Below Deck Sailing Yacht: Tom Apologizes For Putting Boat At Risk
Below Deck Sailing Yacht star Tom Pearson took too long to report the anchor dragging and put the boat at risk. He is now apologizing for his mistake.
In a recent episode of Below Deck Sailing Yacht season 3, Parsifal III was in danger of running aground due to deckhand Tom Pearson’s negligence, and he has now publicly apologized for his actions that put the boat at risk. The UK-born yachtie grew up on a lake and was familiar with being on the water. In turn, he was a fairly green deckhand who needed a lot of guidance from First Mate Gary King and Chief Officer Colin MacRae. Tom didn’t make a good impression on the first night the BDSY crew met, as he drank a little too much and ended up getting sick in the cabin that he shared with Captain Glenn Shephard.
On the night of the boat incident, Tom was put on the night anchor watch, which meant that he had to keep track of the weather and current of the ocean. After all, the boat can drift or the anchor can get dragged. Most of the night was peaceful, but towards dawn, the weather turned and the winds picked up quickly at up to 31 knots. The Parsifal III anchor soon started dragging, which caused the boat to run aground and risk getting stuck on land. Captain Glenn and his deck crew were able to turn the boat around, but there was still damage to the keel. After the boat was safe, Captain Glenn tried to figure out how it happened. Tom swore that it happened suddenly, but Glenn found out that the anchor was dragging for 10 minutes before Tom alerted the crew.
Now, Tom has addressed the incident in a recent Instagram post (included below) and acknowledged his mistake. He wrote, “I’d like to start with saying I completely 100% take responsibility for what happened that night, I have no excuses and I blame no one but myself.” Tom shared that he was in denial at the time of the accident and wasn’t able to understand the gravity of the situation on Below Deck Sailing Yacht. He added, “I would like to apologize to the crew for putting you through that uncomfortable situation and to the guests we had onboard. I really hope you know my apology is sincere and you deserved better from me that night.”
Tom admitted that he was “very distracted by things happening at home” and let his guard down while on night watch. Being new to the BDSY world, Tom said that the experience will stay with him forever and he will grow from it. The crew offered their support and applauded him for the apology, with Chief Stew Daisy Kelliher and third stew Ashley Marti both telling Tom that they loved him.
Following the potentially devastating incident, Glenn kept his eye on Tom. He met privately with Colin and Gary to discuss his concerns about Tom. Captain Glenn questioned Tom’s competency and told Gary that he wasn’t comfortable putting Tom on any tasks that could risk anyone’s safety. Colin agreed with Glenn that if he didn’t feel safe having Tom on the boat, then they should let him go. Glenn wasn’t ready to make that decision yet, so he held off for the time being. During the rest of the charter, however, Glenn saw Tom slacking off. Fans may see Glenn finally lose his patience with him in the upcoming episodes of Below Deck Sailing Yacht.
Source: Tom Pearson/Instagram