Fans were shocked to find out Below Deck Down Under season 2 deckhand Adam Kodra got fired. Captain Jason Chambers made the unpopular decisions, despite Second Officer Joao Franco defending Adam, to fire the Brooklyn native. Lots of fans argued Culver Bradbury, who’s in contention with Below Deck Med‘s Jack Stirrup for laziest deckhand ever, should’ve been fired over Adam, who actually works hard. Yet, Captain Jason decided he had no choice to fire Adam. There are reasons why firing Adam was the right call by the Australian captain.
Adam in his US Navy uniform (Instagram).
Ultimately more experienced yachtie and Lead Deckhand Luka Brunton replaced Adam so that the crew could finish the season without worrying about safety.
1. Adam Put The Entire Crew & Charter Guests In Danger Dropping The Anchor While Underway On BDDU Season 2
Adam working on superyacht Excellence (Instagram).
Deckhand Adam put the safety of superyacht Northern Sun‘s crew and charter guests in serious jeopardy when he accidentally dropped the anchor. A crew member dropping an anchor underway — there’s three safety factors that stop you from doing that. For it to happen, and for the damage it could cause to the boat or to him himself, the chain could snap, shrapnel going anywhere, Adam could’ve ruined our whole season. I’m furious,” Captain Jason said at the start of episode 12.
Captain Lee Rosbach also watched Adam’s major boating faux pas of dropping the anchor underway while watching the show with Kate Chastain on their Bravo show, Couch Talk With Captain Lee And Kate. He said the deckie already had a few “monumental [bleep]-ups” that are fireable offenses.
2. Why Adam Deserved To Be Fired By Captain Jason: He Caused Damage To The Yacht
In the last docking before his colossal anchor mistake, Adam failed to get a fender up to protect Northern Sun from hitting the dock, causing a noticeable scratch on the boat costing $1,000 in damage. Furthermore, earlier in the season they lost equipment from the boat because it wasn’t properly looked after.
3. Deckhand Adam Had A Bad Attitude, Temper & Talked Trash About Joao
Although not as egregious as the above examples, Adam showed a bad attitude about having to clean the boat. He left broken glass that a charter guest stepped on. On top of that, he caused dissension in the ranks when he bashed Second Officer Joao Franco for being lazy, meanwhile he was actually working very hard. Culver also noticed his bad attitude and him yelling about safety. Previews also showed him talking about wanting to fight someone.
4. Adam Didn’t Inform the Crew He Gets Seasick & Bribing To Pass Swim Test
Adam’s seasickness was so bad Captain Jason noticed. It affected his work at times because he was under the weather. On top of that, Adam in one of his confessionals admitted to not being a good swimmer and apparently bribing the examiner to help him pass his swim test while in a naval academy. A yachtie afraid of the water could be a serious issue.
5. Adam’s High Credentials But Many Mistakes
Adam said in the first episode of BDDU season 2, “Now I have this Third Mate, unlimited License, which allows me to work on any ship in the world.” Captain Lee said he was shocked how many rookie mistakes Adam made with such a high qualification, something higher than even the OG Below Deck captain has for qualifications. Yes, Adam was green working on yachts, but he still made major mistakes no sailor should make, and the fact he had such high qualifications made it all the worse.
With that all in mind, Captain Jason was justified in firing Adam, even if it was sad to see him go because he was liked overall by his crewmates and worked hard.
