Captain Lee Rosbach was a staple on Below Deck since the beginning of the series. His gruff approach and salty one-liners kept both crew and guests in line. Captain Lee didn’t take nonsense from anyone.
But over the last couple of years, viewers watched the “Stud of the Seas” deal with mobility issues following back surgery before Season 10. Despite every effort to continue his job on crutches, his nerve condition worsened.
He was ultimately forced to step away from his job to seek further medical treatment and to heal. Captain Sandy Yawn from Below Deck Mediterranean was brought on board to take over during his absence. That’s when their working relationship, as well as their friendship, sprung a leak.
Captain Lee Rosbach and Captain Sandy Yawn’s friendship sinks
The problem started when Captain Lee got his feelings hurt because Sandy fired “one of his crew” while she was filling in on the St. David superyacht. Incidentally, while she was captain on that boat, it was her crew.
Rather than speaking privately to Sandy, he publicly criticized her for not informing him ahead of time when stew Camille Lamb was dismissed.
Sandy’s response was a cryptic social media post saying that Lee had “never supported” her. She added that he was “a man in a man’s world who doesn’t like a woman being a captain.” The final straw was Sandy leaving Captain Lee off the guest list when she married her longtime partner Leah Shafer in May.
Can their friendship ever be repaired? Sadly, that ship has sailed. In an interview with The Standard, Lee indicated there was no chance they would ever mend their relationship. “You’d probably [have] a better chance of seeing God twice in the next 30 seconds than that happening,” he joked.
Will Captain Lee Rosbach and Captain Sandy Yawn be friends again?
When he was questioned whether he thought they could ever navigate their way back to a friendship again, Lee was his usual blunt self.
“No, I don’t,” he admitted. “I did an interview, and they asked me, point blank, ‘Do you like Captain Sandy?’ And I said, ‘Well, you asked a question, so I’ll give you the honest answer: no. It’s that simple.’ … Let’s just say my wedding invitation got lost in the mail.”
Though his fans miss Captain Lee and hope he can return at some point, the man is 74 years old. He may be in great shape, but the demands of being a superyacht captain may be beyond him at this point. Plus, just my opinion, but I don’t like the way he continues going after Captain Sandy, nor do I think she deserves it. Would he treat a man that way? It’s very unprofessional to talk about a co-worker the way he does, especially publicly. I think Bravo’s probably done with him.
TELL US – DO YOU THINK LEE WENT OVERBOARD WITH HIS REACTION WHEN SANDY FIRED CAMILLE? DO YOU THINK HE’LL EVER RETURN AS A CAPTAIN?
