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Captain Glenn Shephard Says Tom Pearson Did “Such a Grievous Thing” Before Being Let Go
The Below Deck Sailing Yacht boss addresses why he let the deckhand go and the impact on the remaining Parsifal III crew.
Captain Glenn Shephard encountered a first in his Below Deck Sailing Yacht career when he let a crew member go earlier this season. The Parsifal III boss said goodbye to Tom Pearson after the yacht ran aground while the deckhand was on anchor watch.
After Captain Glenn dismissed Tom, the Parsifal III yachties had to get through nearly two charters while down a crew member, which caused some chaos on deck. So when Captain Glenn appeared on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen on April 25, a member of the virtual audience wanted to know if he regretted letting Tom go since it put so much stress on the crew as they waited for his replacement. "Yeah, that's a tough one," Captain Glenn admitted.
However, Captain Glenn said he had no choice but to let Tom go, even though it was difficult for the crew to be short-staffed. "It had to be done. It was such a grievous thing that he dropped the ball there, he had to go, and we had to just be man down and live with it, you know?" Captain Glenn explained. "So, obviously, you don't want to do that, but yeah, it had to happen."
Believe it or not, Tom actually agreed with Captain Glenn's decision to let him go while speaking exclusively with Bravo Insider earlier this season. "I think he made the right decision and nothing but respect for Captain Glenn. I think he's a great guy. Not a lot of people would put up with this s--t," Tom said, referencing when he got sick in their cabin on the first night of the season. "I think he did a great job. I think he did what had to be done."
In fact, Tom said he knew he had a lot of apologizing to do for the anchor dragging incident in Season 3 of Below Deck Sailing Yacht. "Whenever I see Glenn or talk to him, I'd like to apologize to him, apologize to the crew, to the fans of the show or whatever, to the guests that were on the boat," Tom shared. "But apart from that, I don't need to apologize to anyone. I made a mistake. Like, I really don't have to just spend my whole life apologizing for it. I've literally made amends with what I did. And, you know, I'm allowed to move on like everyone else."
To find out what Tom has been up to since leaving the Parsifal III crew, including whether or not he's still in yachting, check out his full exclusive interview with Bravo Insider.
As for the fate of the Parsifal III crew now that Tom and Gabriela Barragan have left the boat, two new crew members will soon join the team to give them some much-needed help — as well as a dose of drama. Check out what's still to come in Season 3 of Below Deck Sailing Yacht below.
Want more Below Deck Sailing Yacht? New episodes air every Monday at 8/7c.
