Below Deck Down Under‘s Adair Werley faced her fair share of challenges trying to navigate working on deck and in the galley, which wasn’t always easy while working with two different heads of departments.
“You have to do everything whether you like it or not. You see such small bits of the entire situation with everything that’s going on — and there’s so much that goes on,” Adair exclusively told Us Weekly. “We all have to pitch in and we all do everything. As you see, we’re understaffed and we are lacking people.”
Adair noted she was willing to help wherever she was needed, adding, “We are all filling in places that we’re not comfortable — but you’re expected and obligated to do everything the second that you step on that boat. Whether you like it or not.”
She continued: “As much as we sit and tease and laugh that, ‘Oh, I can’t do this or I don’t do that.’ You do it all with a smile on your face. And you do it for not only your crew but you do it for the guests and for the money. So there’s a lot worse that I can do than cleaning heads and beds. There’s a lot worse. That’s the easy part.”
A Guide to Below Deck’s Chief Stews: From Kate Chastain to Hannah Ferrier
Adair admitted the complications came from reporting to two different people: bosun Wihan du Toit and chief stew Lara Rigby.
“I don’t think there was ever a point where I ever once ever said that there was something that I’m not going to do. If anything, I was the one that was saying I’m going to do anything and everything. That’s the purpose of my role as a deck stew is to do whatever I’m needed to do,” she explained. “I think it was an imbalance of what my priorities were at the time. Because it’s like, ‘Do I go help out on deck? Do I go rinse off all of our beach setup stuff, help put things away, help lift the jet skis and help clean the deck for tomorrow? Or do I help serve plates and help with turndowns? Do I go to laundry and restock and clean the crew mess? What am I supposed to do?’”
While reflecting on season 3, Adair recalled not always being split evenly, saying, “I’m just running around trying to do a little bit of everything. So it is hard for myself — especially when you have heads of department that are not necessarily meshing to know what to do or to do what everyone wants me to do. Everybody wants me to do something differently because they want me to help them on their task so I’m just trying to bounce around and help everybody.”
Adair admitted it can “sting” when the feedback doesn’t take into account her hard work.
“[Especially] when you’re grinding and you’re busting your butt to try and help everyone and then your heads of department are not fulfilled enough with what you’re trying to do,” she noted. “But everyone [on Below Deck Down Under] was very thankful. We all were working really hard together.”
Below Deck’s Biggest Drama Through the Years
The Below Deck universe has occasionally had crew members who were both on deck and a stew. While those positions usually didn’t work out, Adair appeared more positive about her outcome on the Katina.
“As someone going into my third year in the yachting industry now, I still consider that newer in the industry. There was a lot of responsibility and a lot of communication that you have to have and so many things that you have to stay persistent and consistent on,” she detailed. “So the way that [the heads of department] have to work together on top of what their own responsibilities are and then also directing their people, I give them the biggest shout-out ever. I’m not prepared for that yet. I’m nowhere near that and it’s definitely difficult, and it takes a lot of work and effort.”
Below Deck Down Under airs on Bravo Mondays at 8 p.m. ET. New episodes stream the next day on Peacock.
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
