As Season 4 of “Below Deck Down Under” set sail, Capt. Jason Chambers was navigating some turbulence: feuding crew members. A stuffed unicorn thrown overboard. Out-of-control Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.
“It’s a lot to listen to,” he said of the squabbling cast members who were aboard the superyacht Katina near the Caribbean island of Canouan. “However, I saw them having dinner after they shot, and it was the quietest I’ve heard them. Obviously there is a point where they do get exhausted.”
As does the Australian-born Chambers, who was a mechanic, a plumber and a rugby player before taking a yacht’s helm at 28.
So when filming was over, he headed home to Bali to spend quiet time with his 11-year-old daughter, Saskia, and recharge.
Last season, Chambers dealt with his father’s Alzheimer’s, his mother’s stroke and his own melanoma surgery amid the intensity of shooting, which he called a logistical nightmare for the production crew.
“It’s a hard work environment and you always come out and reflect and go, ‘OK, well why did I behave that way?’” he said.
“And years later, you look back and go, ‘I saw myself, I understand myself, and I can be better or I can learn,’” he said of eventually watching the edited version of the show. “Actually, it is a nice little tool to look forward to. And it’s a great opportunity for my parents to finally see what I did for 30 years when I was traveling.”
In a video call, Chambers talked about free-diving as meditation, what the bracelets he wears mean to him and his daughter, and their favorite dinner. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
Soup Dumplings
Soup dumplings are just so easy. I love the way it comes in on the bamboo [steamer in restaurants]. I have a cook in the Philippines who I put through culinary training and so one day I might even have a dumplings restaurant. With margaritas.
Travel Blender
I was traveling around with an electrical blender. I had U.K. converters, I had U.S. converters, I had Australian converters. My daughter for my birthday last year bought me a rechargeable blender, and it’s an absolute game changer. I can race out to the shops no matter where I am, get the minimum stuff that I can get through in the morning and throw it all in there and I’m done. And there’s no hangry captain.
Workout Bands
This old body, it’s 50-plus. It’s had some sports injuries. If I don’t keep the movements up, it gets on top of me. I don’t try and lift weights. I’m too old for that. But I love the band workout. I throw it around a bed post and I get these muscles going every morning.
Free-Diving Equipment
I’m an avid diver. It’s my meditation, my time to get lost. I’ve done up to a Level 2 certificate now, and I would love to even do more. I love being underwater. I love being down there for a long time. I can hold my breath for a minute 30, which is not that long, but it’s enough for me to go deep.
FaceTime
It doesn’t matter where I travel — FaceTime is open to my daughter all the time, no matter what time zone.
My Hotel Bedside Setup
I’ve got a little photo of me and my daughter from many years ago that she took when she first got one of those little Polaroid things that came out. I travel everywhere with it. When I set up at night, I make sure I’ve got that there, along with my phone for FaceTime and my moringa oil, to keep myself young and durable.
My Bracelet Collection
I’ve only got two on at the moment, but sometimes I’ll have my whole wrist full of bracelets. My daughter makes those little plastic colorful ones and sometimes I’ll have the most outrageous collection of up to 10 bracelets on. I have a thing that I do not take them off unless they fall off. And then you make a wish.
Kimono
I actually had one in Season Three, a kimono that I’d sleep in at night. I know viewers probably had a bit of a giggle. It’s beautiful. I got it made here in Bali and I love it. It’s so hot here. It’s my walk-around pre-bed routine.
Supplements
I get my blood test done annually, so I know exactly what I need and where I’m at. Do Not Age has supplements that I can travel with and I have it all spaced out and that’s that. I don’t want a bathroom full of bottles.
A Nice Steak and a Bottle of Shiraz
There’s nothing better. My daughter loves our little steak night, so when I’m back, once a week we go out for steak and I have a nice bottle of shiraz. Yes, a whole bottle. It’s only three and a half glasses. Don’t judge.
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