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Hugo Luis Ortega | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1 July |
| Occupation(s) | Superyacht captain, recruiter, educator, bosun, reality TV star |
| Notable work | Below Deck |
| Spouse | Shelby Hayn (Bee) |
Hugo Ortega is a Superyacht captain, recruiter, and educator, and the founder of Superyacht Sunday School, an organisation helping people travel and earn as a member of a yacht crew. [1]
Ortega is also an American media personality best known for his role as the bosun in the 12th season of the Bravo reality television series Below Deck. [2] [3]
Hugo Ortega was born on 1 July in Manhattan and raised in The Bronx borough of New York City and was raised by Dominican and Honduran immigrants, Mary Carmen Ortiz and Hugo Reniery Ortega.
Ortega grew up as a Jehovah's Witness but left the religion at the age of 17. [4] [5]
He attended West Orange High School in Orange County, Florida from 2005 to 2009. He graduated in 2013 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Florida. [6]
Before completing his engineering degree, he worked as a cashier, sales associate, and guest services at Target and as a waiter and bartender at Yamato Japanese Steak House.
During his degree, Ortega worked as a Materials and Process engineering intern at Lockheed Martin and also worked as a Vice President of Materials Advantage, and then was promoted to senior researcher at the University of Florida.
After graduating with a Materials Science and Engineering degree, He moved to Houston in Texas working as an Operations Global Rotational Development Program Engineer at Cameron International. [7]
Ortega left his job in May 2015 on a one-year backpacking world-tour.
After meeting a South African deckhand Wesley Walton (who appeared as a bosun on the Bravo reality television series and Below Deck spin-off Below Deck Mediterranean for its second season) in Myanmar who told him about yachting, Ortega returned to the United States, completing his SCTW Training passing his medical exams and landed his first job in yachting. [8]
His first job in yachting was as a Deckhand/2nd Engineer aboard the M/Y Tsumat for 7 months. This was followed by him working as a Deckhand, Lead Deckhand, Bosun/3rd Officer at the M/Y Fountainhead.
Ortega then worked as a seasonal Chase Boat Captain/Bosun on M/Y RH3 for 7 months. Hugo left this role to complete his Officer of the Watch Training and received his Chief Mate 3000 license from Belfast,Northern Ireland.
He then worked as a Second Officer at M/Y Fortunate Sun for one year.
This was followed by working as a seasonal chief officer at various yachts, including the M/Y Lady Carmen, M/Y Seaquest, M/Y Majestic, and M/Y Audaces.
He later completed a shipyard period at Feadship Superyacht shipyard in Kaag, Netherlands as the seasonal navigation officer at M/Y Harle.
Since January 2022, Ortega is the captain of the luxury superyacht M/Y Andiamo.
Hugo worked as Dock Captain aboard M/Y Blacksheep in early 2023.
Hugo became full-time Captain on M/Y Robin's Nest II in Feb 2025.
Since January 2022, Ortega has founded his own company, the Superyacht Sunday School, a platform that helps people find careers in the yachting space and receive mentorship and training. [9] [10] [11]
Ortega appears as the bosun in the 12th season of the Bravo television series Below Deck. [12]
He appeared as a Bosun from the 6th episode of the season after the previous Bosun Caio Poltronieri was let go due to his lack of experience. [13] [14] [15]
Ortega also made an appearance as a guest on the Bravo late-night talk show Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen following his appearance on Below Deck.
Since November 2019, he has been working as a part-time sales manager at i-Lab Creative in Miami, Florida.
Ortega has been in an open relationship with Shelby Hayn who is also known as Bee, for over five years, who works with him as the Creative Director and co-founder of Superyacht Sunday School. [16]
| Year | Title | Role | Television Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Below Deck | Bosun | Bravo | Since episode 6 |
| 2025 | Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen | Guest | Bravo | |