Captain Sandy Yawn has led the Below Deck Mediterranean crew for six seasons now. However, viewers have had mixed feelings about her since her start on the show. Captain Sandy is not one for nonsense, and she can be harsh with her crew at times. Furthermore, she has a bad habit of micromanaging her team, and is often called out by viewers for doing so.
However, many fans also support Captain Sandy, and applaud her for encouraging more women to join the yacht industry. While Captain Sandy Yawn has done many great things throughout her six seasons on Below Deck Mediterranean, she has also made some critical mistakes. These three moments in particular were not easy for Captain Sandy, and caused her to become controversial to some viewers.
Unnecessarily Ending a Charter Guest’s Excursion Early
One of Captain Sandy’s most irrational moments was early on during Below Deck Mediterranean Season 3, when she became infuriated with Chief Stew Hannah Ferrier. Hannah had notably dropped the ball on multiple occasions, and left 2nd Stew Brooke Laughton often picking up the slack. During a particular charter, Hannah left to go on a jet ski excursion with a guest, leaving Brooke to wash dishes during what was supposed to be her day off.
When Captain Sandy realized that Hannah left Brooke to do all of the work, she was understandably annoyed. However, the way she handled the situation was not the best. Captain Sandy called the Deckhand who had also gone along on the excursion, and demanded that everyone return immediately. The guest was visibly disappointed, as they were about to enjoy a nice sunset jet ski ride.
The way Captain Sandy Yawn handled this situation was controversial. There was no need to ruin the guest’s experience because of Hannah’s poor behavior. Instead, Captain Sandy should have waited until Hannah returned to discuss the matter with her.
Expecting Way Too Much From Anastasia as a Chef
Captain Sandy was put in a difficult position during Season 4 when she was forced to find a replacement for Chef Mila Kolomeitseva, who repeatedly dropped the ball. Her quick solution was to put 3rd Stew Anastasia Surmava in the position, who did not do a bad job by any means. However, since Anastasia’s culinary training was not to the same level as other Below Deck chefs, she was not as perfect as Captain Sandy unfairly expected her to be.
While Anastasia was serving several charter guests breakfast one morning, Captain Sandy became particularly fed up. After being served eggs, one guest asked if he could also have some potatoes. Anastasia responded that she would make them right away. However, this was not good enough for Captain Sandy, who nagged Anastasia about offering the guests whatever they wanted.
Captain Sandy did not stop there, and continued to bug Anastasia about putting on a proper chef jacket as she prepared the potatoes. Despite saying that her jacket was dirty, Captain Sandy still encouraged her to wear it. It was incredibly unfair of Captain Sandy to have such high expectations of Anastasia. After all, Anastasia was doing the best she could with her respective culinary background.
Captain Sandy Did June Foster Dirty
Below Deck Mediterranean Season 4 was a difficult one for Captain Sandy, but that does not justify her unfair firing of 3rd Stew June Foster. After Anastasia left her position as 3rd Stew to become the new Chef, Captain Sandy hired June to replace her. However, after Ben Robinson later became the permanent Chef, Captain Sandy decided that there was no longer room on the yacht for June.
Captain Sandy explained to June that since Anastasia would now return to being 3rd Stew, she was no longer needed as a member of the crew. June was understandably upset, and even told Captain Sandy that it was not right for her to do that. Captain Sandy showed little remorse, and did not seem to feel too bad about the situation.
Captain Sandy has had an understaffed crew on many occasions, so she should have never hired June in the first place. The crew likely would have managed without a 3rd Stew, and Captain Sandy could have avoided hurting June.
TELL US – WHAT DO YOU THINK WAS CAPTAIN SANDY’S MOST CONTROVERSIAL MOMENT ON BELOW DECK MEDITERRANEAN?
