‘Below Deck’ Star Captain Jason Chambers Shares Update on His Dating Life (Exclusive)
Below Deck Down Under might be down a Deckhand.
Harry Van Vliet suffered a gruesome injury during the Bravo series' Feb. 17 episode.
The scary accident occurred as Harry was straddling a jet ski in the water and hooking it up to a pully system to bring it back on board for the night. The Australia native began screaming in pain and yelling, "Hook down! Hook down!"
Captain Jason Chambers then came to the rescue.
"Harry, you okay?" he frantically asked the yachtie before calling for backup assistance. "Production, we have an issue with Harry on the jet ski at the moment. I've gotta go around and retrieve him."
Meanwhile, Harry was writhing in pain and holding up his bloody right hand with his thumb extended.
Once Harry got back on board holding his bleeding hand, he asked his fellow crew and charter guests, "Where's the medic, quick?! I need a towel or something. I f--king crushed my thumb."
A gruesome close-up shot of the injury showed his entire thumb nail missing and pieces of skin in shreds.
While the medic stopped the bleeding, the Deckhand explained how the mishap happened.
"I was pulling up the jet ski and I clipped the cradle on," he recounted, "and then a wave came up and that finger, that thumb, was in between the cradle and the jet ski. So it was just crushed."
As for the medic's diagnosis, the injury was indeed very series—and potentially season-ending.
"You don't have a fingernail. You can get staff infection from the water," the medic told Harry. "I'm doing my best to cover it, but you have to be very mindful about using it. If your symptoms don't subside, if you feel pain, if your movement is limited, then I suggest an X-ray in case you have any kind of fracture."
As the evening went on, Harry continued to complain about the nearly unbearable throbbing in his finger, despite taking meds. And Harry's crew mates were equally concerns about how his condition would affect his job.
As Deckhand Wihan Du Toit admitted in a confessional, "I'm quite worried about Harry and his thumb. He's in pain. This is really going to affect the deck team massively."
Though Harry tried to power through the charter, simple tasks—includig changing his clothes and carrying deck chairs—were challenging. And after a sleepless night due to the pain, he agreed to head to the mainland to get it checked out at a hospital the next day.
"It feels awful," he admitted. "I've never felt like this in my life. This season could be over for me before it even starts."
And Jason was equally worried about his season three future aboard the Katina.
"I don't want to lose Harry," the Captain shared in a confessional. "He's got good energy, he's good for the crew. It was time for him to grow this season, however, this could be a broken thumb as well. If that's the issue, then we need a new Deckhand."
See if Harry is able to carry on this season or if he'll have to bow out early when Below Deck Down Under airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on Bravo.
