Captain Jason Has a Surprising Below Deck First After Harry “Bungled” His Deck Duties
Below Deck Down Under’s Jason Chambers is boldly navigating new waters.
The Australian super yacht captain did something for the first time after Harry Van Vliet made a potentially critical mistake while dropping anchor. The mishap occurred on Harry’s first day as lead deckhand, an honor bestowed upon him by new bosun Nate Salmon, as seen in Season 3, Episode 13.
Initially, there was optimism a-plenty.
“I’m excited,” Harry said in his confessional. “Finally, I can prove to myself, to Jason, that I’ve got what it takes, that I can do this job.”
“Harry’s worked very hard to be a Lead Deckhand, but the work is not over,” Jason revealed. “Up until now, he’s only had to worry about himself. Now he’s got to worry about a whole team. I’m excited to see where this is going.”
So, what happened on day one of the charter to make Jason do a Below Deck first?
Harry Van Vliet makes mistake on the deck
Things got hairy when it was time for the new lead deckhand to show the ropes (and chains) to new-hire deckhand Nicolas Cattelan as they dropped anchor.
“I’ve never been shy to take on a new challenge, but every anchor on every boat is different,” said Nicolas. “I’m pretty nervous about this one; there’s a lot of quirks, and when you’re a deer in headlights, there’s a risk of getting hit by a car.”
Harry supervised step by step as Nicolas lowered and secured the anchor. However, when their boss tried to maintain communication from the bridge, it was radio silence.
“Whoever’s up forward should be telling me where the anchor is and how much it’s out,” Jason said.
Worse yet, when the men up front turned their backs on the anchor, it broke loose, sending them on a harried race to secure the chains.
What did Captain Jason do for the first time on Below Deck?
After the mistake, Jason had a Below Deck Down Under first: Jason and Harry shared a joint confessional, sitting shoulder-to-shoulder to lightheartedly look back at the serious mistake, something never before done on Below Deck.
“Now my hands are full-on on deck,” Harry explained to the captain in retrospect. “I’m not just worrying about myself; I’m worrying about other people, making sure the whole thing is operational and working.”
“Is that why you didn’t have the radio in your hand, ’cause it’s full?” Jason responded.
“’Cause my hands are full, yeah,” he answered.
“Ah,” Jason said with an expression of understanding.
“I had Nic in my hands,” Harry insisted.
Although the men had a good laugh about the mistake later on when speaking to Below Deck Down Under producers, there was no denying a lack of communication could have resulted in dire consequences. Jason reminded Harry he had to earn his stripes in his new role.
Sitting solo in his confessional, Harry said he learned the error of his ways.
“I’ve just become lead deckhand, and I bungled it up,” Harry recalled after the incident. “Hopefully Jason’s still got a bit of faith in me, and I’m definitely gonna redeem myself for this.”
He’ll have the chance on day two of the charter, so long as the unpredictable swells off Seychelles don’t rock the boat too much.
Meanwhile, Harry’s romance with New Jersey native Brianna Duffield unfolds as Season 3 continues. Although the new lead deckhand confessed in the March 12, 2025 episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen that he was single and “on the prowl,” the American stew more recently teased in the March 12 WWHL episode that fans would “have to wait ’til the season ends to see how this escalates.”
Perhaps there is more to why Brianna moved to Harry’s home country in November 2024.
