One of the most polarising elements of Below Deck Down Under season one was Captain Jason Chamber’s infamous disco helmet. And, many viewers will be frustrated to hear that the trophy-of-sorts is back for season two.
For the uninitiated, the disco-helmet was given out by Captain Jason after each charter to the crew member he believes has the most improvement to do. In episode three, deckhand Benny was awarded it for flanking the anchor during the charter; however, he refused to wear it on the crew night out.
Many fans have shared their dislike of the disco helmet on social media stating that they think it’s belittling to the crew member who are consequently embarrassed in front of their co-workers.
However, Captain Jason has stood by his choice to give out the disco helmet and explained its origins.
“I get a little bit of flack here and there, but I get more positive than not,” he said during an interview before the season two launch on Chattr’s The Entertainment Hotline podcast.
“It’s an Australian culture thing. I could sit there and reprimand someone in front of everyone about what they do but, it’s like a little kick up the butt and get into it… I’m showing what you did wrong. But I’m not going to make it into a point to embarrass you, verbally. I’ll embarrass you with that helmet!”
Where did the helmet come from?
Captain Jason explained that the helmet was actually made by his former crew when they were working in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.
“That helmet has a lot of tradition for me… It’s actually gone away and come back to me. So it has a hell of a lot of tradition,” he said.
“My [old] crew bought a helmet and started buying the tiles and putting it all together. And it did become a bit of a, why have a mirror ball when you can have a disco helmet?”
Captain Jason’s “all hands on deck” motto
The seasoned Captain also lives by the motto, “all hands on deck”, meaning he leads from the top down.
“I’m a worker,” he said. “I’ve had a trade background. I started at the bottom and I’ve got to where I am by grafting. I’ve seen so many times on boats where different departments think that it’s not their job and they lose the fact that we’re trying to all get to the same end result and that’s a successful charter and a happy guest.
“If I show the tone that I’m not going to walk past a bin that needs to be emptied or help wash up, if I have that tone and I just dismiss that, then that gives the right for the deck crew to feel that way. If I actually make that our motto, and that’s what we do, then they have to follow suit.”
Since Captain Jason learns a lot about his crew by watching the show back (particularly when it comes to the drama behind the scenes), he also uses this method as a clever tool to “eavesdrop” and find out what’s going on so he can be prepared.
“As a captain, you walk around and you feel the vibe,” he admitted. “That’s why you wash up. Everything starts in the galley. You stand there and wash up in the galley and you’ll hear so much about what’s going on very quickly and then you can actually predict what’s going to happen. You can be prepared for it.”
Which Below Deck Down Under season one crew members are returning this season?
Captain Jason and chief stew Aesha Scott are the only two crew members returning this year. However, Aesha let it slip during an interview with Chattr that someone from the Below Deck franchise will be joining the crew mid-way through the season.
Stream Below Deck Down Under season two on Hayu.
Listen to the full interview with Captain Jason Chambers and Aesha Scott on The Entertainment Hotline below.
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