of skin in shreds.
While the medic stopped the bleeding, the Deckhand explained how the mishap happened.
Bravo“I was pulling up the jet ski and I clipped the cradle on,” he recounted, “and then a wave came up and that finger, that thumb, was in between the cradle and the jet ski. So it was just crushed.”
As for the medic’s diagnosis, the injury was indeed very series—and potentially season-ending.
“You don’t have a fingernail. You can get staff infection from the water,” the medic told Harry. “I’m doing my best to cover it, but you have to be very mindful about using it. If your symptoms don’t subside, if you feel pain, if your movement is limited, then I suggest an X-ray in case you have any kind of fracture.”
As the evening went on, Harry continued to complain about the nearly unbearable throbbing in his finger, despite taking meds. And Harry’s crew mates were equally concerns about how his condition would affect his job.
As Deckhand Wihan Du Toit admitted in a confessional, “I’m quite worried about Harry and his thumb. He’s in pain. This is really going to affect the deck team massively.”
Though Harry tried to power through the charter, simple tasks—includig changing his clothes and carrying deck chairs—were challenging. And after a sleepless night due to the pain, he agreed to head to the mainland to get it checked out at a hospital the next day.
“It feels awful,” he admitted. “I’ve never felt like this in my life. This season could be over for me before it even starts.”
And Jason was equally worried about his season three future aboard the Katina.
“I don’t want to lose Harry,” the Captain shared in a confessional. “He’s got good energy, he’s good for the crew. It was time for him to grow this season, however, this could be a broken thumb as well. If that’s the issue, then we need a new Deckhand.”
See if Harry is able to carry on this season or if he’ll have to bow out early when Below Deck Down Under airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on Bravo.
Keep reading to look back at some of the most shocking crew departures in show history.
Camille Lamb
If there’s one thing to learn from Camille Lamb’s Below Deck firing, it’s to not slack off on the job. That’s exactly why the season 10 stew was let go by substitute Captain Sandy Yawn, as Chief Stew Fraser Olender continued to criticize Camille’s behavior on board.
From being caught drinking while preparing for a new charter to partying at late hours and more, Fraser informed Captain Sandy that he had reached his “last straw.”
“She’s the common denominator in all of this,” said Captain Sandy. “Great girl, great personality, but at the same time, we have to do what’s best for the boat.”
Chris Haston/BravoKyle Dickard
Below Deck Adventure’s Kyle Dickard was let go just three episodes into the reality franchise’s latest series—which premiered in November 2022. After picking fights with his fellow deckhand Nathan Morley—as well as kissing crew mates in front of guests—Kyle was offered by Captain Kerry Titheradge the opportunity to resign so that his firing would not end up on his personal record.
Kyle took the Captain up on his offer and left the boat after just one charter.
Laurent Basset/BravoRaygan Tyler
Captain Sandy let bosun Raygan Tyler go during season seven of Below Deck Mediterranean, not only for causing the boat to take a small hit while docking, but also for not stepping up to the plate as a leader.
But Captain Sandy didn’t want her firing to discourage the bosun, as she told Raygan, “If I had the time and I wasn’t running a boat this size, I would train you. I would teach you.”
Laurent Bassett/BravoElizabeth Frankini
In addition to onboard romances and failing to follow directions, one of the biggest reasons behind stew Elizabeth Frankini’s Below Deck firing was her infamous laundry room accident, during which made a toxic mess when combining bleach and laundry soap.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t know that was so toxic and I feel so bad about it,” she told E! News of the incident in December 2020. “You know, I do feel really bad, especially ’cause Francesca [Rubi] did say, ‘Take it outside.'”
Laurent Basset/Bravo
Luke Jones & Laura Bileskaine
The bosun and stew were both fired by Captain Jason Chambers for inappropriate behavior after a night of partying with their fellow yachties.
Luke Jones was let go after getting into Stew Margot Sisson’s bed naked while she was drunk and unconscious. Laura Bileskaine also made unwanted advances on Deckhand Adam Kodra despite him telling her he was not interested in hooking up.
Jason made it known that consent was a must, and sent both crewmembers packing.
BravoLexi Wilson
Tensions between stew Lexi Wilson and Chef Mathew Shea came to a head during an explosive dinner fight on season six of Below Deck Mediterranean, during which Lexi told Matt that his parents “should’ve aborted you.” That was the last straw for Captain Sandy, who fired her not long after the incident.
