Below Deck Med Guest Expresses Concern Over Unsafe Crew Incident: “Are They Doing Okay?”
When Nathan Gallagher and Max Salvador argued during Below Deck Mediterranean, the charter guests noticed.
afety—for both guest and crew—has been a constant concern for bosun Nathan Gallagher since the beginning of Below Deck Mediterranean Season 10’s charter season. It all came to a head during Episode 15, when Nathan and deckhand Max Salvador faced off over the correct way to hoist a jet ski back onto M/Y Bravado.
“This entire season, safety’s been thrown out the window, and I’m putting an end to it,” Nathan declared to producers in the Jan. 5 episode.
After Captain Sandy Yawn asked Nathan to get all of the water toys back on board before the swells came in, Nathan began calling for Max on the radio, but he didn’t answer. Cameras then showed Max on a jet ski, and Nathan and his deckhands, Joe Bradley and Victoria “V” SanJuan, all gathered on the deck to help Max get the jet ski back up with a crane.
“Max, if you could put both [hooks] on so we can hold it in position,” lead deckhand Joe instructed him.
But when Max had difficulties securing the jet ski and stood on top of it while it swayed in the water, Nathan stepped in. “Max, fix it in the water. Get off it and fix it in the water!” he yelled down to him.
Nathan explained his reasoning to producers: “It’s dark. The conditions are rough. This is where accidents can occur, so it’s not safe to be standing on the jet ski right now.”
As Max continued to defy Nathan’s orders, Nathan shouted: “Max, if you don’t f—king listen to me…“
Their row drew the attention of the charter guests as they were sitting down to dinner. “Are they doing okay?” one asked.
Nathan repeatedly told Max to “fix it in the water,” even running down to a lower deck to get closer. V warned the deck crew that they were causing a scene, reminding them, “Guys, we have guests upstairs!”
As Nathan ordered Max again to get control of the jet ski “in the water,” Max told him to “calm down.” Nathan’s temper boiled over, and as the credits rolled on Episode 15, he replied, “Max, you cheeky f—king prick, fix it in the water!”
Bosun Nathan Gallagher describes why he’s losing patience with deckhand Max Salvador
When Max returned to Below Deck Med Season 10 after first appearing in Season 8, he swore to Captain Sandy that his work ethic had improved.
“In Bali, I discovered hypnosis. Like a snap, everything changed,” he said during the Season 10 premiere. “It blew my mind how powerful it was for me to go to his new age of inner peace. I’m the new Max. I’m the new brand.”
But the “new Max” unraveled as the charters went on, as was evidenced when Max and V argued about the bow lines as the charter departed the dock during the Jan. 5 episode.
“Those two are at each other’s throats, man,” a frustrated Nathan told Joe. “I just heard them arguing. I don’t know what they’re arguing about. I’m not having it, hey! Sick of it!”
Nathan believed that Max’s behavior had worsened after Joe joined the deck team and was promoted. “Max started acting out since he hasn’t been made lead deckhand,” he told producers. “At this point, it’s a safety concern. And I’m not having it.”
The deck team became so chaotic during the Jan. 5 episode that Sandy even asked on the radio at one point, “Is everything under control?”
How a second Below Deck Med crew member suffered an injury during Season 10
The issues kept piling up during the Jan. 5 episode. Nathan found himself the victim of yet another safety hazard after trying to show Joe how to work the remote control for the crane.
“Joe hit me with the crane,” Nathan told stewardess Cathy Skinner in the crew mess as he washed blood off his face and head.
He explained to producers, “The crane hook came in too close and smashed me in the face. After it hit me in the front, it kind of dropped down, came up, and hit me in the back. So, it was a double whammy.”
“I feel like the whole deck team is just getting distracted,” Nathan added. “And it’s starting to really piss me off.”
At the same time, Max noticed an unsecured jet ski was floating away—the exact same mistake made by the crew earlier this season during charter one—and was forced to retrieve it. This slipup also didn’t go unnoticed by guests, either.
“F—king one thing after another!” Nathan complained to Joe.
ICYMI, the Below Deck Med Season 10 crew has also weathered their fair share of guest problems this charter season, including a “f—king vile” “poo in the shower” situation.
