Scripted? No Sir: 4 Below Deck Stars Who Had Near-Death Experience

In 2013, the Bravo production team chartered a yacht, captained by Lee Rosbach to create a reality TV show about its crew and guests. Since then, Below Deck has aired for ten seasons and attracted a vast audience. The show stands out as one of the most authentic reality TV series, and that's no accident.

Numerous interviews with the cast and production team confirm that Below Deck is genuinely unscripted, and all the dramatic events viewers witness on screen occur in real life. Even the harrowing near-death experiences faced by the cast members were real scares for everyone on board. Let's revisit some of the most memorable incidents.

Ashton Pienaar (Season 6)

Season 6 of Below Deck stunned many viewers with an accident involving deckhand Ashton Pienaar. Due to a misstep, a towline wrapped around Pienaar's leg, dragging him underwater and alongside the yacht. Fortunately, the show's cameraman, Brent Freeburg, acted quickly to release the tow line, saving Pienaar's leg. Without this intervention, the deckhand might have lost his foot and bled out within moments.

Lee Rosbach (prior to Season 10)

News that the beloved Captain Lee Rosbach would not return for Season 11 sent Below Deck fans into a tailspin. However, his decision to leave the show didn't come out of nowhere. In Season 10, the captain was seen using a cane due to the serious spinal surgery he underwent in 2021.

On Twitter, Rosbach revealed that the surgery addressed spinal stenosis, a condition that can be life-threatening if not treated appropriately. Thankfully, the captain is on the mend and feeling much better.

Eddie Lucas (prior to the show)

Below Deck's Deckhand/Bosun/First Officer Eddie Lucas, a seasoned sailor, faced his brush with death even before the reality show began. Lucas recounted a harrowing incident on Malia White's Total Ship Show podcast. He was operating a tugboat, guiding a container ship. It was dark and the container ship had a black hull. Eddie was shadowing the bow of the container ship when he suddenly crashed into the ship's bow flare.

‘All of the windows around me pretty much exploded in and the wheel house started getting crushed in on me, and then it started pushing us over, and if it kept pushing us over,’ Lucas recalled.

Fortunately, Lucas didn't miss a beat in turning his tugboat around and saving it from more serious damage.

Yacht Guests and Nico Scholly (Season 4)

Episode 6 of Season 4 shocked viewers with a dire situation involving two yacht guests and deckhand Nico Scholly, who emerged as a real-life hero. Strong winds and waves stranded the tubing guests on a reef, placing them at risk of drowning, as they were unable to return to the yacht.

Thankfully, Scholly risked his own safety, diving into the water to rescue the stranded guests.

Sources: Twitter, Total Ship Show podcast.