When Captain Sandy Yawn from Below Deck Mediterranean sits down for an interview, one of the most common questions she’s asked is: “Is this show real?”
It’s probably a boring question to the Captain by now, but she knows it’s one she has to answer. After all, sometimes the drama captured on camera seems just too good to be true for a show where the cast KNOW they’re being filmed.
Like when a crew member is dramatically fired for allegedly having a THC vape pen and breaking maritime law. Or when guests act so depraved that Captain Sandy has no choice but to step in. Or when crew members get involved in spicy chesting scandals. It’s so unbelievably juicy that the misconception that the show is fictionalised is something Sandy is often having to correct.
“Some people think it’s scripted. It’s not. What you see is what happened,” Captain Sandy tells PEDESTRIAN.TV.
“They’re a real crew, we’re doing a real job and I’m a real captain.”
During her eight seasons on the show, Sandy has become known for her fair leadership, open communication and for not taking any shit after she’s given a warning. However, on occasion — like when long-term stewardess Hannah Ferrier was fired for the vape pen debacle — Sandy has faced criticism for the way she’s handled these situations on board. To that, she says that from her perspective, it was impossible to know the whole story.
“Oh, of course, there are things I would change,” she says.
“I think I would have a little more knowledge about something before making a decision. People’s mental state really matters.
“I mean, you don’t know what you don’t know. So you’re going to base your decisions on what you know. You don’t know everything so you’re taking facts from other people and you try to do your best.”
With over 30 years experience in the yachting industry, Sandy has seen some fucked up shit, but nothing grinds her gears more than when guests are rude to her staff. According to Sandy, the worst we’ve seen on the show is a particular group of gals from Atlanta in Season Three.
“I always go back to — I don’t remember what season it was — but the Atlanta guests. That was pretty outrageous,” she recalls, thinking back to when a group of women on board likened the chef’s cuisine to food that their dogs eat.
“I’ll always have [my crew’s] back, just like I did in that episode. And that happens again in this season,” Sandy teases, unwilling to spill any more details about the potentially tea-filled encounter.
Below Deck Mediterranean Season Nine has just hit streaming platforms and it’s a particularly special season for Sandy because it features her marriage proposal to her girlfriend — and now wife — Leah Shafer. The pair met after Leah messaged Sandy on Instagram, and while many people might not want such an intimate moment of their relationship captured by an entire camera crew, Sandy bloody loved the idea.
“I thought why not?” she exclaimed.
“The viewers were in my life when I met Leah so why not share that moment with the viewers? It was during my career in this franchise that I met her and it was because she watched the show.”
Another treat about Season Nine? It features Below Deck Down Under and I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here alum Aesha Scott! The vibrant chief stew got her start on Below Deck Mediterranean and, boy, is Captain Sandy stoked to have her back.
“I think Captain Jason is having a hard time without Aesha,” Sandy laughs.
“But thank God she’s back where she belongs.”
You can catch Below Deck Mediterranean Season Nine on Hayu and Binge.
The post Below Deck Mediterranean’s Captain Sandy Yawn On The Worst Charter Guests She’s Ever Seen appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
