The first season of Below Deck premiered on Bravo in July 2013, with nine crew members on a 164-foot yacht in St. Maarten renamed Honor for the cameras. Thirteen years later, the show is in its 13th season, and the original crew has scattered. One of them now captains a tugboat, one is back in the galley on a spin-off, and others have stepped away from public life entirely. Here is where the Below Deck Season 1 cast is now, using only updates they or Bravo have shared publicly.
Who was on the original Below Deck crew?
According to the show’s casting and Bravo’s original bios, the Season 1 crew of Honor was:
- Lee Rosbach, Captain
- Aleks Taldykin, First Officer
- Ben Robinson, Chef
- Adrienne Gang, Chief Stew
- Kat Held, Second Stew
- Samantha Orme, Third Stew
- C.J. LeBeau, Second Engineer
- Eddie Lucas, First Deckhand
- David Bradberry, Second Deckhand
Kate Chastain, often remembered as an original, actually joined in Season 2. The first season was shot in the fall of 2011 and premiered on July 1, 2013.
Captain Lee Rosbach
The captain who became the face of the franchise left the bridge during Season 10. Bravo reported in December 2022 that he stepped away mid-season because of a nerve issue, following back surgery, that was affecting his ability to walk. Season 11 introduced a new captain. Captain Lee has stayed in television, though: in 2024 he began hosting Deadly Waters with Captain Lee, a true-crime series on Oxygen about crimes committed on the water. He is also the author of the memoir Running Against the Tide: True Tales from the Stud of the Sea.
Eddie Lucas
Eddie’s story is my favorite of the group, and I have followed it closely. He started as first deckhand, became bosun in Season 2, and earned his first officer stripes from Captain Lee in Season 8. In December 2022 he announced that, after ten years of work, he had become captain of a harbor tug in Baltimore. Bravo reported that Captain Lee answered: “Well done Captain Lucas, well done sir.”
His tug is the Lynne Moran, one of the ship-assist tugs in Baltimore Harbor. In October 2023, Eddie’s crew rescued two stranded mariners, and Bravo reported that the crew was nominated for a Safety Award at the 2024 International Tug & Salvage Awards. When I spoke with him for Voices of Luxury, he talked about the grit the show left out, returning to commercial work, and launching his sustainability-driven golf brand, Splash City Golf. You can hear the full conversation in Where Is Eddie Lucas Now? (He’s a Tugboat Captain). Years earlier, he joined us on the podcast to share his favorite Caribbean yachting tips.
Ben Robinson
Chef Ben is the Season 1 crew member who has stayed closest to the franchise. After four seasons of Below Deck and stints on Below Deck Mediterranean, he returned as chef on Below Deck Down Under Season 4, alongside Captain Jason Chambers. His longtime friend Kate Chastain told Bravo Insider in November 2026 that Ben is “always busy doing private cheffing for other people around the world.”
Adrienne Gang
Season 1’s chief stew moved from the interior to the galley. In 2018 she told fans she was working as a chef on yachts in the Bahamas, mostly freelancing and on charters. Bravo reported that same year that she married chiropractor Dr. Andrew Danks in a beach ceremony in Florida.
Aleks Taldykin
The first officer was, at one point, meant to be captain. In 2019 Bravo, citing Vulture, reported that Aleks was originally slated to command Honor before Captain Lee stepped in, and that Aleks now runs his own yacht-charter company.
Kat Held, Samantha Orme, C.J. LeBeau and David Bradberry
Kat Held returned for Season 2, and Kate Chastain has spoken fondly of working with her. David Bradberry came back in Season 3. Neither has shared a recent public career update that I could verify, and Samantha Orme and C.J. LeBeau have largely stayed out of the spotlight since 2013. I would rather leave it there than repeat rumor. They signed up for one season of television, not a lifetime of it.
The original crew at a glance
- Lee Rosbach: left during Season 10; hosts Deadly Waters with Captain Lee (Oxygen, from 2024)
- Eddie Lucas: captain of the tug Lynne Moran, Baltimore (since 2022); founder of Splash City Golf
- Ben Robinson: chef on Below Deck Down Under Season 4; private chef
- Adrienne Gang: yacht chef (2018 update)
- Aleks Taldykin: runs a yacht-charter company (2019 update)
If the show has you dreaming of a charter of your own, start with my guide to your first yacht charter and my Q&A with yachting expert Kristen Shirley.
FAQ
Who was on Below Deck Season 1?
Captain Lee Rosbach, first officer Aleks Taldykin, chef Ben Robinson, chief stew Adrienne Gang, stews Kat Held and Samantha Orme, engineer C.J. LeBeau, and deckhands Eddie Lucas and David Bradberry.
Was Kate Chastain on Below Deck Season 1?
No. Kate Chastain joined as chief stew in Season 2. Adrienne Gang was chief stew in Season 1.
What is Eddie Lucas doing now?
Eddie Lucas captains the Lynne Moran, a ship-assist tugboat in Baltimore Harbor, a role he announced in December 2022. He also founded Splash City Golf.
Why did Captain Lee leave Below Deck?
He stepped away during Season 10 because of a nerve issue, following back surgery, that was affecting his ability to walk, as he explained on the show and Bravo reported in December 2022.
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