Anchors Aweigh to Anchors Away: What Happened to the Mustique on 'Below Deck Med?'

Season 9 of Below Deck Mediterranean has been full of drama and excitement. In addition to the usual problematic romantic overtures, Captain Sandy Yawn's crew has also had to deal with some superyacht-sized technical issues. One broken windlass could have thrown the charter completely off course from its planned schedule. Combined with the questionable competency of some of the crew members, as well as several appearances by the non-cast crew members is proof this season is unlike those prior.

Season 9's cast of characters features an entirely new crew save for the known faces of Captain Sandy and Chief Stew Aesha Scott. The newbies have had a host of issues in Season 9. The primary source of the drama revolves around a lust triangle between Sabrina "Bri" Muller, Elena "Ellie" Dubaich, and Joe Bradley that has led to many interpersonal issues that have leaked into their actual work. But an even bigger incident occurs that supersedes any of the usual petty drama seen in the series.

A major issue arose at the end of Episode 6 involving the anchor of the Mustique. The primary windlass, which is the machine used to hoist the anchor, was discovered to be broken when it was time to hoist it up. When they attempted to use the secondary to pull it up, the line snapped. The anchor began freefalling deeper and deeper into the ocean, meaning that they could have lost the whole anchor to the depths. They caught the anchor in time, but there was still a costly issue at hand.

Prior to the discovery of the broken windlass, Bosun Iain Maclean was already in hot water with Captain Sandy due to his inability to properly communicate with her. From his poor judgment with the storage of the floating dock to his choice of Joe as lead deckhand, Iain was becoming a source of annoyance. When it was discovered that the tender boat was not charged, Iain had to come clean and share that it was most likely his fault the tender went uncharged when they needed it at that moment.

The anchor situation managed to be resolved by leaving it marked in the open water as they went back to port. Leaving the anchor and having it retrieved and reattached cost a little over $40,000. The costly issue hurt, but Mother Gaia created bigger issues. Devastating wildfires were in the midst of raging as they prepared to leave for the next charter. Things were tense at the end, and it looks like viewers will have to wait to find out whether they safely made it past the superyacht blocking them.