As the Below Deck series and spin-offs continue to multiply, it’s only natural to contrast the differing crew, boats, and captains. Turnover in yachting seems quite high among the crew, but the captains have been pretty consistent throughout the seasons.
Captain Lee Rosbach is our OG from the pilot episode, while Captain Sandy Yawn replaced Captain Mark Howard after one season and has been on Below Deck Mediterranean ever since. Captain Glenn Shephard is the newcomer at the helm of Below Deck Sailing Yacht. And while he seemed to have a firm and steady hand in terms of dealing with crew issues, his handling of a suspected charter guest with drugs did not go over so well in the season finale.
Captain Sandy had a lot to say about how Captain Glenn dealt with a charter guest who supposedly brought drugs on board the boat. The primary and the guest in question were confronted, and bags were searched. Captain Glenn did not find anything incriminating, and the charter guests tipped generously despite the uncomfortable situation. But what do you do when two crew members report seeing the charter guest behaving erratically with a white powder under his nose?
According to Captain Sandy, it should have been handled differently. “I’ve had lots of experience dealing with clients and drugs,” she told In Touch Weekly. And while it’s “hard to judge” as each situation could be different, Sandy would not have gone through a client’s luggage.
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Sandy recalled one instance when a charter guest brazenly let her know that he had illegal substances on his person. “I had one guy come up to me once and he goes, ‘Can I smoke pot on the bow?’ I go, ‘Did you ask me that question because you think I want to join you? Why [did] you ask me that?” Sandy said, “seriously, right now. You are on an international vessel. That word is a big, no. And if you have marijuana on board, I suggest you get it off now.”
Sandy’s strategy is to have the guest dispose of their own stash. She explained, “I prefer to go to the primary client and say, ‘It’s been brought to my attention that there’s maybe drugs on board. I need you to handle this and handle it now. I need them off the vessel.”
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If a client chooses not to cooperate, Sandy relies on administrative channels to deal with the issue. “If they refuse to take their drugs off, ” she said, “I then call the charter broker, first their broker, and I say, ‘I’m going to remove your client off the vessel because they’re refusing to take their drugs off.”
Captain Glenn had other options, and Sandy suggested that searching luggage is not the best tact. “I actually work within the confines. I don’t ever go through their stuff,” she concluded, “that’s not my job. I’m not a cop.”
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TELL US- WHAT DO YOU THINK OF CAPTAIN GLENN’S APPROACH? WHAT WOULD YOU DO IN THIS SITUATION? IS SANDY RIGHT?
[Photo Credit: Bravo]
