‘Below Deck’ Captain Sandy Explains Why Key Role Is Missing

Below Deck Mediterranean star Captain Sandy Yawn revealed why a pivotal role is missing this season. Fans want to know why there is no boatswain this season. Eddie Lucas was promoted to the role of the First Officer in Season 8. But he has since taken on double-duty as aspiring captain and first officer.

As seen on the Monday, January 10, episode, Eddie cleans the deck by himself. Captain Lee Rosbach asks him what he’s doing out there. Lee thinks Eddie should ask the deck team to do it themselves. Eddie promoted deckhand Jake Foulger to the role of deck lead, but it hasn’t gone so well.

Fans wonder if things would go better if there was both a first officer and boatswain on board the yacht.

Eddie Lucas promoted to the role of First Officer

Captain Sandy has been watching the show just like everyone else. She’s aware that there is no boatswain this season. Since its inception in 2013, Below Deck has captured millions of fans every week. They tune every week in to see the drama among the crew members unfold on the superyacht. However, viewers couldn’t help but notice that there is no boatswain this season.

The position has been left open. First, Eddie returned to the show in Season 8. He wanted to prove himself to Captain Lee after he disappointed him in Season 3. Eddie received his promotion to boatswain in Season 2, but he abused that role. In the following season, he slept with stew Raquelle “Rocky” Dakota and cheated on his then-girlfriend, who was at land.

Eddie earned his stripes in Season 8 when Lee gave him a surprise promotion to First Officer. Yet, the position for boatswain was never filled. It remained open for the rest of the season and this season. Captain Sandy explained the reason why.

Below Deck star Captain Sandy Yawn explains the reason why

Every crew typically comes with a boatswain. But that decision is left up to the captain. As for Sandy, she would prefer to work with a boatswain. She always made sure to have one on her yacht.

“You know on a superyacht you have a first officer, sometimes a second officer,” the Below Deck star said. “You always have a bosun, it’s up to the captain and how he wants to run the boat.”

As fans know, Malia White was the boatswain for the past two seasons on Below Deck Mediterranean. Sandy likes to offer her crew members the opportunity to move up in their careers. While she makes sure to hire a boatswain, she leaves the rest of the hiring up to her crew.

“But listen as a captain outside of the show I hire the first officer and I hire the engineer and the chief stew,” Sandy continued. “And I allow them to hire their team. And they can label people however they want but in some cases, they say we’re all the same, period.”

She likes to use rank for her team and uses the terms “junior or senior.” The crew was different in Below Deck Sailing Yacht, where it never had a boatswain. Instead, there was a First officer and a two-person deck team. Below Deck Season 9 is at a new time. It now airs on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.