It must be strange to watch this season ofBelow Deck Down Underfrom Bosun Wihan du Toit’s point of view. Wihan can see in real-time howhis failings as a leader have allowed deckhand Harry Van Vliet to step up and thrive. Wihan has spentBelow Deck Down Underseason 3flirting with all the women on board and eschewing his responsibilities while Harry got the girl Wihan originally wanted and has managed to do his job (and Wihan’s) more effectively.
If Wihan isn’t careful,Captain Jason Chambers will replace him with Harry, since Harry’s proven himself to be qualified and dependable this entire season.Wihan is following in the footstepsof disgraced Bosun Gary King in the way he runs his crew.Like Gary, Wihan struggleswith knowing when enough is enough. Wihan and Gary also share a love for romancing women in the crew, which is a distraction from the job at hand and can cause drama among staff. Wihan’s inappropriate behavior, coupled with his professional failings, makes Harry an even better candidate to take over as bosun.
Wihan Is Preoccupied With Romance
Wihan Has Courted Tzarina, Marina, And Adair
At the beginning ofBelow Deck Down Underseason 3, Wihan set his sights on Brianna “Bri” Duffield, a stew from New Jersey who has dabbled in runway modeling. Wihan marveled over Bri from a distance, trying to make the moves on her in his flirtatious, playful way. Harry also had his eye on Bri, and his way of moving in is a little more suave. While the crew is out for a fun night,Harry pulls Bri aside for a dancebefore planting a sweet kiss on her in front of everyone, including Wihan.
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In a confessional, Wihan said, “She does not belong with that man,” taking a shot at Harry’s nice-guy demeanor.Wihan seemed annoyed that Bri kissed Harry instead of him. Instead of dwelling, Wihan concluded that there were still plenty of other women on the boat for him to connect with, including Chef Tzarina Mace-Randolph, stew Marina Marcondes de Barros, and finally, his employee, deckhand Adair Werley.
Wihan initially pursued Tzarina, and she developed a crush on him. She was then crushed when Wihan accepted a date with Marina, where they shared a kiss. Wihan loved being chased by both Tzarina and Marina, and he didn’t care that the two women worked together in the interior and his entanglements with them might cause issues with work. Wihan broke up with both women on the same night, but that didn’t stop him from drunkenly kissing Tzarina again later on.
Wihan’s desire switched on a dime, however, when he decided he had feelings for Adair. Adair works on Wihan’s exterior crew, soit’s not exactly an appropriate relationship for Wihan to pursue. Not that Wihan cared, as he shared his feelings for Adair in a note he wrote for her.
“Adair, while country music is playing in the background, clearly those beautiful green eyes and beautiful smile has taken over and all I’m thinking about is the next time I’m seeing you again… Adair, I know we are working together and spending a lot of time together. I want to keep it professional at all times, but I won’t lie and say I don’t have feelings for you.”
Wihan’s overt display of affection for Adair is a conflict of interest.He is her superior, and by openly declaring his feelings for her, he puts himself in a position of looking like he’s playing favoriteswith his crew, which he is when it comes to Adair. Wihan lets his feelings overrule his professionalism.
Harry Has Stepped In To Cover For Wihan Multiple Times
Harry Is Doing Wihan’s Job
We are halfway through the season andhave already seen Wihan slip up professionally multiple times.Wihan blamed deckhand Johnny Arvanitis for an accidentwith a jet ski when, in fact, it was Wihan’s job to ensure that the equipment was safe for use. Wihan brushed off his responsibility as the leader and placed the blame directly on Johnny, even though he ignored that the jet ski wasn’t suitable to use.
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Wihan’s relationship with Adair distracted him during a dinner service. When the rest of the crew needed to help the guests, Wihan was nowhere to be found. He was below deck with Adair, helping her clean guest cabins, but let’s be honest. They were messing around and flirting and didn’t hear the calls for help on the radio.Harry was there to step in, even gamely participating in aFear Factor-inspired challenge for the guests.
Harry is always there to pick up the slack for Wihan. Internal issues with the deck crew were clear early on, andHarry raised the red flag on Wihan’s leadership. Harry asked Wihan to simply write instructions and schedules for the deck crew, which Wihan initially rebuffed, saying, “This isn’t rocket science.”
Harry didn’t even run to Captain Jason with his concerns, preferring instead to handle it directly with Wihan. But Captain Jason noticed that something was off with Harry, and took him aside to ask him what was going on. It’s only then that Harry lets Captain Jason in on some of how the deck crew is failing under Wihan’s leadership. Wihan eavesdrops on the conversation between Captain Jason and Harry and later bemoans that Harry isn’t loyal.
Instead of taking accountability for dropping the ball several times,Wihan got defensive. He attacked Harry for being “disloyal,” said everyone on the boat was being “sassy” with him when they were trying to directly communicate with him, and he couldn’t accept that he was the one who was responsible for all the issues. When he yelped that “someone needs to take control,” it was hard to believe Wihan couldn’t see that that “someone” was him.
Harry Is More Professional Than Wihan
Harry Is A Leader
During a charter lunch on the beach, which Wihan chose not to attend, communication between Wihan and the crew was lacking. Wihan underestimated several key factors in the lunch excursion, which caused the timing to be off and the crew to be upset. Instead of attending the excursion to make sure things ran smoothly, Wihan was gossiping with Harry about whether sous chef Alesia Harris had a crush on him. Harry couldn’t keep his opinion to himself during his confessional.
“I don’t know how delusional you have to be to think that if you get a text from a girl, she likes you. This isn’t The Bachelor, this is a super yacht.”
Instead of indulging in Wihan’s fantasy,Harry set him straight. Harry joked that Wihan couldn’t believe that Alesia was trying to make Wihan jealous when she sent him a text apologizing for teasing him about romancing all the women on board. While Wihan felt that Alesia was trying to make a move on him, Harry was more direct in bursting Wihan’s bubble.
Below Deck Down Underairs on Mondays at 9 p.m. EDT on Bravo and streams the next day on Peacock.
