BELOW DECK Chief stew Heather Chase’s pageant history

Heather Chase, Below Deck‘s Season 9 Chief Stew, is embroiled in a controversy after saying the “n-word,” which is a racial slur, on camera in front of black deckhand Rayna Lindsey. Heather has offered an apology, but Rayna does not find her apology to be sincere. First officer Eddie Lucas has since come out and said he thought Heather should have been fired over the slur.

Before Heather joined the high seas, she was a prolific pageant queen, and we’ve taken a look into her past in the Hawaii pageant circuits.

Heather participated in the Miss Hawaii Teen USA pageant in 2013 and 2014. In her first time out, Heather came extremely close to taking home the sash as she finished first runner up.

The following year, in 2014, Heather placed once again, but this time she took one step back. Heather finished as second runner-up in the 2014 Miss Hawaii Teen USA pageant.

Heather made it to the island-wide pageant by first taking home the crown of Miss Hilo Teen. Here is Heather proudly wearing her Miss Hilo Teen sash in a hotel room and during a Miss Hawaii Teen USA promotional event:

(The promotional event video is included below.)

I spent WAY too much time tracking down video and photos of Heather competing in the 2013 and 2014 pageants, and I’ve gathered the best of the best here. The videos should be cued up to Heather’s appearance, but Heather may appear multiple times in some of the clips.

For those of you who are curious, I’m not sure what Heather’s exact ages were when she competed in the pageants. The Miss Teen USA pageants allow for contestants to be between the ages of 14 and 19. Heather reveals that she was 25 when she filmed earlier this year, which would mean she was roughly 17 and 18 when she competed.

Heather Chase in Miss Hawaii Teen USA 2013

The first clip is a highly compacted video of the pageant. It is cued up to begin at the start of a montage of Heather in the swimsuit and evening gown portions of the competition. If you want to see more of Heather (and I definitely recommend it!), she excitedly introduces herself at the 2:00 mark. You can then hop to the 11:47 mark for her interview question and answer.

SPOILER: Heather is asked what movie character she would be and why (I assume) and she answers that she would be Dory from Finding Nemo.

Heather took home the “Best Evening Gown” award and the “Best Interview” award, but somehow managed to come in second place overall. I don’t believe these pageants have a talent portion, so that means Heather lost it in the swimwear portion?

Next up is a video of the Miss Hawaii Teen USA contestants participating in a promotional event. In addition to some catwalking in a colorful floral mini-dress, Heather also tackles another question. This time she talks about being president of her class at school.

Last, we have another promotional event. This one is just Heather on stage in a black-and-white mini dress.

Heather Chase in Miss Hawaii Teen USA 2014

There was A LOT more video available from the 2014 pageant, thanks almost entirely to the BESTS info YouTube channel. There are separate videos from the swimwear and evening gown portions of the competition.

There is also video of the interview portion with the top 8 contestants, and another one with the 5 finalists. Given that Heather finished as second runner up, you get to hear her answers to two questions!

Heather Chase in the Miss Hawaii Teen USA 2014 Swimwear Competition

Heather Chase in the Miss Hawaii Teen USA 2014 Evening Gown Competition

Heather Chase Miss Hawaii Teen USA 2014 Pageant Top 8 Interview

The interviewer brings up the fact that Heather has been in numerous plays and musicals. She then asks Heather what her favorite performance was and why.

“I would have to go with Annie,” Heather answers. “Because the message in that production is the sun will come out tomorrow. It’s not a bad life, it’s just a bad day.” She adds that moving forward is the best thing you can do.

Heather Chase Miss Hawaii Teen USA 2014 Pageant Final 5 Interview

Heather is asked whether or not Miley Cyrus is a role model. She stumbles a bit at first, then provides an OK answer with a great joke at the end. The joke definitely seems to win over the crowd and the interviewers.

Miss Hawaii Teen USA 2014 Pageant Fashion Show

This video features Heather at a promotional event wearing a couple different bikinis. It’s cued up to her first catwalk, but I highly recommend you follow watching that by skipping to the 3:50 mark where you can see Heather showing off her dance moves!

As a result of Heather’s successes in the 2014 pageant, she looks to have taken home $46,000 in college scholarships! That’s according to this congratulatory ad that ran in a local publication:

Asa Hawks is a writer and editor for Starcasm. You can contact Asa via Twitter, Facebook, or email at starcasmtips(at)yahoo.com