‘Below Deck’ Star Captain Sandy on Firing Crew—’Defer to My Lawyer’
Captain Sandy Yawn, the first female superyacht captain on Bravo’s Below Deck: Mediterranean, has made tough calls throughout her 30+ years in maritime.
In an interview with Newsweek, Yawn explained that a difficult part of her job is firing crew members—a decision she doesn’t take lightly and often makes with input from her lawyer.
Below Deck and its spin-offs capture the high-stakes, drama-filled lives of yacht crew members and the challenges of the demanding industry. Yawn’s leadership style has gained both praise and criticism from fans, but her years of surviving literal and figurative storms have taught her lessons in resilience, leadership and the importance of setting clear boundaries and expectations for her team.
Sitting down with Newsweek ahead of an appearance at Hayu FanFest in London, the reality star revealed how she approaches firing crew, even if it will be an unpopular decision amongst audiences.
Yawn referred to the firing of former Below Deck star Hannah Ferrier as an example. During Season 5 Episode 12 of Below Deck: Mediterranean, Ferrier was let go after Yawn discovered she had valium onboard without a prescription present, violating maritime law.
“I always defer to my lawyer. So, I will tell you this: I took years to get my maritime license. It’s not something you just go sign up for and take a couple of weeks of; it’s a federal license with the U.S. government. OK? That’s a big deal,” Yawn told Newsweek.
“Every decision I’ve ever had to make, with production, going to sea, leaving the dock—in that case, drugs—I call my attorney. He goes, ‘Fire her now. It’s being filmed, God forbid something happened.’
“So I follow what they say because he’s my attorney. He protects me from getting in trouble. Unlike, you know, that captain who had that boat that sank off the coast of Italy? He’s being, I mean, look what he’s going through.”
Yawn is referring to the luxury yacht The Bayesian, which sank in a storm off the coast of Sicily in August. The yacht had 22 people on board—12 passengers and 10 crew—and seven people died. The boat’s captain, James Cutfield, is one of several people under investigation for manslaughter.
The TV personality explained that being out on the water is “very intense,” which isn’t something people always realize.
“It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt. Trust me, I’d be like this, on the hook…And that sailboat was anchored right offshore, and they sank—we go to sea,” she said.
“So I just called my maritime attorney. Hannah and I have a great, you know, I saw her in Australia, we’re good. I learned things that I didn’t know, she learned things that she didn’t know, and we hugged it out.”
Working on a yacht is often incredibly demanding. Crew members spend their time living and working in close quarters while dealing with guests and trying to navigate their interpersonal relationships. When there is conflict amongst the crew, Yawn said she leaves them to figure it out amongst themselves.
“You know, hey, they’re adults. Figure it out. And if it makes it to the bridge, that’s really not a good day for them,” she said.
“Basically, I just bring them both in and let them tell their story and then tell them to get it together, or otherwise, I’m going to fire them both.”
When asked how she juggles guests, crew, filming and the ocean, Yawn said it’s all in a day’s work. While some Below Deck viewers might think that having cameras on you while trying to do such a high-stakes job might make things more difficult, Yawn said she often doesn’t notice that the cameras are there.
“You forget about them because of the fourth wall; you don’t really get to talk to them,” she said before adding: “As far as the crew, they just do their job. So they know my expectations, and if they’re not doing it, then I have a conversation. But other than that, it’s easy to navigate.
“What I find a struggle to navigate is the weather. I can’t control the weather. I mean, you know, big seas, big swell, and the stabilizers not working or something like that. Those are the things that I just go, ‘Okay, one minute at a time, we’ll figure this out.'”
Captain Sandy, Sutton, Lisa, Ashley, Jessel, Craig and Austen are in London for the first-ever Hayu FanFest, which will take place on Saturday, October 26.
Catch up on all seasons of Below Deck Mediterranean on Hayu.
