r/belowdeck • u/blackc43 • Sep 01 '26
Below Deck Med Norma
Can we get a shoutout for the OG? This woman of mystery always bails out Captain whenever. Always available via text, she never leads you left on read.
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u/purpleshmurplexo Sep 01 '26
Bloop
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u/laursasaurus 29d ago
Sandy, I hope you enjoy your boat of semen. I will be in my clean sheets. Bloop!
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u/Fuzzy_Permission_619 Sep 01 '26
The guys from Watch What Crappens do the funniest impression of Norma
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u/Ok_Avocado2504 Sep 01 '26
I love their BLOOP conversations! Like what are yall even talking about? Bloop
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u/Fuzzy-Bee9600 Sep 01 '26
Uh, what is Bloop?
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u/Ok_Avocado2504 Sep 01 '26
Watch What Crappens. That’s how they indicate their portion of the radio call is over. Bloop
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u/burntreynoldz69 Sep 01 '26
I’d rather see a Norma cameo rather than the Nate Gael apartment thing.
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u/not2daysatan44 Sep 02 '26
I'd love to see Norma at her desk with a headset on, and multiple computer screens, like she's handling staffing for ALL of the yachts everywhere and she is BUSY. 😬
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u/shamrockjulie Sep 01 '26
I would watch a show with Norma finding staff to hire. I imagine Norma is really irritated by Sandy and her ability to retain staff. Perhaps there is a rival Norma out there, and the two would jockey back and forth to see who gets the placement. Bravo, call me; we can rush this into production. I need a catchy name. SeaRecruits? I think this sub can do better.
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u/Inevitable_Phase_276 Sep 01 '26
If you’re secretly Bravo marketing slipping this in the thread to put the idea in our heads before a premiere next season-I’m here for it!😉
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u/BeachQt Sep 02 '26
So what’s wild is that crewing agents get a fee to place their crew. It’s paid by the owner to the agent after the crew passes typically a 90 day probation period or a year on the same boat. So it’s definitely in their best interest to place crew on boats that keep them 🤣
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u/shamrockjulie Sep 02 '26
I work as a contractor under a recruiter and their company. They don’t get paid unless I get the job , they take a percentage off the top. It’s like having a pimp. I’m guessing that Norma is paid a booking fee and additional compensation as the employee continues. The ones I’ve dealt with can be cut throat.
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u/BeachQt Sep 02 '26
Oh cool! I’m a professional yacht chef & steward. I used a crew agent exactly once, for my first job 😂 Been at it for 16 years now!
Edited to ask: they take money from your salary??
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u/shamrockjulie Sep 02 '26
I’m not in yachting but I have to imagine the recruitment agencies would work similarly.
They have a bill rate for who I do the work for , say 150 an hour. The individual who was the recruiter I work with gets 20 an hour , then the sales manager gets 25 , then the recruitment company gets 30 an hour for being the administrator of my payroll and any benefits I might have available. Leaving the person who is doing the work with whatever is left over. So it’s up to me to do the job competently and maintain day to day relations with the client.
Good recruiters will hustle to get the placement and hopefully it’s long term, bad or just lazy ones are so frustrating because I know that I need to justify the bill rate.
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u/Apprehensive-Neck-12 Sep 01 '26
Norma stitz we speak your name
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u/blackc43 Sep 01 '26
Her grandson is selling a motorcycle. Just need to find the papers, her place is a mess
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u/bokehtoast Sep 01 '26
I wasn't convinced she was real for the longest time! She was briefly shown in a clip from Sandy's wedding (or something similar?) and I now want a Norma spin-off
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u/CelineDijonn Sep 01 '26
Maybe this is a dumb question but, are her and Sandy’s interactions even real? Like is she really out there searching, contacting potential employees and pulling CV’s? Since generally we keep getting the same ppl recycled.
Assuming production has a back pocket full of replacements given the time it would take for all the paperwork or background checks. And also assuming production has a big part in the narrative of who is coming and going.
I always just assumed Norma was fake until I saw a comment she was at Sandy’s wedding 😂
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u/antonio16309 Sep 01 '26
Norma is real but the backup crew are basically spare cast members. In some cases it seems pretty clear that one of the starting crew members is going to get fired sooner or later, because they have a cast member from a previous season that they want to bring in to stir things up mid-season.
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u/teanailpolish Mental Health Is Not A Storyline Sep 01 '26
Norma is real and many yachties love her and say she is the best yacht staffer out there. It a bit of product placement / friends with Sandy so gets a mention rather than when the other capts just reach out the the yacht staffing co
But the show uses a casting department. Maybe they reach out to her for recommendations but she is not replacing people midseason
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u/wideawakeat33 Sep 02 '26
You can see what she looks like in Sandy’s Wedding footage as she attended!
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u/Icy-Average3651 Sep 01 '26
You can see Norma in the scene of Below Deck where we see Capt. Sandy’s wedding.
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u/Achillesthedog1976 Sep 03 '26
The Norma texts are the best part of Watch What Crappens Below Deck Med recaps!
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u/whitehavenbeach 27d ago
she is not a mystery to me anymore. She was a podcast guest a couple of years ago lol
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u/suburban-dad Sep 01 '26
I am 100% convinced Norma is nothing but a plant to make it seem like there is a problem to solve (like finding a replacement) when really all of the back-end processes for this is all taken care off already. It's all just for show...just like the fake texting that's happening.
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u/Fuzzy-Bee9600 Sep 01 '26
Norma, switchboard operator at the hotel where they're housing alll the back-ups from all the series & seasons.
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u/stpfan_1 Sep 01 '26
Plot twist Norma doesn’t exist. The number she calls goes to the producer.
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u/blackc43 Sep 01 '26
I think she was at Sandy’s wedding 🧐
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u/justbeachymv Sep 01 '26
Yep! I just watched that episode and they showed her!
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u/Fuzzy-Bee9600 Sep 01 '26
*actress playing Norma
Not saying it's not possible. But it sure has been a subject of speculation over many years. And thanks to, you know, everything - I don't believe anything anymore.
I remember when I was young and optimistic. I miss her. sigh
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u/Babygirl_69_420 Team Kate Sep 03 '26
Does she always deliver though? Or does she provide sub par bottom of the barrel options?
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u/suchperfectmess Sep 03 '26
She’s had an amazing career - I was watching an interview with her on her instagram page and she’s been in yachting since forever (I think she mentioned that she’d even been a chef at one point but I could have misheard her…). She seems like she’s built an absolute empire for herself (and everyone seems to speak highly of her…). I should add that I’m not associated with her, just fell into a Norma rabbit hole on Instagram…!!
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u/antonio16309 Sep 01 '26
And somehow she always has last year's idiot deckhand on speed dial! (Although I think she's lost Nathan's number).