Crew gather at Bahia Cabana for Below Deck premiere

About 75 captains and crew gathered last night at the Bahia Cabana Restaurant & Bar in Ft. Lauderdale to watch the May 3 premiere of the latest season of the Bravo ‘Below Deck’ series Below Deck Mediterranean. 

Three of the crew from the show attended the event and were there surrounded by friends and colleagues.

Stew Tiffany Copeland, Ft. Lauderdale-based Capt. Mark Howard and First Mate Bryan Kattenburg mingled with the crowd as the episode aired.

The restaurant played the show on multiple screens including a giant projector screen usually used for airing sporting events.

Kattenburg, 29, said he found the casting call online and thought it would be a great opportunity. He Skyped with the casting director then was referred to the Bravo network and landed the Bosun position.

“Just like any other yacht job, I found it online,” he said.

The Northern California native said the first episode is about getting to know the cast. “Building a back story and seeing what their morals and values are,” he said.

Bosun Bryan Kattenburg, Stew Tiffany Copeland and Capt. Mark Howard star in Bravo TV’s Below Deck Mediterranean season.

“You have to take reality TV with a grain of salt,” Kattenburg said about what fans might see play out during the season.

“But, at the same time, a lot things that happened, really did happen.”

For now, Kattenburg said he plans to settle down in Ft. Lauderdale and he said he thinks his appearance on the show was a good experience.

“I stand by who I was, what I did,” the business major from Arizona State said.

“At the end of the day, all I cared about was that the captain liked me. Capt. Mark was great, very solid. I’m very lucky. Everyone else was pretty crazy.”

Bahia Cabana Manager Jeff Jordan said he was happy with the turnout and plans to host more viewings of the show.

Suzette Cook is editor of The Triton. Reach her at [email protected].