Season 3 of Below Deck Down Under is shaping up to be one of the most drama-filled seasons in the Below Deck franchise. Captain Jason is at the helm of the Katina as he and his crew, with returning BDDU faces like Chef Tazarina Mace-Ralph and deckhand Harry Van Vliet, live and work together while sailing around the Seychelles with their wealthy charter guests.

Besides plenty of crew hookups, the season has also seen a wave of firings. Early on in the reality TV show, the franchise’s first-ever sous chef, Anthony Bird, was quickly fired by Captain Jason after clashing with chef Tzarina. In the show’s most recent Episode 11, Captain Jason made yet another tough call by firing not only strong deckhand Johnny Arvanitis, but his bosun Wihan Du Toit, too, following a chaotic situation on board.

Still, the Katina must continue with its charters. Thankfully, Captain Jason acted fast and not only hired a new bosun, but another deckhand for the rest of the season.

What Happened On Below Deck Down Under Season 3 That Saw Captain Jason Firing Both Bosun Wihan Du Toit And Deckhand Johnny Arvanitis?

Below Deck Down Under Season 3, Episode 11 saw Captain Jason making some very tough decisions about his crew. After an intense night in which he was woken up to yells and walls being punched by deckhand Johnny, Jason made the right call to remove him off the boat and to a hotel to cool off.

“I don’t know what’s going on. I’m alarmed at this type of behavior,” the captain said. “You can’t have it on the boat. This is not the Johnny I know,” Jason states.

The next morning, Jason makes the decision to ultimately fire the deckhand because of his aggression.

In the previous episode, Johnny and sous chef Alesia Harris went on a date. However, back in their bunks, Alesia makes the mistake of getting into bosun Wihan Du Toit’s bed not knowing it was not Johnny. The deckhand walks into the two in bed together to which Alesia jumps out, learning that she’s actually in bed with Wihan. This then caused Johnny to lose it.

However, that same morning, Jason learns that Wihan has also been causing trouble for the crew. He learns that Harry, a returning deckhand this season, was in tears after Wihan scolded him. Jason then decides to speak to Harry, Tzarina, and chief stew Lara Rigby about Wihan’s off-putting behavior. They all feel that Wihan has been causing “so much drama.”

“At the end of the day when people are reacting this upset over the same sort of thing, it just shows that it’s just not one person putting the blame on someone,” Tzarina tells Jason.

Throughout the season, Wihan has stirred up some unnecessary drama with his crew, which included budding heads with Lara on multiple occasions and getting involved in a love triangle and focusing his attention on the women on board rather than his job.

After firing Johnny, Jason decides to fire Wihan as well, though the two men reacted very differently.

How Did The Men React To Their Firings?

Interestingly, both Johnny and Wihan did not react the same way after Captain Jason told them they were fired. Coming aboard the Katina after sleeping in a hotel, Johnny met with Captain Jason, who shared with him, “Look, you have worked so well, but punching walls and having that aggression, I can’t tolerate it, for the safety of the crew and us going forward. I have to let you go.”

Johnny understood that his actions the night before were unacceptable and while he was disappointed at his fate, knew it was the best decision for Jason to make.

“I understand,” Johnny begins. “Because this part of myself does not really exist inside me anymore, to show this again, after so many years, it’s something I really hate. And for me, I don’t really belong here. So, no hard feelings. Thank you for everything you taught me.”

Before he left Katina, Alesia met Johnny in his bunk, where she apologized. “I don’t blame you. I don’t think you really knew what happened,” he told the sous chef.

Unfortunately, Wihan did not take his firing with as much understanding.

“I’ve given you the responsibility, head of department, to run your team. Now, as the charters have gone on, and the back chatter’s coming up, you’re not cohesive with the interior. I’ve tried to bring up that negativity won’t be tolerated,” Jason tells him in the bridge deck, to which Wihan tried to defend himself but to no avail.

“But at the end of the day I feel you’re not taking accountability for all the things that have been happening. And with everything else that’s going on, I’m going to make a change. The only common denominator creating a divide in the team — it’s like an infection. And I need to cut the infection out. So I’m going to let you go,” Captain Jason adds.

Wihan was shocked that he was getting fired. In a confessional he shared, “I’m stunned. I’ve been trying my absolute, absolute hardest. Unappreciated. So be it.”

Before he leaves, he shares the news with Adair Werley, whom he had a crush on. However, Adair isn’t too sad to see him go. In her own confessional, she details:

“I think Wihan is trying to convince himself as well as me that he’s not the problem. He’s gotten himself in a love triangle situation with Tzarina and Marina. He’s ended up in this situation with Alesia — whatever the hell that is. He’s pissed off Johnny, his ‘best friend.’ He’s bickering and always fighting with Harry. Always fighting with Lara. I might miss Wihan later down the road, but right now, I think it’s best he goes.”

Who Did Captain Jason Replace As Bosun And Deckhand?

Captain Jason wasted no time getting in some C.V.s to replace both Wihan and Johnny. Immediately, he received two resumes that stuck out to him. First was Nate Salmon, an experienced bosun who impressed the crew with his resume.

The 29-year-old from Sydney, Australia has four years of experience as a bosun and seven years of yachting experience. He was also thrust into a new charter, but handled everything quite professionally.

Nate also shared some insight on how he devloped a positive attitude at work after growing up being surrounded by women.

“As a child, I had two older sisters. I grew up getting dressed like a princess. I grew up getting makeup put on me. I grew up getting water polo balls pegged at my head. I was raised by strong women. Surrounded by strong women. And I’m so grateful because it taught me how to listen. How to be positive, fair and easy going,” he shared.

Captain Jason also hired deckhand Nicolas Cattelan, 24, to replace Johnny. However, unlike the Greek native, Nicolas has a lot less experience on yachts. Nic seemed to be a little nervous working on a vessel as large as the Katina.

“I actually got into yachting pretty recently. Katina is by far the biggest boat I’ve ever worked on. Super complicated layout. Almost like the Starship Enterprise,” he shares.

Sharing a little bit about his life in the same episode, Nic states:

“Believe it or not in high school I actually wasn’t very popular,” he said in his confessional during the April 14 episode. “I was always a nerd about all sorts of things. Movies. Science. Being here makes me feel like I’m part of the Starship Enterprise crew. I feel like I’m discovering strange new worlds, and new cultures and planets and boldly going where no one has gone before.”

The episode does see Nic having a bit of a struggle as a deckhand, but there is always room for improvement if he lasts. In fact, Episode 11 sees him with the charter guests who play a game of beer pong. He unknowingly takes a shot of alcohol given to him by one of the guests, something that is strictly forbidden.