On the Below Deck franchise, it's all about how high tensions manage to somehow rise even higher on super yachts. The crew is in tight, confined spaces, juggling the personalities of their co-workers and the lofty demands of the clientele. But it's the captains on board (and their varied approaches to leadership) that inevitably ground the shows with some semblance of order during all the chaos. So it's been tremendously sad to learn that Below Deck: Mediterranean’s OG Captain, Mark Howard, died earlier this week. In the wake of his death, former castmates like Hannah Ferrier and Bobby Giancola are paying tribute.
According to a police report obtained by TMZ, Captain Mark Howard, from the original 2016 season of the show, was found dead this past week by his wife Susan. He was 65 years old at the time of his passing. Evidently, his wife was out of town for a dog show for a few days and returned to their Florida home, finding him in a state that might suggest boxes had fallen on top of him. There was allegedly blood on the floor and on Howard's face but, at the time of this writing, details have yet to be released concerning his cause of death.
It’s a tragic situation, and he will be indelibly missed by Bravo fans. Though the captain didn't return for another season of Mediterranean after his first run, he left a distinct mark as the most cool, calm, and collected leader to ever deal with the franchise’s castmates in that seminal season. His chief stewardess from that time, fan favorite Hannah Ferrier, remembered him fondly as well in her tribute on Instagram, saying:
Rest In Peace my friend. You were a great captain, friend and colleague. Always the gentleman. You will be missed.
Likewise, Captain Mark Howard’s death impacted his Season 1 deckhand, Bobby Giancola. He reflected on the sudden death to Showbiz Cheat Sheet, stating, “I feel so bad. He was a good man.” Their fellow co-star/third stewardess, Tiffany Jones (formerly Copeland), also had some kind words and some throwback photos of the captain:
RIP Captain Mark Howard. You were a joy to be around 💕 pic.twitter.com/ehbouzK5uSOctober 29, 2021
As a fan, I can still remember when Captain Mark Howard remarked at one point in a confessional, completely deadpan, that dealing with the Below Deck drama was more like babysitting. For the most part, though, he was a resoundingly fair and patient leader, especially in the case of Danny Zureikat. The lackadaisical deckhand, despite being given multiple warnings about needling his coworkers and canoodling with guests on board, was ultimately fired by Howard, who was in turn still courteous with him right up until the end. And Zureikat returned the favor in his own tribute to Howard’s death, which was posted to Twitter:
R.I.P Captain Mark Howard. My thoughts and prayers are with Mark’s family during this difficult time. Gone from our sight but never from our hearts. “O Captain! My Captain!” pic.twitter.com/wbud7GbEw0October 30, 2021
During his brief stint on the Bravo reality series, the captain came across as a foil character to the flagship show’s notorious Captain Lee. Where Lee was sarcastic and formidable on Below Deck, Howard was relatively mellow and quiet on Mediterranean. As a result, the crew dynamic was left mostly to play out naturally, which is what helped make the spinoff such a success. On Instagram, executive producer Nadine Rajabi reflected on Howard's pioneering presence in the first season. See below:
Even though Captain Mark Howard is gone now, it's clear he will be eternally remembered in the hearts and minds of those who personally knew him and all those who faithfully watched him on TV. We here at CinemaBlend offer our condolences to his wife, kids and loved ones during this difficult time.
